Hi,
I just received my NRS Endurance spray jacket tonight and oddly enough, even though I had correct measurements, the jacket was too long in the arms and big overall. I ordered a large wetsuit, which has the same specs as the jacket, and it fits great, but the jacket didn’t.
Now I am a little worried that I may have bought the wrong size for the wetsuit, even though it fits snug, because both the jacket and wetsuit are both larges, but apparently the jacket size I need is a medium.
Have any of you experienced problem where the manufacturer website size is spot on for one thing, but off on another?
Also, I bought NRS Maverick gloves. They fit perfect around the hand, but the fingers a little bit on the long side. My hand size is between a medium and large, and I am wondering if I should go for the medium; however, my NRS boating gloves are large and they fit perfect. Man its hard to decide when things are so close to fitting right, but just not there. Any thoughts???
NRS
has a great return policy. Every order comes with a return shipping label so it’s free to return for any reason. I have found that different glove styles vary greatly as to fit so it can be hard to know what size to order. Same with water shoes. I now know to order 1 size larger than my normal size for neoprene boots. It’s a risk you take with mail order but worth it to me since travel has gotten so expensive.
My thoughts
The wetsuit should be a snug fit. That’s part of how it will keep you warm in the water, by reducing the amount of cold water that flushes through it.
The jacket shouldn’t be tight, as you don’t want it to restrict your motions at all during use, regardless of how bulky your clothing is underneath. You might have a fleece top on over the wetsuit, but under the jacket, and don’t want it to bind up.
Gloves may be different somewhat, but too small in any dimension won’t work, so if the fingers are a bit too long and the rest fits fine, that may be as good as it gets for something off the shelf.
I think we all have some unique aspects to our physiology and it must be hard to cover most people with a handful of sizes.
1+1 does not equal 2
I did not get the jacket from NRS, but from backcountry.com; they are allowing me to return the Large jacket for the medium 
The jacket really is too large; I could almost become a human wombat with it on and water would leak through like crazy. I just find it disturbing that they used the same sizes for large jackets as they do for wetsuits. It doesn’t make sense why the large size of the websuit fits, yet using the same measurements of the jacket is too large.
Heh, I guess I work to much with computers and things that require logic. To me if the measurements used for the large wetsuit and the jacket are the same, then logic would dictate that if one fits, then so should the other; however, that is not what happened :-/
I guess I just have to accept this as one of those things where 1 + 1 does not equal 2, lol.
Have had similar experiences
Re: your glove experiences, I bought some Kokotat Hand Jackets (gloves) not long ago, and the sizing was a bit whacky for me too.
I measured my hands just as their website told me to do, and according to them, I needed some Medium gloves. Went to store to try on some Mediums. Those strangled my fingers, felt more like hand tourniquets, than 'hand jackets'.
Walked out with some size Large gloves from them instead. Those fit pretty well, but the fingers are a bit too long.
Not sure what's up there, other than their sizing system measures only overall hand length and palm circumference, and doesn't specifically measure your fingers at all. Guess mine are thicker than average, at least in proportion to my palms.
Would also guess that most sizing systems for most items of clothing have their limits, and anything atypical about your bod will make sizing a bit of an adventure, unless customization is a possibility.
Kokatat does some of that for their dry suits, at least.
Sizing
Just to mention - in a swim the spray jacket - any spray jacket - will be wet. That does not diminish its value in blocking wind after a capsize though, something that is crucial with wet wear underneath.
If it is so big that a rainfall would make it inside just sitting in the boat, that’s another matter. But in general you should expect your clothing to be more damp/wet than dry when paddling.
Sizing varies like in street clothes. I am a women’s small in the NRS jackets as long as they’ll handle my shoulders, a nearly perfect unisex small in Kokatat, a women’s medium in Immersion Research, and so on.