I'll never be able to afford / justify that at Buzz money, though.
+1.
I simply can't bring myself to spend that sort of money on nylon. Leather - yes but nylon? No way.
I'll never be able to afford / justify that at Buzz money, though.
Seb, believe me, the difference in quality between even the best Alpha has ever made and Buzz Rickson is so great that the price of the Buzz is pretty close to what it should be. The outer cloth is of a completely different nature altogether and all the other materials and workmanship are leagues above Alpha. Easily on par with any leather jacket manufacturer.
Seb, believe me, the difference in quality between even the best Alpha has ever made and Buzz Rickson is so great that the price of the Buzz is pretty close to what it should be. The outer cloth is of a completely different nature altogether and all the other materials and workmanship are leagues above Alpha. Easily on par with any leather jacket manufacturer.
I'm always a little skeptical of the dead stock materials which are found and used by repro companies. Despite the treasure hunter mentality, there really aren't huge warehouses somewhere filled with dead stock raw materials just waiting for Buzz Rickson or whoever to find and use. Storing stuff costs money and I don't think anyone is going to keep around dozens of bolts of obsolete 50 year old nylon cloth, esp since technology does improve... we aren't making better horses, but we are making better synthetic fabrics. I admit that I am just speculating, however.Justhandguns said:Well, from what they claim is that, they use 'dead stock' nylon or the closest possible match of original nylon on those jackets, plus of course, period correct zippers and real wool knits. But then, a nylon jacket is still a nylon jacket, paying well over US400 for that? That is a definitely NO for me, with some extra 100bucks, you can get a decent leather jacket. I have looked at the nylon fabric on some of my original nylon jackets dated back from the 60s', they nylon isn't particularly robust when compared to the US made Alpha's. If one really want a robust nylon type of jacket, they should just get the current CWU jackets, better cuttings, slimmer in comparison.
I'm always a little skeptical of the dead stock materials which are found and used by repro companies. Despite the treasure hunter mentality, there really aren't huge warehouses somewhere filled with dead stock raw materials just waiting for Buzz Rickson or whoever to find and use. Storing stuff costs money and I don't think anyone is going to keep around dozens of bolts of obsolete 50 year old nylon cloth, esp since technology does improve... we aren't making better horses, but we are making better synthetic fabrics. I admit that I am just speculating, however.
Seb, believe me, the difference in quality between even the best Alpha has ever made and Buzz Rickson is so great that the price of the Buzz is pretty close to what it should be. The outer cloth is of a completely different nature altogether and all the other materials and workmanship are leagues above Alpha. Easily on par with any leather jacket manufacturer.
I'm sure that Rickson makes the best quality nylon repros on the market. I've heard nothing but good things about them. My problem with Rickson is two-fold. First, they are way undersized and seem not to make a true size XL jacket.
Second, their prices are typically higher than originals.
Quality original nylon is still available, though nowadays you do have to beat the bushes to find it. It’s not like the '90s when A, B and C series MA-1s were frequently on eBay in even size XL. But it is still out there and at prices well below what is charged by the premium repro makers.
AF
+1.
I simply can't bring myself to spend that sort of money on nylon. Leather - yes but nylon? No way.
I'm always a little skeptical of the dead stock materials which are found and used by repro companies. Despite the treasure hunter mentality, there really aren't huge warehouses somewhere filled with dead stock raw materials just waiting for Buzz Rickson or whoever to find and use. Storing stuff costs money and I don't think anyone is going to keep around dozens of bolts of obsolete 50 year old nylon cloth, esp since technology does improve... we aren't making better horses, but we are making better synthetic fabrics. I admit that I am just speculating, however.
Though this looks more like a variation on a theme than the actual 50s repro they suggest - wasn't it 1960 that saw the first of the orange liners?
Yes...but only in the L-2B. It was 1961 for the MA-1. Actually, Alpha didn't have a 1960 or 1961 contract for either jacket. The first orange liners appeared in the '61 Skyline MA-1s and the 1960 Skyline L-2Bs.
Which brings me to another point. Being a hard-core original nylon junkie, I'm more than a little frustrated by the unadulterated crap Alpha writes on their site in an effort to puff their various products. I despair that much of their advertising copy is taken as gospel and it becomes inextricably woven into internet jacket folklore. Before you know it, people are scouring the web trying to find the most accurate reproduction of the blue MA-1 that Coast Guard glider pilots wore during the invasion of Normandy.
AF
I think not even the writer of the description knows all the details and history of the MA-1 jackets. It might just be some
IT guys who do the updates for them. The same goes for Wild One Brando jacket that Schott claim to have made, Indiana Jones
jacket from Wested and the most recently Eastman vs Goodwear in the movie Red Tails.
I am not sure if Rickson makes the best quality nylon repros on the market but their alpaca lined jackets like N-1, B-10 and B-15s are not the best in terms of material used and that's for sure.I'm sure that Rickson makes the best quality nylon repros on the market. I've heard nothing but good things about them. My problem with Rickson is two-fold. First, they are way undersized and seem not to make a true size XL jacket. Second, their prices are typically higher than originals.
Quality original nylon is still available, though nowadays you do have to beat the bushes to find it. It’s not like the '90s when A, B and C series MA-1s were frequently on eBay in even size XL. But it is still out there and at prices well below what is charged by the premium repro makers.
AF
LOL classic, and quite right - I see in books and on websites lots of nonsense being repeated, and even quoting blogs and corporate websites as "references"!Atticus Finch said:I despair that much of their advertising copy is taken as gospel and it becomes inextricably woven into internet jacket folklore. Before you know it, people are scouring the web trying to find the most accurate reproduction of the blue MA-1 that Coast Guard glider pilots wore during the invasion of Normandy.
LOL classic, and quite right - I see in books and on websites lots of nonsense being repeated, and even quoting blogs and corporate websites as "references"!
100% agree. I seriously doubt that they use NOS fabric for those jackets. Maybe some limited edition in the very first beginning?
I think the reason why these Japanese repros can command such a high price tag is just down to demand and supply. Say, for example,
Buzz Rickson, they do small production batches for their jackets every season with limited editions, usually with patches.
And then, like
I have mentioned a couple of times before, the demand for original nylon flight jacket has jumped right up in the past few years by collectors
everywhere for some reasons, and God knows why.
Yes...but only in the L-2B. It was 1961 for the MA-1. Actually, Alpha didn't have a 1960 or 1961 contract for either jacket. The first orange liners appeared in the '61 Skyline MA-1s and the 1960 Skyline L-2Bs.
Which brings me to another point. Being a hard-core original nylon junkie, I'm more than a little frustrated by the unadulterated crap Alpha writes on their site in an effort to puff their various products. I despair that much of their advertising copy is taken as gospel and it becomes inextricably woven into internet jacket folklore. Before you know it, people are scouring the web trying to find the most accurate reproduction of the blue MA-1 that Coast Guard glider pilots wore during the invasion of Normandy.
I think I was with you up to the very last part. I would tend to believe anything that John Chapman says about vintage jackets...of any kind...and I would tend to believe anything I read on the Goodwear site. But maybe you were talking about the movie advertising.
I am not sure if Rickson makes the best quality nylon repros on the market but their alpaca lined jackets like N-1, B-10 and B-15s are not the best in terms of material used and that's for sure.
And then, like I have mentioned a couple of times before, the demand for original nylon flight jacket has jumped right up in the past few years by collectors everywhere for some reasons, and God knows why.
Their MA1 jackets are available in both Regular and Long lengths, which I haven't seen elsewhere.I've never handled them myself, but G&B's nylon jackets are probably as well made as their leathers:
http://www.gibson-barnes.com/dept-293831/Flight-Jackets.html