Pre-war Irvin or AN-J-4, which one to choose??

[Peter Mackin]

It really depends on how you're going to wear it, out walking the dog, if your going to layer etc. I have far too many jackets but I have some that get far more wear due to the amount of rain we get here. Anj4 just didn't get any wear. A B6 would be by choice if I had to have a sheepskin. Much more versatile. I loved my anj4 but ended up wearing it in the house watching TV . A long halfbelt in goatskin or lighter horsehide with a 1/4in sheepskin lining would be good.

 

[bn1966]

D-1 here for me in the UK, had an early Irvin type from ELC but moved it on due to lack of wear. Just too warm much of the time if you are moving a lot whilst wearing one. Shorter fleece on the D-1 has proven more practical for me. I’d love a B-3 but it wouldn’t earn its keep. When the temps do drop here I use an early N-2B Parka.

 

[f2002q]

Well, after 7 months of waiting, I finally got the ANJ-4 from Aero. This is a serious jacket, heavy and very comfy. Very soft inside. Definitely seem warm, but since we're out of the Winter, I can't really tell you how warm. It's fairly chilly today, 52F and I wore it outside. Didn't overheat while walking the dog, but I definitely got some looks!!!

Zipper is a Talon, and definitely too small. This thing could use a #10 for sure.

 

[f2002q]

And you guys thought the story ended with the jacket in my hands. Well, no.

Turned out that the collar latch was way too small, unable to close the collar. No way to close it without chocking yourself out!!! I reported this to Carrie at Thurston Bros. and she immediately took care of the situation. Aero remade the jacket and now it works perfectly. I'm so glad that I ordered this thing from Thurston (Carrie) because just having somebody close to your timezone to deal with issues is worth its weight in gold.

Here are some more pics.

This is the original collar latch, as you can see, not even close to being able to attach.


This is the new, improved collar latch:


Another view of the collar latch:



This jacket is hefty (size 48) clocking in at 7.7 lb.


Extremely well made!

In the end, it took one year from the time of order until I had the final jacket in my hands.