Made in China - Monarch A-2 repros

[Speedbird]

^^^^ that's a near certainty! especially the penalties part!!! :rage: :rage: :rage:

 

[Edward]

So.... anyone taking the plunge?

Also, is there any information on stockists? I'll be back in Beijing, hopefully, in mid 2011.... would be cool to check one of these out in person. If the cost was coming in at around £200 or less, it could bea very interesting base for an AVG project...

 

[Sgt.MikeHorvath]

hi friends,
have any of you decided to buy once??

 

[BigHairyFinn]

If they'd have say a 52

 

[Speedbird]

hi friends,
have any of you decided to buy once??

When cash flow improves I will take a punt on one .... can't justify it right now though.

 

[thor]

I have ordered one!

Hi fellas!
I am new to FL and find all the postings quite interesting.

I have been reading everyone's posts on the Spearhead made-in-China Monarch A-2 jacket. I too am an A-2 fan and have owned all the repros, from Eastman to Aero to Lost Worlds and Goodwear.

The Spearhead Made-in-China A-2 certainly looks intriguing. After alot of thought and consideration, I have decided to order one (in Havana brown). Delivery is supposed to be mid December. I also have a seal brown Aero (Scotland) anniversary A-2 on order (placed the order Sept.4) so it will be a race to see which one arrives first!

I will post my thoughts and opinions on the made-in-China A-2 when it arrives.

Cheers!

 

[too much coffee]

Hey thor;

Way to step up man! A lot of the members will be looking forward to your thoughts and opinions.
Of course we need a boat load of pics too!
Good luck with the delivery and the jacket.

Best regards, coffee

 

[thor]

Thanks coffee!

I wanted a bang-around A-2 that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg, something made of thick, rugged horsehide that I could wear to work and not worry about the abuse it might take. The made-in-China A-2 seems to be perfect for my intended use. I look forward to putting it to the test.

I shall post my humble opinions on the jacket as soon as I receive it...oh, and lots of pictures too.

Tally ho!

thor

 

[kowalski]

Made in the hands of small children, using the manufacture of dyes are carcinogenic,

 

[Fletch]

I went over barrylyndon28's eBay feedbacks to see what people said about the A-2 and A-1.
They've had over 4000 eBay sales since they introduced the jackets early in 2010. Only about 5 of these were A-2s and a like number of A-1s. Feedback on these were all positive, but no one gave any details.
One A-1 purchaser said he thought it was good quality for the money - FWTW.

In any case, the A-2 repros the Monarch label (not too well), but not the jacket itself. For one thing, it has a stand collar, which Monarchs didn't.

 

[kowalski]

This looks like a repros of rubber not leather , what a mess ,

 

[thor]

Thanks Fletch for that info on the eBay feedback. I didn't even think to check that out.

I ordered the Havana brown (a reddish-russet) A-2 which does not have a stand collar. I was not looking for a stitch-for-stitch clone of a Monarch (or any other maker's) jacket. I am open-minded about a made-in-China A-2 and remain cautiously optimistic that this jacket will be reasonably accurate, heavy duty and display solid workmanship.

I will certainly post pictures and give a personal critique once it arrives.

Stay tuned

 

[hutch]

Good luck. Looking forward to your report.

 

[subject101]

[

I will certainly post pictures and give a personal critique once it arrives.

Stay tuned

Another guy here looking forward to your report I thought this seller shipped in just one week.

I went over barrylyndon28's eBay feedbacks to see what people said about the A-2 and A-1.
They've had over 4000 eBay sales since they introduced the jackets early in 2010. Only about 5 of these were A-2s and a like number of A-1s.

I did the very same thing too and I even contacted some purchasers. However, what I was told was totally inconclusive. Some of them told me that the leather stuff was ok for the price while others said that it was thin and crappy leather.

We'd need the opinion of a leather connoisseur from the fedora

 

[Justhandguns]

I am also interested to look at the actual jacket.

Here is what I found recently (the advantage of actually reading a bit of Chinese).

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4443732556

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=3913903020

I don't know if Spearheads' jackets come from the same factory from China though. But these look really interesting, other than the YKK zips.

 

[thor]

Thanks, Justhandguns, for the great link. The photos are much better then the ones I saw on the eBay posting. On eBay the leather looked way too slick with alot of shine to the finish. But the more detailed photos from that link you posted show the jacket with a more natural, matte finish. I look forward to receiving it.

I e-mailed Barry afew times via ebay and he was very polite and quite helpful answering questions. He said the size 46 that I ordered was in stock but the stated delivery time for the jacket (according to eBay) is Dec. 16. The delay is probably due to international shipping, customs, etc.

I will keep all the fine folks at the Fedora Lounge well informed of the entire process, from start to finish, since many of us have possibly never dealt with a shipment from China.

Tally ho!

 

[Justhandguns]

Thanks, Justhandguns, for the great link. The photos are much better then the ones I saw on the eBay posting. On eBay the leather looked way too slick with alot of shine to the finish. But the more detailed photos from that link you posted show the jacket with a more natural, matte finish. I look forward to receiving it.

I e-mailed Barry afew times via ebay and he was very polite and quite helpful answering questions. He said the size 46 that I ordered was in stock but the stated delivery time for the jacket (according to eBay) is Dec. 16. The delay is probably due to international shipping, customs, etc.

I will keep all the fine folks at the Fedora Lounge well informed of the entire process, from start to finish, since many of us have possibly never dealt with a shipment from China.

Tally ho!

hi thor, I doubt these are the same jackets, but it is very likely to be very similar. But as you can see, there are some relatively good Chinese repros around at very reasonable price if you are not obsess with the details.

 

[Edward]

Interesting to read about Chinese manufactured A2s being produced specifically for the Chinese market. Not too surprising, really, given the impact of Western popular culture on China over the past couple of decades. I have often wondered what the popular conciousness of the AVG in particular is over there - I know there is a museum (I'd like to visit that one day). It's been in my head recently as I would like to replicate an AVG and a 23rd jacket at some point, but I was thinking I should avoid taking one of those with me to China, what with the connection to pre-Mao Chinese nationalism, and the nationalist flag on there. I'd hate to offend the locals by doing something the equivalent of turning up in NYC wearing a confederate flag (I have actually seen mock blood chits on eBay with 'Confederate Air Force' designations on them!).

 

[Justhandguns]

Interesting to read about Chinese manufactured A2s being produced specifically for the Chinese market. Not too surprising, really, given the impact of Western popular culture on China over the past couple of decades. I have often wondered what the popular conciousness of the AVG in particular is over there - I know there is a museum (I'd like to visit that one day). It's been in my head recently as I would like to replicate an AVG and a 23rd jacket at some point, but I was thinking I should avoid taking one of those with me to China, what with the connection to pre-Mao Chinese nationalism, and the nationalist flag on there. I'd hate to offend the locals by doing something the equivalent of turning up in NYC wearing a confederate flag (I have actually seen mock blood chits on eBay with 'Confederate Air Force' designations on them!).

I agree, I wouldn't even be wearing a AVG jacket in HK, especially one with a blood chit on the back. It would be very politically incorrect with the "Blue Sky White Sun Full Red Ground" patch in any parts of the PRC. Although the act of the AVG is still high praised locally. Edward, if you remember, Cameron was in China a few weeks ago during the Remerbrance weeks. He was accused of wear the poppy since it reminds people of the poppy from the opium war. It caused quite in stir in the media reports. In HK, we used to sell the poppies, but now you can only get it from a couple of expats only. These day people seem to have short term memories, pity.

 

[Edward]

Ah, yes, I did see that kerfuffle over the poppies. I'm surprised, tbh, that nobody picked that up at the briefing stage.