Interesting size chart for stock Vanson and Schott jackets

[Tony No-Toes]

This might be a good resource for some of us. It's from a Japanese site so I wonder if the stock sizes that these measurements are derived from are modified specifically for the Japanese market by these manufactures.

http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/jalana/riders-size.html

 

[captaincaveman1]

Holy crap! No full grown man should have a size 32 chest. Eee gad. I can't believe men are so slight over there. Put down the tofu and eat some chicken and tuna for godsake. Does the chart only go up to 38? Surely I'm missing something.

 

[The Good]

Those jackets look way too small on their models, and they should be below the belt, without it showing... A somewhat looser fit in the torso can go a long way to making the jackets look better.

It looks like one ought to size up one if ordering from them.

 

[garzo]

It's certainly strange that all the big U.S. and British leather jacket manufacturers are focusing so intensely on Japan. I guess it's because the Japanese have a greater interest and more disposable cash then we do. I really wanted a Vanson jacket -- I was ready to buy a Vanson Model A or a Model B. But the Vanson folks showed very little enthusiasm about me doing business with them. It took about three weeks for them to get back to me on a simple question regarding sizing. And then they told me that it would be a 3 to 4 month wait for any order. I had also been looking at Fox Creek with great interest and when I contacted them they responded in about 20 minutes time with all the necessary answers to my questions. I ended up ordering a Fox Creek Grayson and it shipped practically the same day. I'm now about to order my second Fox Creek.
Suffice to say, I just don't get the Vanson praise. The jacket may be nice, but it seems next to impossible to order one unless you have lots of time and patience -- about half-a-year's worth.

 

[crimsonofsam]

It's certainly strange that all the big U.S. and British leather jacket manufacturers are focusing so intensely on Japan. I guess it's because the Japanese have a greater interest and more disposable cash then we do. I really wanted a Vanson jacket -- I was ready to buy a Vanson Model A or a Model B. But the Vanson folks showed very little enthusiasm about me doing business with them. It took about three weeks for them to get back to me on a simple question regarding sizing. And then they told me that it would be a 3 to 4 month wait for any order. I had also been looking at Fox Creek with great interest and when I contacted them they responded in about 20 minutes time with all the necessary answers to my questions. I ended up ordering a Fox Creek Grayson and it shipped practically the same day. I'm now about to order my second Fox Creek.
Suffice to say, I just don't get the Vanson praise. The jacket may be nice, but it seems next to impossible to order one unless you have lots of time and patience -- about half-a-year's worth.

Ditto

 

[Peacoat]

Garzo: I haven't had a problem with communicating with Vanson. Can't say that I did much with email, however. I just picked up the phone and called. Got through immediately. Over a period of several months I talked with two people there, and both were knowledgeable and helpful. Same with Fox Creek.

My wait for the Vanson was a different story. It took seven months to get the jacket. I will say that the wait was worth it, though, now that I have the jacket. I can't see myself ever getting another motorcycle jacket as I like the Vanson so much.

 

[Justhandguns]

It's certainly strange that all the big U.S. and British leather jacket manufacturers are focusing so intensely on Japan. I guess it's because the Japanese have a greater interest and more disposable cash then we do. I really wanted a Vanson jacket -- I was ready to buy a Vanson Model A or a Model B. But the Vanson folks showed very little enthusiasm about me doing business with them. It took about three weeks for them to get back to me on a simple question regarding sizing. And then they told me that it would be a 3 to 4 month wait for any order. I had also been looking at Fox Creek with great interest and when I contacted them they responded in about 20 minutes time with all the necessary answers to my questions. I ended up ordering a Fox Creek Grayson and it shipped practically the same day. I'm now about to order my second Fox Creek.
Suffice to say, I just don't get the Vanson praise. The jacket may be nice, but it seems next to impossible to order one unless you have lots of time and patience -- about half-a-year's worth.

I think Vanson is just slow, I heard from another forum recently that the wait is around 6months from now. Since they have just finished a large order for Japan.... yes, I mean... Japan.

It took 5 months for me to get my custom Model B, so that is pretty much what you would expect. Mr Peacoat is absolutely right, just give them a call on the phone, it takes forever for them to answer your emails, probably it's because there is nobody who has time to sit down and type..... But you definitely won't be disappointed with a Vanson jacket. You can probably search for Vanson dealers, they should carry those more popular models with the standard sizes.

 

[53Effie]

My experience with Vanson has not been too positive. Took almost seven months to get a non-custom jacket and the quality and weight of the leather just does not measure up to the other two Vansons that I have purchased on Ebay, one of which was brand new. Customer relations got a little stormy along the way also. The quality of the other two was what caused me to decide to order the recent new one in the first place. I guess I would classify the new one as passable, but just not what I was expecting based on prior experience. Just a little disappointing. On a positive note my wife thinks it is the best looking jacket that I own. That is a bright spot since she is normally not at all keen on my jacket collecting habit. It does fit well for riding too.

 

[kojax]

i am 51 i take a size 36 in a a-2 jackjet

 

[Justhandguns]

53Effie, which Vanson is that?

Umm, my speculation is that, Vanson is probably trying to further expand their businesses & production, and is in fact stretching it a little bit right now.
It is always difficult to retain the workmanship while over expanding. I hope Vanson won't go down to this track.

 

[kyboots]

Listen I had the same bad experience with Vanson too.I emailed them and NEVER received a response not even a "kiss your butt". I wanted to get one of their jackets and had a question. I don't know if management knows this, but I would have to think they would have an idea about poor customer service. I guess they are selling so much to Japan they don't care, but the tide will turn. John

 

[53Effie]

It is the Ike model. I really like the styling of the Ike and I don't see too many of them. The cut of the jacket is a little different than the example on their site...a little longer and maybe a little more generous. I have wondered if they have modified it per the Orvis Ike. I agree with your assessment of the possible business expansion. That is just what I have been thinking.

 

[Tony No-Toes]

Vanson, Langlitz, Schott, Wesco Boots, and Filson are all big in Japan because the Japanese are very much into American made goods of the highest quality with a history.

I posted this size chart because most U.S. retailers don't supply such detailed measurements nor shots of their goods, especially fit shots with the weight and height of people wearing the garments. I think this is the way it should be done. Langlitz and Aero are different. They make their jackets to fit an individual according to the dimensions of that person. Vanson and Schott are very much off the rack manufactures so to speak so I thought a size chart of some sort might be helpful.

I've had email correspondence with Kim at Vanson that was very detailed and helpful. I will order from them within the year. I don't want this thread to be about customer experiences with Vanson's customer service. That's been done elsewhere already.

I'm posting this primarily as a sizing resource since they're so damn hard to find.

 

[captaincaveman1]

^^ Good point about the outside-the-box sizing chart. Ordering online is a crapshoot. More information makers can provide customers the better. In addition to dimensions of the people modeling the garments it would help to have measurements of the jackets themselves. I know a Vanson 42 is much different than a Fox Creek 42 or a Schott 42. Heck, there are variations within each maker's line-up.

 

[Tony No-Toes]

I don't know why the focus is always on chest size for so many manufacturers. It's just one measurement out of 4 or 5 measurements that are all necessary in determining a proper size. If you long in the arms or torso, or short, there's a chance that you're going to be lacking and have to make a return. Some of this could be avoided by providing comprehensive size charts and notes about figment. The Japanese retailers make these up themselves.

Anytime I'm curious about a jacket, I add "japan" or "jp" to my advanced Google search and just about every time I've been able to come up with multiple images and detailed size charts. I searched recently for Schaefer Ranch wear, a company that makes it's goods in west Texas. Like every other U.S. clothing manufacture, there's not much of a size chart so I went to the Japanese site with my search and got all the information and multiple shots of the garment in question. I couldn't even see the back of the blazer I wanted to buy on the Schaefer site. But over there someone took the time to provide all varieties of information about sizing and fit with measurements.
Why don't we do that here? I mean, I do care how my stuff fits....

 

[Fletch]

Could it be that the US makers are going to want Japan-type prices and volume from domestic customers before they'll be willing to give us a Japan-type sales experience?

The idea of the American buyer is not as flexible as we the buyers would like. The manufacturer / marketer thinks we care about brand and image above all, then quality of make, and only then (if ever) detail and fit. He thinks this in large part because he, and others, have stayed in business thinking so. Is it crazy to think he would resent small numbers of problem customers who all of a sudden start demanding to be educated about a product that is meant simply to be bought?

Contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right. For one thing, he's wrong when he asks more of the seller's time than it's profitable to give him. And you can bet the reason Japan gets more customer service is because they pay for it - many times over!

Note: I don't personally endorse this attitude. I think the cost of providing more info to US consumers would be marginal and not threaten the business model. But I believe this is a common attitude among manufacturers, especially small ones - who either don't have a customer service manager or who consider their customers to be retailers, not end-users.

As for online business, that's something that is still foreign to a lot of craft trades. Does your cabinetmaker use email? your auto body man? No. There's no clear advantage, and a few scary things. Trade secrets are a natural assumption and a barrier to customer education. Keyboarding is also intimidating, because a lot of these guys never learned to type or even spell well.

 

[Peacoat]

My experience with Vanson has not been too positive. Took almost seven months to get a non-custom jacket and the quality and weight of the leather just does not measure up to the other two Vansons that I have purchased on Ebay, one of which was brand new. Customer relations got a little stormy along the way also. The quality of the other two was what caused me to decide to order the recent new one in the first place. I guess I would classify the new one as passable, but just not what I was expecting based on prior experience. Just a little disappointing. On a positive note my wife thinks it is the best looking jacket that I own. That is a bright spot since she is normally not at all keen on my jacket collecting habit. It does fit well for riding too.

What type leather did you get; was it the Freize? I have heard reports that some customers haven't been too happy with the weight of that style of leather.

 

[53Effie]

What type leather did you get; was it the Freize? I have heard reports that some customers haven't been too happy with the weight of that style of leather.

It was ordered as competition weight cowhide. When it arrived, I noted that it is quite different than my other two jackets; so I contacted them to confirm the leather type. I was advised that it was constructed of competition weight cowhide. It actually feels more like dry a-2 weight horsehide. Some Obernaufs has helped with the dryness. It sure wouldn't stand on its own like your Enfield did when new. Otherwise, it is a nice jacket...fits well and seems to be very well constructed and even came with a tartan lining. Fits really well for riding. As has been stated, not all cows are the same, I guess.