U.S. Wings American Bison G-1

[Dracorex]

I was wondering if anyone ownes a U.S. Wings American Bison G-1 and if they do, what they think of it.

 

[Lando]

It's a pretty good Bison jacket but in retrospect I'm not sure it's worth the money. The Bison they use is a descent hide with some nice grain but there are better hides out there. Over all, it's a solid jacket, and I actually like to wear it quite a bit but I know you can get better for the money. Johnson Leather will do a G1 in Bison that'll cost near the same, made in America, and be a far nicer jacket. I think Johnson Leather Bison is some of the best out there hands down. The US Wings Bison G1 is a nice weight leather and has a thick nylon lining, thicker than most any other nylon linings I've had on a flight jacket, which was kind of strange at first. Altogether it has a pretty rugged feel to it, it's not like I get the sense it's going to fall apart on me or anything, it just doesn't have the polish you might get from other vendors.

I've owned a few US Wings G1s and A2s in the past, and this feels better constructed than any of them. I bought it because I love Bison leather, and I couldn't at the time find anyone else who was making flight jackets from it. Final verdict, I do like the jacket and, like I said, I do wear it quite a bit, but, I wouldn't have bought it knowing now how good Johnson Leather Bison is. However, the US Wings Bison you can get right away, and the Johnson Bison G1 you have to wait about 6 weeks or so for. It's nice to own them both lol in my case. I hope any of this helps. If you have specific questions, feel free to throw them my way.

Why were you looking at the US Wings Bison G1 out of curiosity? Was it specifically for the hide?

That's a link to the post here on the lounge that alerted me to how nice Johnson Leather's Bison was.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...ort-of)/page7&highlight=Johnson+Leather+Bison

Included a picture of me in mine so you see what the color and fit looks like. I hover between a 48 and 50 and end up wearing a US Wings XXL so I've got the room to mover around.

 

[Jeff M]

Dont know anything specific about this jacket....just G1's in general.
One thing that many folks who are big G1 fans want on their G1's is a natural mouton collar. This is what was used on G1 military contracts until around t1968. After that, they switched to synthetic fur collars.

Most G1 repro's out there use synthetic fur....which is what this jacket looks to have.
Real mouton is soft, warm, resilient....and stays that way if treated decently.
Most synthetic mouton collars tend to pill over time, get stiff, are not as luxuriant.
This may or may not make a difference to you...but if new to the G1 design/ the finer points of it, worth at least knowing about sooner rather than later.

 

[Lando]

To my knowledge, it does have a genuine mouton fur collar. That's what the description said when I bought it anyway. And so far, it has been pretty soft and warm lol.

 

[Dracorex]

Thanks for the reply Lando and the picture. I love G-1 Jackets and I was just looking for something a little unique. I saw this Bison jacket and it looked pretty nice. I love the grain and the color of the leather. After seeing your picture, I think I'm sold! The jacket looks beautiful! How does the weight compare to goat?

 

[ButteMT61]

I actually really like that one Lando. For the price, I think it's pretty cool. My USW "A-2" in antique steer is still one of my favorite "it's no accurate repro" jackets. Beaters can be the best ones at times.

 

[Lando]

I'm trying to enter a mind set where they're all beaters to me lol. That way I give them all a good wearing. But you aren't wrong. Beaters do get the miles.