Freewheelers vs. The Real McCoys vs. Vanson Cross Zip Jackets

[JMax]

^^^yeah. I do hope BA has better luck than I have with Langlitz.

I’ll still buy another vtg one at the right price tho.

 

[Blackadder]

^^^yeah. I do hope BA has better luck than I have with Langlitz.

I’ll still buy another vtg one at the right price tho.

Almost all small sizes Langlitz I saw are ladies version. Still looking though.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

So then the next step is to get you into some true vintage halfbelts so that you can drop the “almost” from your blog.

Pretty much. I just need ones that are short enough. I'm also interested in French cyclist jackets given how short they are. I found a nice one but at 1100 usd I feel like it's a but much.

 

[Superfluous]

I re-read the posts in this thread. I was clearly out-of-line. I misinterpreted @ton312 's posts and saw things that were not there. I apologize to @ton312 for my inappropriate comments. I also apologize to @dudewuttheheck for wreaking havoc on his thread. Congrats on your great looking Vanson. Finally, apologies to the community for the distraction.

I was asked to “get the f**k out” and, while I believe the statement was undeserved and inappropriate, others clearly share the sentiment as evidenced by the numerous affirmations. I have said some stupid sh*t on TFL, but I don’t think I have ever been so overtly hateful to anyone here. I can be imbecilic and argumentative, but I am not cruel. I must concede that having someone I respect direct me to “GTFO” stung – it left a mark. The affirmations from other members were also noteworthy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this wonderful community for the past eight years and I am sincerely grateful to everyone who offered their knowledge, wisdom, and friendship during that time. That said, I have plainly worn out my welcome. Its time for me to move on . . . maybe temporarily, maybe permanently . . . we’ll see.

During the next couple of weeks, I plan to sell several jackets, including an RMC Steinbeck, Good Wear Imperial, and FCL Tyler – maybe more. Feel free to PM me if you are interested. Thereafter, I will sign-off and GTFO.

It's been a hell-of-a-ride. Best wishes to everyone.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

I re-read the posts in this thread. I was clearly out-of-line. I misinterpreted @ton312 's posts and saw things that were not there. I apologize to @ton312 for my inappropriate comments. I also apologize to @dudewuttheheck for wreaking havoc on his thread. Congrats on your great looking Vanson. Finally, apologies to the community for the distraction.

I was asked to “get the f**k out” and, while I believe the statement was undeserved and inappropriate, others clearly share the sentiment as evidenced by the numerous affirmations. I have said some stupid sh*t on TFL, but I don’t think I have ever been so overtly hateful to anyone here. I can be imbecilic and argumentative, but I am not cruel. I must concede that having someone I respect direct me to “GTFO” stung – it left a mark. The affirmations from other members were also noteworthy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this wonderful community for the past eight years and I am sincerely grateful to everyone who offered their knowledge, wisdom, and friendship during that time. That said, I have plainly worn out my welcome. Its time for me to move on . . . maybe temporarily, maybe permanently . . . we’ll see.

During the next couple of weeks, I plan to sell several jackets, including an RMC Steinbeck, Good Wear Imperial, and FCL Tyler – maybe more. Feel free to PM me if you are interested. Thereafter, I will sign-off and GTFO.

It's been a hell-of-a-ride. Best wishes to everyone.

I appreciate the apology, but I personally believe this place would be much worse without you. I sincerely hope that you choose to stay.

There are plenty of disagreements on here, but most of them end up being constructive. The amazing thing about this place is that you have guys like you and I who favor one set of aspects of a jacket while dudes like @ton312 And @Monitor who favor some different aspects, yet we all grt along pretty well for the most part. I've learned a heck of a lot from all three of you guys.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

So then the next step is to get you into some true vintage halfbelts so that you can drop the “almost” from your blog.

BTW if you do ever see something that you think might suit me, please let me know! Just know it needs to be pretty darn short for me to want it!

 

[jeo]

I re-read the posts in this thread. I was clearly out-of-line. I misinterpreted @ton312 's posts and saw things that were not there. I apologize to @ton312 for my inappropriate comments. I also apologize to @dudewuttheheck for wreaking havoc on his thread. Congrats on your great looking Vanson. Finally, apologies to the community for the distraction.

I was asked to “get the f**k out” and, while I believe the statement was undeserved and inappropriate, others clearly share the sentiment as evidenced by the numerous affirmations. I have said some stupid sh*t on TFL, but I don’t think I have ever been so overtly hateful to anyone here. I can be imbecilic and argumentative, but I am not cruel. I must concede that having someone I respect direct me to “GTFO” stung – it left a mark. The affirmations from other members were also noteworthy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this wonderful community for the past eight years and I am sincerely grateful to everyone who offered their knowledge, wisdom, and friendship during that time. That said, I have plainly worn out my welcome. Its time for me to move on . . . maybe temporarily, maybe permanently . . . we’ll see.

During the next couple of weeks, I plan to sell several jackets, including an RMC Steinbeck, Good Wear Imperial, and FCL Tyler – maybe more. Feel free to PM me if you are interested. Thereafter, I will sign-off and GTFO.

It's been a hell-of-a-ride. Best wishes to everyone.

Like I said in my earlier post, I would hate to see you leave. You most certainly haven't worn out your welcome with me. You're one of the few people I "follow" on here and greatly anticipate your posts. Hope you stick around.

 

[ton312]

I re-read the posts in this thread. I was clearly out-of-line. I misinterpreted @ton312 's posts and saw things that were not there. I apologize to @ton312 for my inappropriate comments. I also apologize to @dudewuttheheck for wreaking havoc on his thread. Congrats on your great looking Vanson. Finally, apologies to the community for the distraction.

I was asked to “get the f**k out” and, while I believe the statement was undeserved and inappropriate, others clearly share the sentiment as evidenced by the numerous affirmations. I have said some stupid sh*t on TFL, but I don’t think I have ever been so overtly hateful to anyone here. I can be imbecilic and argumentative, but I am not cruel. I must concede that having someone I respect direct me to “GTFO” stung – it left a mark. The affirmations from other members were also noteworthy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this wonderful community for the past eight years and I am sincerely grateful to everyone who offered their knowledge, wisdom, and friendship during that time. That said, I have plainly worn out my welcome. Its time for me to move on . . . maybe temporarily, maybe permanently . . . we’ll see.

During the next couple of weeks, I plan to sell several jackets, including an RMC Steinbeck, Good Wear Imperial, and FCL Tyler – maybe more. Feel free to PM me if you are interested. Thereafter, I will sign-off and GTFO.

It's been a hell-of-a-ride. Best wishes to everyone.

Craig,

I will happily offer an olive branch and put this petty disagreement behind us. My statement was not meant in any way for you to leave the forum. I would not expect you to nor would I want to be responsible for that. I am here for light hearted fun. Perhaps our passions for the subject run too deep at times and it is easy to get carried away behind a keyboard. Besides we have shared too many laughs and arguments over the years to stop now, it won’t really get good until we are doing it in 40 years from behind a walker or in the comfort of a craft-matic adjustable bed.

I suppose my colorful language can be seen as offensive. I mean no offense, nor do I believe my opinions should ever, in anyway, be taken as fact. I hold no grudge or ill will. I’m Italian after all. As a child my mother would beat me with a wooden spoon one minute and be kissing my forehead and serving me bracioli the next.

Don’t worry, I’m not threatening to kiss your forehead. Peace to you sir.

 

[JMax]

Craig,

I will happily offer an olive branch and put this petty disagreement behind us. My statement was not meant in anyway for you to leave the forum. I would not expect you to nor would I want to be responsible for that. I am here for light hearted fun. Perhaps our passions for the subject run too deep at times and it is easy to get carried away behind a keyboard. Besides we have shared too many laughs and arguments over the years to stop now, it won’t really get good until we are doing it in 40 years from behind a walker or in the comfort of a craft-matic adjustable bed.

I suppose my colorful language can be seen as offensive. I mean no offense, nor do I believe my opinions should ever, in anyway, be taken as fact. I hold no grudge or ill will. I’m Italian after all. As a child my mother would beat me with a wooden spoon one minute and be kissing my forehead and serving me bracioli the next.

Don’t worry, I’m not threatening to kiss your forehead. Peace to you sir.

The wooden spoon is a Latina mom thing. And the flip flop wielded like the Glaive.

 

[El Marro]

I re-read the posts in this thread. I was clearly out-of-line. I misinterpreted @ton312 's posts and saw things that were not there. I apologize to @ton312 for my inappropriate comments. I also apologize to @dudewuttheheck for wreaking havoc on his thread. Congrats on your great looking Vanson. Finally, apologies to the community for the distraction.

It takes class to own up for your mistakes and you’ve certainly got class @Superfluous. I hope you decide to stick around here because I enjoy the passion as well as the technicality that you bring to pursuit of jacket collection.

 

[Marc mndt]

It is a very high quality piece no doubt, and I never once said otherwise, but the fit is poor. The shoulders are vacant and it’s entirely too long. A cross zip should not fall where it does in the case of your FW.

Yes I do accept your fit criticisms and what is more, I appreciate them. I need people to give me harsh critiques of how things fit me. It's very helpful. Personally, I think the jacket looks good on me, especially when zipped up.

I am with Tony on this one, I think the fit is poor.

I hope you don't mind me using your pics to prove my point. Let me know if you do, then I'll remove them from my post.

I think the Labrea is one size too big on you in terms of shoulder width and body/sleeve length. This is me wearing a (size 42) labrea that's too big on me, note the shoulders that are too wide and the body that's too long, similar to yours :

The above jacket looks terrible on me. Apart from the wide shoulders and the long body length, it also has a huge bottom hem overhang. Overall your jacket looks 10x better but it's still a poor fit.

Because I have a small waist and no hips I'm able to wear the labrea one size down (size 40) from my actual size (42). The difference is huge. The shoulders are where they should be and the sleeve and body length are spot on :

That said, I still think it looks good now and will get better.

The Labrea is an awesome jacket but I don't think it fits your build. Just like the Mulholland will never fit my build. I don't think breaking a jacket in will change that.

 

[Aloysius]

I didn't know such shops existed for jeans. That would appeal to me! I tried and failed a few times to get my favourite suit trousers copied precisely- I like a front rise of 11" and a large rear rise of 17-17.5" because I have a big ass from a lifetime of sport and weightlifting, and no one seemed to be able to get their head around how that had been achieved, which was worrying. Time and again I'd end up with a high front rise or a low back rise.

Left Field Atlas. It’s a “lifter’s cut”.

Sugar Cane 1947 is another great option, and basically my go to recommendation.

Iron Heart, which you tried, has a cult following but their fit is very… individual.

 

[Will Zach]

My conclusion from this thread is that I will never have a jacket that fits like Marc's or Jake's or Ton's or Craig's, so if I can do just a rough approximation of that, I will be ahead.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

I am with Tony on this one, I think the fit is poor.

I hope you don't mind me using your pics to prove my point. Let me know if you do, then I'll remove them from my post.

I think the Labrea is one size too big on you in terms of shoulder width and body/sleeve length. This is me wearing a (size 42) labrea that's too big on me, note the shoulders that are too wide and the body that's too long, similar to yours :

View attachment 413628 View attachment 413627

The above jacket looks terrible on me. Apart from the wide shoulders and the long body length, it also has a huge bottom hem overhang. Overall your jacket looks 10x better but it's still a poor fit.

Because I have a small waist and no hips I'm able to wear the labrea one size down (size 40) from my actual size (42). The difference is huge. The shoulders are where they should be and the sleeve and body length are spot on :

View attachment 413629 View attachment 413630 View attachment 413631


The Labrea is an awesome jacket but I don't think it fits your build. Just like the Mulholland will never fit my build. I don't think breaking a jacket in will change that.

I don't mind at all. There was never any doubt in my mind that your La Brea fits you better than mine fits me. With that said, yours fits you ridiculously well. I have never had a jacket fit me as well as the La Brea fits you. Even my custom jackets never fit that well. As a result, I feel that it's a bit of an unfair comparison.

As of right now, I still think the brown La Brea is worth keeping, but I do see a future in which I part with it.

 

[Marc mndt]

There was never any doubt in my mind that your La Brea fits you better than mine fits me. With that said, yours fits you ridiculously well.

Crazy right, the difference one size number makes. Unfortunately the jacket is not mine, it's @TheBigEraser 's.

Is your Labrea the same size number as your Bodie? (Which fits you ridiculously well. Almost as good as your Vanson )

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Crazy right, the difference one size number makes. Unfortunately the jacket is not mine, it's @TheBigEraser 's.

Is your Labrea the same size number as your Bodie? (Which fits you ridiculously well. Almost as good as your Vanson )

View attachment 413833 View attachment 413832

Yup, same size. Honestly neither this nor the Vanson fits me as well as the La Brea fits you. If you look closely, you can see that the Vanson is too loose in some places. It just looks like a perfect fit because it's one of only two jackets I have ever owned that is remotely close to being short enough for me. It's not actually perfect at all.

Also of note as that the Bodie is extremely tapered. It's more tapered than the La Brea. I need a lot of tapered, but also a short enough jacket.

 

[Rich22]

View attachment 413833

@dudewuttheheck This jacket looks like it fits you perfectly on the shoulders, which seems to be an issue in the other jackets you own- when ordering custom jackets in the future, definitely take the measurements of this one into consideration.

 

[Canuck Panda]

@dudewuttheheck Out of all three, I'd go with the LaBrea.

It's brown. Very special color for a leather tog jacket. Only other authentic brown leather tog is the LW one. But I don't think he repro the label and lining detail like the LaBrea. Details matters in the top price category.

I don't see a problem with the fit either. Yours looks no different than how FW intended it to be, on their model:

Different poses and different camera angles will make the fit pics look different.

The Vanson wins on value, but it's dime a dozen. The brown La Brea is the only special one here. I can't believe I am saying this because I would usually go with two (or more) cheaper jackets than one expensive one. But based on the selection of these three, it's the brown La Brea.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

@dudewuttheheck This jacket looks like it fits you perfectly on the shoulders, which seems to be an issue in the other jackets you own- when ordering custom jackets in the future, definitely take the measurements of this one into consideration.

Yes, it is clear that I need shoulders of around 17-17.25". I don't have any custom jackets planned, but if I do, I will make sure to keep this in mind and will do so as well for any stock jackets as well.

@dudewuttheheck Out of all three, I'd go with the LaBrea.

It's brown. Very special color for a leather tog jacket. Only other authentic brown leather tog is the LW one. But I don't think he repro the label and lining detail like the LaBrea. Details matters in the top price category.

I don't see a problem with the fit either. Yours looks no different than how FW intended it to be, on their model:
View attachment 413921
Different poses and different camera angles will make the fit pics look different.
View attachment 413922

The Vanson wins on value, but it's dime a dozen. The brown La Brea is the only special one here. I can't believe I am saying this because I would usually go with two (or more) cheaper jackets than one expensive one. But based on the selection of these three, it's the brown La Brea.

Thanks for this. I appreciate a contrasting opinion here. It's still my favorite jacket of the three (I already sold the J24.) The Vanson fits better, but is not perfect. I really don't mind the shoulders being too big that much. Would it be better for me if they were smaller? Sure, but this jacket was designed this way as you have pointed out. They fall over onto my arms nicely so it's not a huge issue.

Also, Marc did use by far the worst picture available of the jacket unzipped. I'm not saying he did this on purpose. I mean, I posted the pic first. Again, I will reiterate that I know that the Vanson fits better, but I do not consider the La Brea a bad fit. It's definitely not perfect, but I don't really mind.

I think the La Brea looks better here than in the initial photos that I posted. Perfect? No, but bad? No.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Alright, I'm going to consider selling the La Brea. Anyone genuinely interested dm me.