Advice on Buying 1941 Field Jacket Welcome

[vintagewool]

Hello. I am offering to buy a used repro 1941 jacket and it seems like ATF is a likely candidate but I am open to having my mind changed on these preferences:

WTB: Wanted: 1941 m1941 m41 "Parsons" Field Jacket, Repro, under $100 Shipped to CONUS USA

Hello. I am looking for a 1941 field jacket (100% cotton shell) for casual wear. I have seen new ones listed for about $60 and up but there is ambiguous information about materials and sizing. My initial thought is an At the Front (ATF) model because it is OD No. 2 (OD2). 3 basic preferences...

www.thefedoralounge.com

Thank you.

 

[Cuvier]

Hello. I am offering to buy a used repro 1941 jacket and it seems like ATF is a likely candidate but I am open to having my mind changed on these preferences:

http://[URL]https://www.thefedoralo...100-shipped-to-conus-usa.114556/#post-3090650

[/URL]

Thank you.

I can speak very highly of ATF. Great people to work with. If you have a question they can answer it. Shipping has always been fast and the workmanship outstanding. I have their summer 1941 field jacket and enjoy it. Everything I have purchased I have been exceedingly happy with.

 

[vintagewool]

I can speak very highly of ATF. Great people to work with. If you have a question they can answer it. Shipping has always been fast and the workmanship outstanding. I have their summer 1941 field jacket and enjoy it. Everything I have purchased I have been exceedingly happy with.

Thank you for the feedback.

Did you get a 1941 jacket and, if so, what kind?

I am trying to sort out sizing problems here:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...intage-and-reproduction-repro-jackets.114745/

 

[Cuvier]

Thank you for the feedback.

Did you get a 1941 jacket and, if so, what kind?

I am trying to sort out sizing problems here:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...intage-and-reproduction-repro-jackets.114745/

I bought the summer 1941 as I'm down in Texas. They do run slightly large as it was expected that you're layered underneath.
https://www.atthefront.com/Summer-M41-Field-Jacket-p/usujsm41.htm
It's still a very comfortable jacket. There's a winter weight version as well.

 

[vintagewool]

Sorry, you already had mentioned buying the ATF summer jacket. Thank you for the added information.

My worry about the summer version is that it is too long because ATF deliberately diverted from mil-spec. From ATF's description, it seems like a jacket might be over 29in long, supposedly to compensate for up to a 2in shrinkage that I have no intention of doing. I do not want a supposed-to-be-hip-length 1941 jacket that is as long as a crotch-length 1943 jacket.

 

[vintagewool]

This review of the "Summer" jacket troubles me:

90th IDPG At The Front "Summer" M41 Jacket

The Summer jacket is so off-spec long that the Small (33-36) AFTER deliberately hot-shrinking is as long as a vintage 38.

Further, the shrunken Summer jacket has the back band too high.

Worse, the collar opening is too small, because the zipper is misplaced.

Additionally, the lining is the same material as the shell, instead of making a light cotton lining of the color and (maybe) texture of the WWII wool.

Why make a "Summer" jacket with a double layer of 6-7oz material? Isn't that like wearing two unlined 6-7oz-fabric jackets?

How is the cotton body supposed to shrink properly when metal zippers don't shrink?

Why quibble about stitching details when basic jacket dimensions are obviously wrong from 100yds away?

Is today's Summer jacket the same as in that 2012 review?

I believe Cuvier that his is comfortable for him but I don't understand why so many repro makers seem meticulous in some areas but seem to throw away the tape measure in other areas.

I would rather have the right sizing with the wrong stitching than vice versa.

TM 10-265 gives very specific lengths to 1/8 of an inch:

1941 "M1941" "M41" "Parsons" Field Jacket Sizing Guide: Database Comparing Vintage and Reproduction ("Repro") Jackets

Add your pre-shrunk jacket's actual measurements to this thread. The descriptions and repro-sizings of these field jackets are a mess, so this thread is intended as a resource to restore sanity. There are 3 important points about the actual WWII 1941 field jackets, gleaned from the technical...

www.thefedoralounge.com

I could do without the fix-one-thing-but-break-another, but I still would consider one of the ATF types for the right price.

 

[vintagewool]

IMPORTANT

This is a real WWII vintage jacket's bi-swing, with 3 distinct seams:

I saw and felt in person a Mil-Tec "repro" with 100%-polyester lining that has no cloth between #2 and #3 and with what amounts to the #3 seam permanently attached to the #2 seam, as if it were a false bi-swing.

Which repros have a real bi-swing like in the photograph?

Thank you.

 

[vintagewool]

IMPORTANT

This is a real WWII vintage jacket's bi-swing, with 3 distinct seams:
View attachment 621370

I saw and felt in person a Mil-Tec "repro" with 100%-polyester lining that has no cloth between #2 and #3 and with what amounts to the #3 seam permanently attached to the #2 seam, as if it were a false bi-swing.

Which repros have a real bi-swing like in the photograph?

Thank you.

PS: It's surprising how much basic information is lacking about these repros after all these years. I would have expected that someone would have made a table of model, make, year, and feature.

 

[Cuvier]

That article you read was from 2012. It's very out of date. ATF was having them made by a factory using sub-par materials and workmanship. The current offerings are much more accurate as they got a new factory.
Mine is hip length. It was a bit long at first but it needs to be washed. I did a regular wash and dry. Correct length now. It was never crotch length. It shrunk maybe an inch. Hasn't shrunk since. ATF has comparison pictures of theirs vs originals. You also need to realize that these were never custom made fitted dress uniforms. Originals were churned out by the millions by multiple manufacturers. There was a lot of variations in size, color, stitching and patterns on originals. I've seen some where the sleeves were two different colors and lengths on the same jacket from the factory with inspection approval stamps. You can stitch count all you want and still be wrong.
The 90th IDPG don't update their website or reviews. If you're looking at getting into reenacting then you'd be better off going to a reenacting forum and getting first hand current information.

 

[vintagewool]

Mine is hip length. It was a bit long at first but it needs to be washed. I did a regular wash and dry. Correct length now. It was never crotch length. It shrunk maybe an inch. Hasn't shrunk since.

Thank you for the extra tidbit. About an inch is maybe only about half the 1.5-2in that the ATF website promised. It seems like the armhole area must shrink, since the zipper doesn't shrink.

Does your jacket have a real bi-swing with the 3 seams like in the photograph above?

On the ATF website, I didn't see:
Any evidence of a real bi-swing, only what might be a fake bi-swing.
Any actual "repro" jacket lengths (in inches).
Any comparison photographs with real WWII 1941 field jackets and "repro" jackets.

I have no re-enacting purpose.

I have found no better place to ask than here, a forum where people have demonstrated a distinct interest in the details of cut and fit. ATF did not answer my question about re-stocking the "Summer" sizes. Some forums seem to post subjective opinions ("it fits"), or post replies with a lack of answers to the questions asked, or show a lack of replies as from a past-peak decline of interest, or have a registration malfunction, or some other deficiency.

I have seen in person a real bi-swing on an M-65 jacket.
I have seen pictures of a real bi-swing on real WWII 1941 field jackets.
I have not seen any real bi-swing on a "repro" 1941 jacket so far (that is, no proof of it).

US WW2 M41 Field Jacket

Reproduction WWII field jacket by At the Front. These offer a cooler and less expensive alternative to regular M41 jackets- all we did was eliminate the flannel lining and replace it with cotton poplin. Externally identical to the regular models.

www.atthefront.com

 

[Cuvier]

This is mine. I tried to match your picture.

 

[vintagewool]

This is mine. I tried to match your picture. View attachment 621980

Thank you very much. It looks like a real bi-swing. That tells me that ATF sold real bi-swings when they made yours. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, ATF has changed their jackets a lot, so I don't know whether I would get a bi-swing if I were to order one today.

I saw pictures of a Mil-Tec with a cotton lining that looked like it had a real bi-swing, in contrast to the polyester-lined one that didn't have a real bi-swing.

I still don't know what any of the current ATF jacket lengths are.

All this makes it difficult to know what one is buying.

 

[Cuvier]

Well, all I can say is that you can try and if you don't like it return it. There's nothing else to do. It's decision time. Left or right. The only wrong decision is one you don't make.
It's just a jacket. Not a car or house. No one gets hurt if you buy it and don't like it.

 

[vintagewool]

Well, all I can say is that you can try and if you don't like it return it. There's nothing else to do. It's decision time. Left or right. The only wrong decision is one you don't make.
It's just a jacket. Not a car or house. No one gets hurt if you buy it and don't like it.

That's funny, because I already did that advice, and received a jacket with no bi-swing.

 

[Cuvier]

Guess you can return it and try somewhere else.

 

[vintagewool]

Guess you can return it and try somewhere else.

I appreciate your help. So far, you're the only one to reply with hard information.

 

[4444Design]

My ATF M41 in size "L" - i own some of other repro-manufacturers as well and i do not see any major flaws on the ATF