Eagerly Awaiting New G&B Civil A-2

[Spoonbelly]

Was thinking of supplementing my Cockpit goatskin A-2 with a G&B civil goatskin A-2. They are now offering 15% off in January so I guess I needed to make my move. I've heard that their sizes are pretty large so for the 48 tall Cockpit I ordered, I decided to order a 46 tall seal goatskin from G&B.. Hope the fit is good. They are supposed to be very good quality for the price, and the 15% pushed me over the edge.

 

[Phantomfixer]

dude enjoy your G&B A-2....very well constructed and will last a looong time...post some pics when you get her.....

 

[Doctor Strange]

I've been wearing one as my heaviest-use leather jacket since 2001. No problems with the zipper in all that time, and the only signs of wear are some of the dye topcoat wearing off on the windflap and epaulets. The "texturized" nylon knits quickly became fuzzed-out and pilled, but they are very tough (it's difficult to cut the individual threads) and have held up great, even though they look worn.

It's a very solid jacket. If the fit is good for you, you'll be very pleased.

 

[Spoonbelly]

I've been wearing one as my heaviest-use leather jacket since 2001. No problems with the zipper in all that time, and the only signs of wear are some of the dye topcoat wearing off on the windflap and epaulets. The "texturized" nylon knits quickly became fuzzed-out and pilled, but they are very tough (it's difficult to cut the individual threads) and have held up great, even though they look worn.

It's a very solid jacket. If the fit is good for you, you'll be very pleased.

Thank you for the comments. I live in southern Dutchess Co. My Cockpit was getting lonely. I'm actually a pea coat maven.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I live atop Shenandoah Mountain, right on the Putnam/Dutchess border. I'm no maven, but my one Sterlingwear peacoat gets a lot of use when it's too cold for flight jackets. The only Cockpit jacket I have at this point is a (very inaccurate) M-43 I got on sale a few months ago. Oh, and I got my son a Cockpit WEP jacket back at the height of his Stargate: SG-1 fandom around a decade ago. It's nicely made, but the zipper was difficult from day one.

As I've stated here many times, I've come to believe that most Schott, Cockpit, Legendary, US Wings, and some other label/brand mid-range leather jackets all come out of a single NJ factory. There's nothing wrong with them, but G&B jackets are definitely a notch up in quality.

 

[Spoonbelly]

I live atop Shenandoah Mountain, right on the Putnam/Dutchess border. I'm no maven, but my one Sterlingwear peacoat gets a lot of use when it's too cold for flight jackets. The only Cockpit jacket I have at this point is a (very inaccurate) M-43 I got on sale a few months ago. Oh, and I got my son a Cockpit WEP jacket back at the height of his Stargate: SG-1 fandom around a decade ago. It's nicely made, but the zipper was difficult from day one.

As I've stated here many times, I've come to believe that most Schott, Cockpit, Legendary, US Wings, and some other label/brand mid-range leather jackets all come out of a single NJ factory. There's nothing wrong with them, but G&B jackets are definitely a notch up in quality.

I live in Hopewell right near 376/52 intersection. We're only a few miles from each other. Hope I don't have to send the new G&B back as I'm hearing that they fit very big.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

If you ordered one size smaller you should be OK. But if your build is more "modern" vs. WWII military shape, the jacket could be a bit small.

 

[Seb Lucas]

As I've stated here many times, I've come to believe that most Schott, Cockpit, Legendary, US Wings, and some other label/brand mid-range leather jackets all come out of a single NJ factory. There's nothing wrong with them, but G&B jackets are definitely a notch up in quality.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that New Jersey factory is owned, or was owned by Ros Schott.

 

[Spoonbelly]

If you ordered one size smaller you should be OK. But if your build is more "modern" vs. WWII military shape, the jacket could be a bit small.

I'm more like WWII military shape. They emailed me and said they had to make it (46 tall in goat seal color), and that I would not get it till 2/15 - bummer.

 

[Spoonbelly]

I live atop Shenandoah Mountain, right on the Putnam/Dutchess border. I'm no maven, but my one Sterlingwear peacoat gets a lot of use when it's too cold for flight jackets. The only Cockpit jacket I have at this point is a (very inaccurate) M-43 I got on sale a few months ago. Oh, and I got my son a Cockpit WEP jacket back at the height of his Stargate: SG-1 fandom around a decade ago. It's nicely made, but the zipper was difficult from day one.

As I've stated here many times, I've come to believe that most Schott, Cockpit, Legendary, US Wings, and some other label/brand mid-range leather jackets all come out of a single NJ factory. There's nothing wrong with them, but G&B jackets are definitely a notch up in quality.

When I first got my Cockpit A-2 the zipper was a little sticky and "tight". I read some where here that if you take carnuba wax (car paste wax) and go over the front and back of the zipper with a little wax and then rub it off it makes the zippers work smooth and friction free. I did that and the zipper is fine now.

 

[Doctor Strange]

We tried something like that and it didn't help much. Zipping was just always a pain on that jacket. But he wore it regularly for three or four years anyway. It's hanging at the back of the closet now in case somebody needs an emergency jacket sometime. (I also got my son a couple of MA-1s and my daughter a Fidelity peacoat when they were younger... and all of them got lost when their mother moved multiple times over the last few years! D'oh!)

 

[IXL]

When I first got my Cockpit A-2 the zipper was a little sticky and "tight". I read some where here that if you take carnuba wax (car paste wax) and go over the front and back of the zipper with a little wax and then rub it off it makes the zippers work smooth and friction free. I did that and the zipper is fine now.

We always had good results using Chapstick.