nick123
I'll Lock Up
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- 6,371
- Location
- California
I have several Chinese made Alpha jackets and they're tanks.
Contact Rothco directly and they will likely send you actual measurements. They did that for me for one of their jacket models. I decided against their stuff since it doesn't seem much good, but I guess if you want a cheap jacket to kick around they might be okay. I had got a Concord jacket a couple years ago, but it was an old dead-stock jacket, it was not very good (I gave it away to a guy in the office who liked it). I suggest watching e-bay for non-promotional photos of jackets since that's the best way to gauge quality, I mean real-world photos taken of real jackets by regular joes. The reality is it appears Alpha makes by a notable delta the best quality non-specialist, non-fanatic (i.e. Buzz, etc) jackets.Has anyone tried the current MA1s made by Concord or Rothco? I've seen it claimed both made jackets for the USAF. Both look good in photos. Actually, the Rothco looks more like Macqueen's Hunter jacket than the Alpha (windflap stitching aside, which is the zigzag on both). Got a hankering for a budget orange-liner (one day I'll buy a green lined Buzz), and the Rothco is looking nice. Sizes sound extreme, mind: I'm an xl/xxl in most things, but the Rothco size chart makes me look like a medium??
I hope so but it seems like such a small % of the overall picture with no real impact, and of course it doesn't do anything to create a mid-market which used to exist. The elites are going to try damn hard to automate everything very soon, which will mean regular joes will have to start making much/most of what they need themselves and not play the game that the tech bros and big corps want us to play. But that will be motivated by desperation and exclusion, not hipster artisanal appreciation.I'm really hoping that the 'hipsters' breathe a lot of life into sustainability and quality movement for years to come. It's the perfect antidote to race to the bottom of globalized businesses.
@Edward, it's that old thing about having a father who tells you there's nothing wrong with 'an honest day's work' when you're thinking that when you grow up, you'd prefer to have a job where you didn't have to wash your hands afterwards. It's a kinda malaise of developed economies where everyone thinks they're 'too good' for blue collar work. Japan is feeling it now.
Maybe America is kind of moving on from that now to the next stage what with all these young hipster guys kicking off a kind of artisanal revival?
The Chinese put themselves into space, built their own aircraft carrier, shot down a satellite in orbit...I'm pretty sure they are capable of making a good nylon windbreaker if costs and price point aren't the primary concern.
I'm really hoping that the 'hipsters' breathe a lot of life into sustainability and quality movement for years to come. It's the perfect antidote to race to the bottom of globalized businesses.
Contact Rothco directly and they will likely send you actual measurements. They did that for me for one of their jacket models. I decided against their stuff since it doesn't seem much good, but I guess if you want a cheap jacket to kick around they might be okay. I had got a Concord jacket a couple years ago, but it was an old dead-stock jacket, it was not very good (I gave it away to a guy in the office who liked it). I suggest watching e-bay for non-promotional photos of jackets since that's the best way to gauge quality, I mean real-world photos taken of real jackets by regular joes. The reality is it appears Alpha makes by a notable delta the best quality non-specialist, non-fanatic (i.e. Buzz, etc) jackets.
I always remember the story of the post-Doc academic who retrained as a plumber and abouled his income because so many people p[ushed their kids into "clean" jobs, there was such sa shortage of plumbers.... Cousrse, peopel in the busness tell me it is possible to do very well, but the trade off is you have to do the out of hours stuff, the anti-social hours and all that. Gonig to be interesting to see what happens going forward, once there are no new, cheaper countries in which to manufacture....
I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when we get past this "China = cheap rubbish" mentality, and companies let China have a go at doing high end. I think a lot of folks will be very surprised.
Being unhappy with made in China gear only makes sense when it's inferior. It's often not. It's often better. Trust what you see and feel with your hands and eyes. Most people on the internet who bitch and moan and pontificate about clothing haven't actually held, owned, or worn what they're talking about. I used to read comments from all sorts of wankers on other forums going on about how Gucci shoes are crap. Sure, some of their one-season-only shoes are meh and to be avoided, but if you buy their classic shoes they last for years and years and take a kicking (unless you go rock climbing in them or standing around in ponds). I'm still wearing my first pair, now 7+ years and still wearable and looking great, although finally starting to wear through on the soles. In other words, I know that those whiners were wrong about Gucci. It's the same with all this other stuff we talk about in this forum. I have a USA made Alpha MA-1 (civilian, poly insulation) and I've had a brand new China made Alpha MA-1 (civilian, poly insulation) and the latter was far better and more consistently constructed.
Has anyone tried the current MA1s made by Concord or Rothco? I've seen it claimed both made jackets for the USAF. Both look good in photos. Actually, the Rothco looks more like Macqueen's Hunter jacket than the Alpha (windflap stitching aside, which is the zigzag on both). Got a hankering for a budget orange-liner (one day I'll buy a green lined Buzz), and the Rothco is looking nice. Sizes sound extreme, mind: I'm an xl/xxl in most things, but the Rothco size chart makes me look like a medium??
I’ve been reading the last posts on this thread with great interest. Are original nylon flight jackets not available, nowadays? Or are folks just not interested in originals the way they once were? It seems odd to me that nylon junkies might pay more than £400 for a reproduction 1960s MA-1 unless original 1960s MA-1s are no longer available. I ask in all sincerity as I’ve not shopped for vintage nylon in years.