Compilation of French Cyclist/Luftwaffe Jacket Manufacturers

[Gibbs]

You know what, I'm just going to abandon the other thread and hone in on these jackets. Staring at them for the past two days has really driven it into my head that this is what I want for a civvie jacket. I've dipped into every thread on Fedora Lounge and the wider world of Google and what I've never found is a list where someone has compiled all the manufacturers of these '30s-'40s French Cyclists jackets that the market often terms "Luftwaffe jackets." I'll add to and update the list if anyone chimes in with a jacket I've left off. If anyone has experience with the quality, fit, durability, or whatever, or diasgrees with what's written, please don't hesitate to let me know. I don't want to misrepresent myself as an authority on what's below; just compiling the manufacturers, price points, countries of manufacture, and what customer reviews seem to suggest about the jackets themselves.


Noble House - $300-400; Argentinian-made; iffy quality for the price?
Original Flightjacket - $850-950; German-made
Eastman - $850; British-made; very trim fit, like the originals they're based off
Wested "X-Men" - $160; British-made
Pegasus - $725; French-made
Lewis Leathers "Dominator" - $900; British-made
Morgan Memphis Belle - $400; Japanese-made?; lacking some accuracy - missing the front buckle, the stitching on the backside is different
The History Bunker - $250-350; German-made; general wartime reenactment products
Spearhead - $250; Chinese-made?; eBay storefront is not the same as the SpearheadMilitaria.com website
Alexander Leathers - $600; British/Scottish-made; huge range of options
Magnoli Clothiers - $600; Indian-made; worldwide shipping cost included in prices



What am I missing?

 

[Xenophon]

I wonder if the 'original flightjacket' Messerschmitt series are not actually the same jackets as what Eastman sell. They look identical to me except for the label (I prefer the Original Flightjacket version, what Eastman did with their gothic-lettered 'Luftwaffe' and 'Ostmann' on the label looks just tacky to me). Friend of mine owns the 'Type A' of the Messerschmitt series and speaks very highly of it; I looked at the jacket and for sure, the leather quality (aniline-dyed italian horse) is very good, as is the finish. Ordered a different item from them and service was very good with prompt response to mails, with Eastman I had a somewhat different experience as they can't even be bothered to reply.

Edit: prices on all EU sites are in principle inclusive of VAT, which can be deducted if the item is exported out of Europe (in Germany 19% I think) but of course if you ship to the US Uncle Sam will add customs duty and maybe sales tax, not sure about the sales tax part.

 

[handymike]

Pegasus jackets are made in France/ Korea.

 

[Metatron]

Good idea to make a list.
I have never heard of Morgan Memphis Belle, do you have a link to their website?

Here are a couple more that I found:

'The history Bunker'
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WW2-Germa...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4175ee316b
No info

Dikasov:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1939s-Hin...951?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43ac52465f
Made in the Ukraine

Spearhead:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW2-German-...341?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53ee6ee03d
Made in China, quality is meant to be pretty good.


On Noblehouse:
I have a Noblehouse jacket, the luftwaffe 'Nachtjager' one with a fur collar.

The positive:

• he quality of the leather is very good, thick, aniline with natural grain and great smelling.
  
• they do offer a couple of nice models that are not available elsewhere, namely the Nachtjager and the Kanaljacke.
  Their Kanaljacke is actually the best (only one) on the market and very reasonably priced for the beast it is.
  A member here owns many originals, and he liked their repro very much.

The negative:

• accuracy in most of their 'issued' military flight jackets (A2, G-1, B-3, B-15) is low, and little details are generally lacking.
  I would avoid their US models all together.
  
• sizing is generic, and there are no customisation options. And this is the biggest drawback in my opinion.
  I just wanted a standard jacket in a different colour and they flat out refused.

I think they would have a way better reputation if they stuck to making the rare German models.
But I guess A2s, B-3s etc are the bread and butter of the flight jacket business, so...

I'm going to try out Wested and cathartically go crazy with custom options.
I think that if I specify all the correct measurements and design details not a lot can go wrong.
A member here had them copy a vintage halfbelt and it came out quite nice.

 

[Gibbs]

Edit: prices on all EU sites are in principle inclusive of VAT, which can be deducted if the item is exported out of Europe (in Germany 19% I think) but of course if you ship to the US Uncle Sam will add customs duty and maybe sales tax, not sure about the sales tax part.

You know, I'd played around with the calculator knocking off VAT all yesterday and I totally forgot about it today. I don't believe Uncle Sammie will charge a sales tax as its out of state, although technically, you're supposed to self-report stuff you buy out of state and pay the appropriate sales tax. There's that whole deal about them wanting to shore up enforcement soon by having sites calculate it at the time of purchase, like they do if you're buying online from a place that has a physical retail store in your state. I don't think they tacked on a customs duty when I ordered a pair of cotton French military-issue F2 jackets from Tours, France last year. That's another thing I've been meaning to get on - people talk a lot about those jackets, but there's hardly anything out there on them from people who actually own them. I love mine (bought two, since La Tranchee Militaire was [is?] selling NOS, still-wrapped F2s for something like $12, if I remember correctly; even with shipping, only around $50 for the both of them.) Excellent bunch of folks to deal with. I should get around to posting photos and doing a bit of a write-up around here.

Anyway... hell of a tangent. Hell of a tangent.

I don't know much about Morgan Memphis Belle. It turned up in a Google search on another forum and the guy said he really liked his. I think he bought it in person in Japan, but there's a website here with that very Japanese trait of combining Japanese with English. I can't read it, but I typed "Morgan" in the search bar and some stuff popped up. That's all I know of the manufacturer; as far as I know, it doesn't have its own site. I'm not sure what to make of Dikasoff; don't even know if that's the company name, although I'd assume. I couldn't find anything about it other than that eBay page, beyond that its made out of Buffalo hide, Ukrainian-made, and "the highest quality in Europe! And throughout the world, probably..."

A guy on here, dmcburn75, had an Eastman-type Luftwaffe jacket custom-made by US Authentic, which doesn't have anything German or French in their regular inventory. I think it was about five years ago and cost $700 or so with a few options, like heavier horsehide, and then they had to make the pattern from scratch and size it to his measurements. Took US Authentic ten days, I believe, to deliver. I've been kicking around the idea of going that route. On the one hand, the idea of custom-ordering something and having no recourse to exchange or refund it scares the hell out of me, as does a few recent reports of US Authentic jackets arriving with holes and other damaged spots. On the other, that's not a bad deal for something custom-made to my measurements and people seem to value US Authentic as a quality manufacturer in the mid-range. And if they've hung onto the pattern, perhaps the cost would be a little lower this time around.

 

[TeeJay]

I wonder if the 'original flightjacket' Messerschmitt series are not actually the same jackets as what Eastman sell. They look identical to me except for the label

No they are not identical. The Original-Flightjacket Messerschmitt is guaranteed hand-made in small german leather manufacture and the almost all materials are from Germany too. The leather is pure aniline horsehide from italy. I own such a jacket, thats the reason I traced back everything I was able too.

 

[TeeJay]

Friend of mine owns the 'Type A' of the Messerschmitt series and speaks very highly of it; I looked at the jacket and for sure, the leather quality (aniline-dyed italian horse) is very good, as is the finish.

Has your friend any experience in wearing the Messerschmitt Jacket in bad weather? Like storm, heavy rain, snowfall? Because this is normally not a good idea with aniline leathers.

 

[BobJ]

You should add Dikasov to your list. I had an email exchange with him last year and found him easy to talk with and willing to do some customizations on the jacket. I can't speak to the quality as I didn't order one, but he was very proud about the quality of his leathers (which look pretty good in the photos).

 

[Metatron]

A communicative proprietor is always a big plus.

 

[Xenophon]

Has your friend any experience in wearing the Messerschmitt Jacket in bad weather? Like storm, heavy rain, snowfall? Because this is normally not a good idea with aniline leathers.

I honestly have no idea, he lives in Switzerland and both rain and snow have been known to occur there. Otoh I don't see him going out in a flying rainstorm covered in anything else but his car. Last time I saw him wearing it we were out and about in Zürich though and it was drizzling steadily that day, he didn't mention anything about the negative impact of rain on the jacket when we talked about it. If I didn't already own too many leather jackets, with 2 Aero's on order as we speak then the Original-flightjacket Messerschmitt would be very high on my list though, I was impressed when I had the opportunity to look closely at it.

 

[Gibbs]

Might end up biting the bullet. The Eastman, Original Flightjackets, and Noble House look the best to me. The idea of asking Magnoli or US Authentic or anybody else to make a one-off was tempting, but then I'm stuck with it regardless of whether I'm happy with it. At least with a regular item, I can return it if I'm not thrilled. If anything, I'm leaning Original Flightjackets Messerschmitt Typ A the most. I'm willing to spend less than the average member on Fedora Lounge, I'd wager, but a good leather jacket should last a lifetime, and it is a damn fine looking jacket.

 

[Xenophon]

Personally I have some doubts about Noble House; the Eastman and Original Flightjackets look the same to me BUT when I mailed Eastman to ask some questions about the leather/stitching/sizing etc they never bothered to reply so personally I wouldn't consider them. Of course ymmv and perhaps they're in a better mood should you ask questions and not just hit the 'order' button and hope everything works out well. Whichever one you pick, do let us know about te outcome and snap a pic! The leather jacket thing can develop into a dangerous addiction though. I started out 2 years back with -what I know know to be- a comparatively low-grade, flimsy one. Now own 2 Aero's and have 2 more on order

 

[regius]

does anyone know the different between the ELC Luftwaffe and the new Ostmann?

 

[Edward]

does anyone know the different between the ELC Luftwaffe and the new Ostmann?

If memory serves, it was confirmed recently by their US rep that it's the same jacket, relabelled, as some customers simply wouldn't buy one with the Luftwaffe label.

As to the original list, there are several of tge Aero prewar design halfbelts that would work in this context.

 

[Rudie]

I tried on ELC test jackets, both Hartmann and Luftwaffe. The Hartmann was too flimsy for my taste, more like a shirt. It looked horrible with my sloping shoulders. The other was really nice, but they weren't prepared to make me one with sleeves long enough to fit me, so I got me a custom Aero 30s half belt with double chest pockets and Hartmann style flap pockets instead. In hindsight ELC really done me a favor by turning me to Aero. I love that jacket.

 

[Capesofwrath]

The OP could look on eBay UK where the Eastman’s turn up pretty often in lightly used condition and don’t fetch all that much. Or how about this original if the size happened to be right. It looks really nice for a post war jacket and it's even been listed almost correctly…

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231789053435?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I’ve always liked the style and used to have a LL Corsair for the bike many years ago. Though that didn’t have the two pockets. I’ve got an AL two pocket Roadster now in black goat which is close to the look, and which I bought from their opening sale quite cheaply. The goat suits the style better than heavier hides I think. Aero used to do a two pocket HWM and may still do. They do a slimmer one now as well.

Apparently most of the original jackets were brown and IMO they do look better in dark brown.

 

[Sloan1874]

This example looks a nice jacket, but I would be slightly wary as the seller is a dab hand at photographing a jacket in a way that gives it more life than it actually has. I bought an A-2 off him that looked in great nick on screen but when it arrived the patina was 'heavy' to say the least and it took an Aero refurb to make it re-sellable. Not saying all his stuff is like that, but I would proceed with caution.

 

[Dumb&dumber]

Hi all
have two originals from the 30ies 40ties, NO REPROS.
if anyone interested , happy to sell them.
Please pm if seriously interested.

 

[Mysteryo]

Here's an original one, real bargain IMO, for those how fit:http://www.lapetitepiece.fr/Blouson...ancais-Allemand-Aviation-WW2-p-1365-c-9.html#

 

[Dumb&dumber]

Post war...compare zips and pockets...but nice for reenacting and excellent price...but post war.