Heats Straps Chief Coat vs Ship John Wills Jacket

[Bamaboots]

Hi All,

I am planning to get either the chief coat from heat straps or wills jacket from ship John for my up and coming field construction job in Canada and was wondering if anyone has tried either of these on the site and if it does hold up.

Cheers,
Tim

Try your question here. Most of the experienced jacket folks spend their time in the Outerwear Thread.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/ask-a-question-get-an-answer-about-outerwear.102916/unread

 

[Tca46]

Try your question here. Most of the experienced jacket folks spend their time in the Outerwear Thread.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/ask-a-question-get-an-answer-about-outerwear.102916/unread

Thanks!

 

[Peacoat]

I'm going to move it to Outerwear for him.

 

[Schambach]

Doesn't shipjohn have a couple years wait for those Wills jackets? I'm curious about the heatstraps stuff, there's another company called tinduck making similar gear.

 

[ton312]

Doesn't shipjohn have a couple years wait for those Wills jackets? I'm curious about the heatstraps stuff, there's another company called tinduck making similar gear.

The tinduck jacket looks exactly what I had hoped the Rambl'n jacket I bought from SJ would be (and wasn't)! I sold my SJ jacket almost instantly as it was essentially a chore coat and not a trucker at all.

 

[Monitor]

Shit John is literally a scam and don't fall for it. And even that Heat Straps thing seems overpriced for what you're getting and it fits like utter trash.

Get a Carhartt, seriously. Don't be a victim to these "workwear" scammers.
They literally live off the success of actual workwear companies like Carhartt while not having a single original idea in their collective heads. I mean, Ship John would just get Andy and Bax beanies for $8 a piece, remove the tag and re-sell them at like thirty dollars. That ought to say everything you need to know about the "maker".

I mean, what the hell is even that!?

 

[Monitor]

Let's not forget that Ship John was broken into the other day and only a couple of Wills jackets got stolen. Imagine breaking into a store, risking jail time and possibly getting shot and all and realizing there's literally nothing to steal, how trash everything is! Of course they grabbed only a few jackets off the wall and got away. The owner was then whining on social networks for days for the people to keep a lookout for the stolen jackets to appear on the market. Lol, yeah, someone's definitely going to notice a knock-off Carhartt in the Craigslist Work-wear section. . .

 

[ton312]

I ordered the utility trousers from tinduck. Jason, the owner, is a super nice guy. Looking forward to them!

 

[Tca46]

Thanks y’all for the input. In the meantime I’ll check out tinduck as well.

 

[Observe]

I have to say I find the hype surrounding the Ship John brand to be quite annoying. I'd say if you want workwear go with actual workwear instead of expensive LARP gear, and I say this as a LARPer.

 

[ton312]

Thanks y’all for the input. In the meantime I’ll check out tinduck as well.

My biggest beef with Ship was not the quality or the construction…my jacket was extremely well made from a very nice mid weight denim. Tons of great, well thought out detail. It just came in 3” longer than the published spec’s. It also took an eternity to receive. That I can actually live with but to blow the specs that spectacularly was bothersome to me and ultimately convinced me to look elsewhere and not pursue the brands other offerings.

 

[Will Zach]

Let's not forget that Ship John was broken into the other day and only a couple of Wills jackets got stolen. Imagine breaking into a store, risking jail time and possibly getting shot and all and realizing there's literally nothing to steal, how trash everything is! Of course they grabbed only a few jackets off the wall and got away. The owner was then whining on social networks for days for the people to keep a lookout for the stolen jackets to appear on the market. Lol, yeah, someone's definitely going to notice a knock-off Carhartt in the Craigslist Work-wear section. . .

Wasn't the owner also cracked on the head with a wrench a few years ago? Portland is rough, man. Lol.

 

[El Marro]

This will be my 25th year working construction and I have to agree with the others here. A good Carhartt jacket will keep you warm, hold up to jobsite abuse, and if you do lose or damage the thing, it didn’t cost so much that you will be heartbroken over it.
I have tried using oilskin jackets for work and found them to be pretty miserable. They are heavy and cold, they trap sweat, and they are not waterproof either. A much better choice would be cotton duck jacket with a lining and some quality rain gear to wear over everything when you need it. With the money you save not buying the Wills jacket, you might be able to find some Gore-Tex rain gear!

 

[handymike]

My son just bought a black Carhartt 141 for $75 new, and it’s an awesome piece of Outerwear!….but they run huge.

 

[navetsea]

from pictures those SJ collar always looking wrong and jutting out at weird angle, like the pattern for the neckhole was less than ideal.

 

[navetsea]

Shit John is literally a scam and don't fall for it. And even that Heat Straps thing seems overpriced for what you're getting and it fits like utter trash.

Get a Carhartt, seriously. Don't be a victim to these "workwear" scammers.
They literally live off the success of actual workwear companies like Carhartt while not having a single original idea in their collective heads. I mean, Ship John would just get Andy and Bax beanies for $8 a piece, remove the tag and re-sell them at like thirty dollars. That ought to say everything you need to know about the "maker".

I mean, what the hell is even that!?

how about IH ? why would people buy $500 truckers and $400 jeans, they are just cotton denim not even limited run just simple heavyweight not slubby denim workwear, perhaps buying once during the hype to taste the experience, but will people keep coming back to it?
https://long-john.nl/worn-out-projects-x-iron-heart-jeans/
25oz IH after 3years worth of wear?

to me anything more than $100 for jeans is paying for the hype. because if we search we can get 21-25oz jeans for around $100-200 with all the usual (hidden rivet, raised pocket edge and belt loop, chainstitched) in my country if I would let go of another hype factor "the selvedge" and just using good weight 16-18oz denim non selvedge then I can get similarly built jeans for $30.

 

[Monitor]

how about IH ? why would people buy $500 truckers and $400 jeans, they are just cotton denim not even limited run just simple heavyweight not slubby denim workwear, perhaps buying once during the hype to taste the experience, but will people keep coming back to it?
https://long-john.nl/worn-out-projects-x-iron-heart-jeans/
25oz IH after 3years worth of wear?

to me anything more than $100 for jeans is paying for the hype. because if we search we can get 21-25oz jeans for around $100-200 with all the usual (hidden rivet, raised pocket edge and belt loop, chainstitched) in my country if I would let go of another hype factor "the selvedge" and just using good weight 16-18oz denim non selvedge then I can get similarly built jeans for $30.

Can't disagree on any of that but Iron Heart at least has a huge selection of jeans (and jackets) in different cuts, made from all sorts of denim in different weights & I don't know what else so yeah, if you can afford it, at least they've got you fully covered, which for some people who claim they couldn't find a good pair of jeans before IH (which I find difficult to believe) might matter AND more importantly, they don't rely on cheap gimmicks to sell their gear.
What I've learned in London is that Iron Heart denim is the least expensive option, sorta of a Schott deal, where you'll buy IH if you want a better class of denim that's not mall stuff but they're by far not the priciest.

But I agree that $400+ is obscenely overpriced for a pair of jeans that aren't high-fashion brand (which doesn't make it any better, just we've all agreed that I dunno, Prada must cost a lot, like we did with the NFT's so yeah) but what I'm saying here is that Iron Heart is at this point a serious, quality jeans store.

So what exactly is Ship John?

Whether or not the Wills jacket is any good isn't even relevant at this point as it is made entirely out of hype and lies. They've got like five products altogether, three denim shirts, a pair regular jeans, couple of leather trinkets & that $600 choir coat that you got to wait for until 2025. Dude, you seriously telling me you can't hire two more machinist to slap-up the most simple looking jacket in the world? Carhartt's $160 Choir Coat (same thing) is 5x more complex AND you'll still give it to your poser grandson once you get sick of it and I don't see any 5 years long waiting lists on their website.
Other than the couple of hundred photos of some guy living some pretend-American dream in the great outdoors, they got nothing that justifies either my time or my money, both of which they'll happily accept in exchange for a dead simple canvas jacket.

But on the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see how well a story can sell and how important it is. Stories are cool.

Wasn't the owner also cracked on the head with a wrench a few years ago? Portland is rough, man. Lol.

With an axe! That's when he got the idea to stock up on axes which was sorta fun. Expensive axes. I didn't know axes are so expensive!

 

[Brutus]

Can't disagree on any of that but Iron Heart at least has a huge selection of jeans (and jackets) in different cuts, made from all sorts of denim in different weights & I don't know what else so yeah, if you can afford it, at least they've got you fully covered, which for some people who claim they couldn't find a good pair of jeans before IH (which I find difficult to believe) might matter AND more importantly, they don't rely on cheap gimmicks to sell their gear.
What I've learned in London is that Iron Heart denim is the least expensive option, sorta of a Schott deal, where you'll buy IH if you want a better class of denim that's not mall stuff but they're by far not the priciest.

But I agree that $400+ is obscenely overpriced for a pair of jeans that aren't high-fashion brand (which doesn't make it any better, just we've all agreed that I dunno, Prada must cost a lot, like we did with the NFT's so yeah) but what I'm saying here is that Iron Heart is at this point a serious, quality jeans store.

So what exactly is Ship John?

Whether or not the Wills jacket is any good isn't even relevant at this point as it is made entirely out of hype and lies. They've got like five products altogether, three denim shirts, a pair regular jeans, couple of leather trinkets & that $600 choir coat that you got to wait for until 2025. Dude, you seriously telling me you can't hire two more machinist to slap-up the most simple looking jacket in the world? Carhartt's $160 Choir Coat (same thing) is 5x more complex AND you'll still give it to your poser grandson once you get sick of it and I don't see any 5 years long waiting lists on their website.
Other than the couple of hundred photos of some guy living some pretend-American dream in the great outdoors, they got nothing that justifies either my time or my money, both of which they'll happily accept in exchange for a dead simple canvas jacket.

But on the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see how well a story can sell and how important it is. Stories are cool.


With an axe! That's when he got the idea to stock up on axes which was sorta fun. Expensive axes. I didn't know axes are so expensive!

Monitor, so I guess you'll pass on those $1500 Wills V2 on Ebay, lol...You echo my disdain for Ship John, very well put.

 

[Jasonissm]

Can't disagree on any of that but Iron Heart at least has a huge selection of jeans (and jackets) in different cuts, made from all sorts of denim in different weights & I don't know what else so yeah, if you can afford it, at least they've got you fully covered, which for some people who claim they couldn't find a good pair of jeans before IH (which I find difficult to believe) might matter AND more importantly, they don't rely on cheap gimmicks to sell their gear.
What I've learned in London is that Iron Heart denim is the least expensive option, sorta of a Schott deal, where you'll buy IH if you want a better class of denim that's not mall stuff but they're by far not the priciest.

But I agree that $400+ is obscenely overpriced for a pair of jeans that aren't high-fashion brand (which doesn't make it any better, just we've all agreed that I dunno, Prada must cost a lot, like we did with the NFT's so yeah) but what I'm saying here is that Iron Heart is at this point a serious, quality jeans store.

So what exactly is Ship John?

Whether or not the Wills jacket is any good isn't even relevant at this point as it is made entirely out of hype and lies. They've got like five products altogether, three denim shirts, a pair regular jeans, couple of leather trinkets & that $600 choir coat that you got to wait for until 2025. Dude, you seriously telling me you can't hire two more machinist to slap-up the most simple looking jacket in the world? Carhartt's $160 Choir Coat (same thing) is 5x more complex AND you'll still give it to your poser grandson once you get sick of it and I don't see any 5 years long waiting lists on their website.
Other than the couple of hundred photos of some guy living some pretend-American dream in the great outdoors, they got nothing that justifies either my time or my money, both of which they'll happily accept in exchange for a dead simple canvas jacket.

But on the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see how well a story can sell and how important it is. Stories are cool.


With an axe! That's when he got the idea to stock up on axes which was sorta fun. Expensive axes. I didn't know axes are so expensive!

Well, there was also the whole fiasco with how he pays his staff minimum wage, and is generally not so pleasant to be around. Could be a reason why he is unable to hire skilled staff to sew his clothes to his standard in an expensive area. It was all said by an employee who is no longer with the company though so take of that what you will.

Here is the post about it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZgVH-iot0m/?utm_medium=share_sheet

how about IH ? why would people buy $500 truckers and $400 jeans, they are just cotton denim not even limited run just simple heavyweight not slubby denim workwear, perhaps buying once during the hype to taste the experience, but will people keep coming back to it?
https://long-john.nl/worn-out-projects-x-iron-heart-jeans/
25oz IH after 3years worth of wear?

to me anything more than $100 for jeans is paying for the hype. because if we search we can get 21-25oz jeans for around $100-200 with all the usual (hidden rivet, raised pocket edge and belt loop, chainstitched) in my country if I would let go of another hype factor "the selvedge" and just using good weight 16-18oz denim non selvedge then I can get similarly built jeans for $30.

Personally, I don't like heavy weight, Sugar Cane or TCB (both around $100-150) is reasonably priced, as well made as any of my more expensive jeans. Great vintage patterns/cut and fit well, good proportions, stock standard classic jeans is my jam. I've tried cheaper jeans like Sauce Zhan, they just don't feel as good to me or stitched as well personally. Also made of Xinjiang cotton of questionable sourcing, I feel weird for buying them now knowing more...

 

[Mrfrown]

The Carhartt items I’ve had have been quite high quality for the money.

All their out wear seems intended to be worn as @El Marro says- on top of a bunch of other stuff. So you need to size down. Their small rain jacket fits me like a slightly generous medium.

I have some pants and shorts in their “straight” fit. It’s a trim non-sloppy fit.

As to miUSA vs not…it’s a big convo. Other miUSA folks have put out chore coats in waxed and non waxed canvas. Dunno why Ship John gets all the love. I think they do a better job of showing what their product looks like when worn in. Go look at Tellason or Railcar or Freenote or whoever, they show a pristine new jacket that looks kinda boring. But I’ve seen some great well-worn ones that have lost the cardboard look…

I saw the heat straps one…some angles it looks good but others it seems a bit awkwardly proportioned. Would like to see more of it and the tinduck