US Authentic Indy

[regius]

Been looking at their Indy jacket for years, yet to pull the trigger. Got a couple of leather samples recently and I could visualize it in their "vintage horse" and "vintage goat", should look and feel quite nice. The closest thread on their Indy is the US Authentic G-8, which should be a similar body pattern as their Indy (sloped shoulder, collar shape). i find $530 a bit prohibitive. Anyone has any experience

 

[thor]

I have a custom US-A goatskin G-8 and the overall quality of the jacket and the superb workmanship (plus the very short wait time) make it worthy of the approximately $500 price tag. Just my opinion, of course, but it seems many manufacturers are raising prices the past few years and finding a brand new, low-cost yet quality leather jacket is becoming harder and harder to do.
They do have sales several times per year (usually 10-20% off list price).
I would put US-A in the same mid-level price/value range as The Cockpit, Gibson and Barnes and US Wings.
Maybe the best quality/cost “bargain” out there (especially for an Indy jacket) is Wested.

 

[Seb Lucas]

For my money the Gibson and Barnes Indy was by far the best quality of the Indy repros. But they don't make them any more. The quality of stitching and engineering was stellar - specially the side adjusters with is a design weakness in most of them. The US-A will be a well made garment. It is not especially accurate to the movie jacket if that matters. Wested's are pretty accurate but are not all that well made. The thin cotton lining used is fairly fragile and the cotton stitching isn't as robust as it could be.

 

[regius]

One thing I (think) I will like about the US-A Indy is its rounded shoulders, the photo shows it's rounded, and Thor's G8 looks rounded too. I only really care about this one detail LOL in design. Thread tension and thread quality/composition/weight is the toughest to perfect, I guess I just wouldn't expect much from any maker aside from LW, Aero, GW and Langlitz. LW's seams and stitching are by far the strongest, it's like cementing! Aero's top stitch technique is different than LW's but nonethless the thread tension is very good. All the others, Schott, Vanson (yes, Vanson too), Buzz Rickson, Eastman, they are all in the same category.

 

[regius]

I guess nobody really truly physically own a US-A Indy?

 

[Edward]

I think, if memory serves, Doc Savage had one some years ago, maybe he'll chime in. I seem to recall that they were considered to be 'good for the money', but boixier and harder to get a good fit than the Wested. No personal experience, though.

 

[davyjones007]

I own 3 Indy jackets and only one is not a Wested. I also own 2 USA A-2's. One in goat and the other hh. They are great jackets. Very well made and worth the money. I don't understand why leather jackets have been creeping up in price over the past couple of years, but $500 is really starting to push the limits on a non-custom jacket. If I remember right, USA sends fit jackets the same as Thurston Bros. Give them a call and see what they can do for you.

R/ David

 

[Doctor Strange]

Totally agree on recent pricing issue. I understand why custom jackets are expensive, but off the rack Schotts going for $800 seems nuts, especially to those of us who always require alterations.
My experience with US A was now 15 years ago, so I can't comment on their current products. But I will say again that Wested's jackets are very good for their cost... And they do custom sizing for a pittance, which is key for some of us.