What is your favorite M1941 reproduction?

[Seth Byrnes]

Hello Folks,

For those of you who own one, which M41 reproduction did you go with and how do you feel about it?

I owned a 2015 ATF reproduction and I was actually not fond of it. I am looking out for a new one.

 

[Zeltbahn]

I'm currently considering M-41 jacket as well.
Buzz Rickson's used to make one but I don't know if they make it anymore, heard it was good.
WWII Impressions does these jackets with a real wool flannel lining unlike most other makers. They don't have many pictures of the details on their website though but their stuff is known to be quite good and accurate. They just restocked their M-41 jackets few weeks ago. To me it looks like the best repro out there at the moment.

Can I ask why the ATF one wasn't that good?

 

[Seth Byrnes]

Well, let me give you some aggregated input from the re-enactor communities and at the same time, show you some of the options!

Paratrooper.FR produces a jacket that I have heard a lot about lately. It seems to be the favorite of many european re-enactors and I haven't heard anyone bashing it's authenticity, but I asked them about the fiber content of the liner and they told me it was 30/70 wool poly which I think is a poor mix, and is enough to take it out of the running for me.

WPG makes an M41 but is is often maligned for having the wrong shell exterior material and a "wonky" cut. It also suffers from a poor quality ahistorical zipper and poor stitching that frequents bursts and requires closing.

At The Front's M41 is the standard to which most are compared, but they have been going downhill. This run of jacket has a cotton liner in place of the wool liner seen in previous iterations. It has been said that if this years jackets don't do it for you, any they release in future will probably be of poorer quality so you ought not consider them. Reviews show that they peaked about 5 years ago and have declined since. As far as appearances go, it looks and wears good but the liner has been maligned by some. They also make a lighter budget friendly option.

QMI.BE produces a jacket that gets a lot of compliments. The criticisms laid against it have been that it is smaller than advertised, and too long. The cut is a little incorrect as the back waistband is several inches higher than on many originals, making the back panel at the top pretty small.

Kay Canvas / Soldier Of Fortune makes an M41 that some folks have been happy with, but others have absolutely blasted it claiming that it has "thin" exterior and a "baggy" lining, so it remains contested.

Mil-tec makes a repro as well but I won't even link to it, as the liner is entirely polyested and speaking from personal experience, it is not worth considering as it is thin and of poor construction.

Other options are WWII Impressions which is expensive but "perfect" according to most. Buzz Rickson and Real McCoys made M41s in the past in the same price range, but those are hard to find. Bronson also made one but it is also discontinued and was not amazing.

 

[Seth Byrnes]

Can I ask why the ATF one wasn't that good?

Sorry -I failed to directly answer you.
Previous generations of the ATF product were made with better materials than the current ones, so there is not a lot of point in spending the same amount on something lesser when other options exist.

 

[Chris Oberdorfer]

Paratrooper.FR produces a jacket that I have heard a lot about lately. It seems to be the favorite of many european re-enactors and I haven't heard anyone bashing it's authenticity, but I asked them about the fiber content of the liner and they told me it was 30/70 wool poly which I think is a poor mix, and is enough to take it out of the running for me.

I ordered one from them a few weeks ago.
I have to say I'm disappointed. The poplin shell is actually pretty nice even a little thin, but the liner is plain wrong, it's not even close to a flannel look/ texture no matter of what materials it is made of. The lining at the cuffs is wrong, it extends complete through the sleeve/ cuff until their end and does not end 1 or 2 inches before. The interior of the pockets ist sewn wrong, the labels are printed on cheap plastic material, the epaulettes are to narrow and finally the jacket is equipped with the cheapest chinese made crap zipper they could find. It's nice to be sold for the boringly ordinary museum visitors who just want to have a souvenir but nothing for the serious collectors or reenactors.