I've always used `VARCHAR(320)`. Here's why. [The standard](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5321.html) dictates the following limitations:

 - 64 characters for the "local part" (username).
 - 1 character for the `@` symbol.
 - 255 characters for the domain name.

Now, some folks will say you need to support more than that. Some folks will also say that you need to support Unicode for domain names (meaning you have to switch to `NVARCHAR`). While the standard may have change in the meantime (it's been a while since I've had skin in the game), I am quite confident that at this time most servers in the world will not accept Unicode e-mail addresses, and I am sure many servers will have issues creating and/or accepting addresses with > 320 characters. 

That said, you can prepare for the worst now, if you like (and if you are using Data Compression in SQL Server 2008 R2 or better, you will benefit from Unicode compression, meaning you only pay the 2 byte penalty for characters that actually need it). This way you can make your column as wide as you want, and you can let people stuff any too-long junk in there that they want - they won't receive an e-mail if they give you junk just like they won't receive an e-mail if the insert fails. The problem is if you let invalid junk in, *you* have to deal with it. And no matter what size you make it - if someone will try to stuff 400 characters into a 320-character column, someone will try to stuff 1025 characters into a 1024-character column. There is no reason any sensible person should have an e-mail address > 320 characters unless they are using it to explicitly test system boundaries.

But stop asking for *opinions* on this - and stop looking at other implementations for guidance (it just so happens in this case that the ones you referenced did not bother to do their own homework and just picked numbers out of their, well, you know). [You have direct access to the standard](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5321.html) - make sure you consult the most current version, support that as a minimum, and stay on top of the standard so you can adapt to changes in specs.