A-2 at lower price point?

[Seb Lucas]

There is still room for a trim A2 at a lower price point that more closely follows the cut of originals. It would be interesting to see some measured up to see where the difference is.

 

[lkalliance]

There is still room for a trim A2 at a lower price point that more closely follows the cut of originals. It would be interesting to see some measured up to see where the difference is.

Cockpit has a sale on their "imported A-2" (https://www.cockpitusa.com/review/product/list/id/2705/category/108/) for $199. Details are slim on the site, but it does indicate on the size chart that it is "slim fit," which I interpret to mean the traditional cut?

 

[TXFlyGuy]

There is still room for a trim A2 at a lower price point that more closely follows the cut of originals. It would be interesting to see some measured up to see where the difference is.

Here is the Excelled (38R - numbers with lines thru are for the 40R) in white vs. the Cockpit 21st Century (40R) in yellow:

And here is the G&B A-2, size 42R:

 

[Brettafett]

Excelled A-2 owners... Any chance of some fit pics... Please

 

[Seb Lucas]

Interesting measurements with that G&B 42, if the shoulders were under 19 inches and the pit to pit around 22 inches it would be a better fit.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

Excelled A-2 owners... Any chance of some fit pics... Please

Size 38. I could have gone with a 36.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

Interesting measurements with that G&B 42, if the shoulders were under 19 inches and the pit to pit around 22 inches it would be a better fit.

That's easy...order a 38 or a 40. I mistakenly let them talk me into a 42. But the jackets fits / wears nice. It just has extra bulk thru the lower gut area. I don't need that!

 

[Doctor Damage]

Interesting measurements with that G&B 42, if the shoulders were under 19 inches and the pit to pit around 22 inches it would be a better fit.

22" on a size 42 is too small. Just get a smaller size. Women want vanity sized clothing, not men. If you want a 22" chest then you're a size 40, not 42.

Given that it's G&B, I'm surprised the measurement isn't 26"...

 

[Seb Lucas]

I'm making an observation about sizing and why the modern ones look shapeless next the better repops. A good reproduction A2 in a 42 would have a 22-inch chest.

 

[lkalliance]

Update: After looking at the various suggestions, and comparing them to my own (admittedly inexperienced and therefore functionally arbitrary) desires for materials, color, and features, I settled first on the $199 "Imported A-2" by Cockpit (https://www.cockpitusa.com/sale/men-sale/imported-a-2). But I backed off when I confirmed that it was a "Final Sale," which meant if it didn't fit I could not return it.

Next I bit the bullet, and opted to go for the Cockpit "USAF 21st Century A-2," but to purchase it through Legendary USA (https://www.legendaryusa.com/Cockpit-Mens-USAF-Goatskin-A-2-Flight-Jacket.html). Though the price has come up a bit, at the time I ordered it it was listed at $396, and with a 10% off code I got it down to $356. Still significantly more than I wanted to spend, but significantly LESS than I thought I would have to spend when I started this thread to begin with.

In the meantime, I noticed that US Wings was running almost-daily specials, rotating through each of their jackets. I still figured they likely wouldn't do so with the model I wanted, the "Signature Series Goatskin Modern A-2" (http://www.uswings.com/product/signature-series-goatskin-modern-a-2-leather-jacket/), as it was apparently their best seller without the benefit of specials. But I was wrong! At the beginning of the week they put their "Signature Series Bush Pilot Modern A-2" (http://www.uswings.com/product/bush-pilot-jacket/)--priced identically to the regular Signature Series Modern A-2--on sale, down from $449 to $300. That put me on alert. And then, yesterday, they did it: they put the jacket I had wanted to start it all on sale, down to $300. I was able to cancel my order with Legendary, and went ahead and ordered two sizes of the US Wings jacket, expecting to return one.

So, having expected to have to pay $400-$450 to get one of the jackets I wanted, I'm down to $300, within spitting distance of the original $250 I had hoped at the start of the new year. One of the benefits of obsessive fretting: if you do it long enough, sometimes the scenario you thought wouldn't happen actually does come about. Yay CDO (same as OCD, but the letters are put in the correct order)!

It'll be funny if, after all of this, they still don't fit (I don't mean the wrong size, I mean that the style of jacket still doesn't work well on my body shape). But if that's the case so be it, I return them and find some other avenue to pursue.

Though I don't like to post pictures of myself, this is a reasonable version of what I expect to look like in the new jacket:

So, I'll look a lot like Ryan Gosling! My girlfriend will be so thrilled!