Who makes the best non-WWII A2's and G1's?

[CSG]

I've looked at USWings, USAuthentic, Gibson&Barnes, Sporty's, etc. I may get a civilian version to get the hand warmer pockets, etc. Don't want to buy overseas, I'm not a WWII aviator, and already have a proper mil-spec WWII jacket anyway.

I'm curious about the current crop of makers/suppliers. Probably around a 44R.

Can anyone give some feedback without saying Aero or Eastman?

 

[rgraham]

Here is a site where you can get a few educated opinions.

http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[Senicko_Spain]

I've looked at USWings, USAuthentic, Gibson&Barnes, Sporty's, etc. I may get a civilian version to get the hand warmer pockets, etc. Don't want to buy overseas, I'm not a WWII aviator, and already have a proper mil-spec WWII jacket anyway.

I'm curious about the current crop of makers/suppliers. Probably around a 44R.

Can anyone give some feedback without saying Aero or Eastman?

You lost me [huh]

 

[CSG]

I'd love to be a member there, rgraham, but they seem to be slow to get around to approving new members. Registered but can't see the forums, can't seem to get approved even thous I used my ISP email address.

Spain, sorry you're confused but I can't help that.

 

[Todd M.]

Aero

 

[Rufus]

CSG,

I know it's obvious but a lot of civvie A2s come up on Ebay.

Search, Horsehide, or A2, etc, and you'll find one soon enough.

A lot go for very low prices as these have been popular and made for 60+ years, and there is an abundance of civvie ones with hand warmers, as a lot of collectors want WW2 spec jackets.

Great way to pick up a bargain, particularly if you're not hung up about WW2 spec details!

Good luck, Sir!

rufus

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I suggest.....
http://www.flightsuits.com/

HD

 

[CSG]

Thanks Rufus, I'd rather buy one new that can easily be exchanged or returned. Not sure yet if I want a civilian one, I may just get a current issue A2 or G1. I'm wondering which of the manufacturers I mentioned in my earlier post has the best rep. My point is that I'm not specifically interested in a WWII über-accurate copy. I'm looking for something for everyday wear that's a bit larger than my old A2.

 

[aswatland]

Good Wear make the most accurate repro A2s.
http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/index.html

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I don't think that John makes non-WWII A2's or G1s repros.....yet.
HD

 

[jschare]

G&B

Gibson & Barnes, aka Flightsuits, makes an current issue A-2 or a civil A-2. I would say they would be the best for what you are looking for. The issued A-2 is here: http://www.flightsuits.com/leather_a2_airforce.html The civil A-2 is here: http://www.flightsuits.com/leather_a2_civil.html They also make a leather version of the CWU jacket here: http://www.flightsuits.com/leather_cwu.html I hope this helps...

 

[jschare]

G&B

They have a police jacket which is pretty cool here: http://www.flightsuits.com/leather_patrol.html

 

[johnnyjohnny]

wHiCH a-2...who's on FirST...

it was certainly confusing for me seeing that i wasn't going the ww2 repro route...but i did some homework in research, and spenT a buNch in purchasing stuff...here's what i came up with:

1.gibson barnes/flightsuits.com have a nice generic style which, however, uses the same pattern for all their a-2s from horsehide ww2 to usaf style, though they have the differences such as handwarmers in the a-2 civvy style, but all the same cut...i've never bought one because i wanted a milspec jacket that i knew was actually built and supplied to military personnel on a contract, rather than private purchase...just my preference...however, the cut on gb will be a bit fuller, though certainly not a dreaddddded 'mall jacket'...the folks there are the nicest, and the quality looks par excellent...

2. uswings is my absolute favorite cut and lookswise...and the quality is certainly of a $400 jacket for under $300...by the way, through july they have 10 percent off (no, i'm not a shill for uswings)...very sharp, post ww2 style...cleanest and nicest milspec pattern i've found of any jacket...oNLy problem is the sizing...the a-2s have a milspec cut, but the sizes are not smaller in milspec...if you are a 44 civilian jacket (like me) you better get a 44 milspec no matter what their website says...just ask customer service for the inch counts and you'll see...armpit to armpit on a 44 milspec is a generous 26 1/2", while on a 46 milspec is 27 1/2"...the g-1 milspec seems to conform to typical milspec sizing...also, the 44 regular is about the length of a ww2 long, at 27", but with coil-up of the leather and fabric, hangs at 26 1/2"...i got the wrong sizes in both a-2 and g-1 milspec because of the generous milspec sizing, but i love the cut and pattern of this milspec jacket so much, i bought again (have a g-1 46 long and a-2 46 long milspec hardly used if anyone's interested)...if you want handwarmer pockets the civvy uswings a-2 has side slits on the outside of the jacket but situated next to (behind) the patch pocket, not even what the current usaf issue 'modern' a-2s have, where there the handwarmer is 'hidden' behind the patch pocket, but not much room...also the civvy has a fuLLer cut (booooo!)
---my favorite pick for post ww2 a-2 (and g-1s)...and customer service is multi bella

3. cockpitusa is a bit higher priced than uswings, sells some stuff on the uswings website but can be bought at best prices on flyingtigerssurplus.com...about $100 off list price on the horsehide flying tiger (with patches) repro from cockpit...only comes in regular sizes, but this jacket is amazing...the cut is military from ww2, so is the pattern and the all leather patches...it is not however a poser/pretend jacket, meaning it doesn't have faux repro tags, faux repro inspection stamps and such...but for cut, looks and patch authenticity, it's right on in horsehide...as for the current-issue usaf with handwarmer pockets cockpitusa, it's really good...a bit fuller cut however per usaf current standards, so get your true size, not a size up...and the longs are lonGGGGG, about 28".....the quality is of a $600 jacket i found, meaning on par with something you'd get from schott...i wanted milspec from cockpit and so they had their 1980s version milspec with throat hook, no handwarmer pocks, and that biG pointed collar and cooper-esque body pattern of the first post-war a-2s to be commissioned by the govt since they were decommissioned at the end of ww2.....this is a nice jacket, but alas the collar was a bit too pointed a la the coopers of that era...however, the neck on the cockpit reissue is not as gaping big as the coopers were, and the leather is much thicker than the paper thin coopers...a great jacket, reissued from when cockpit (avirex then) was, along with cooper, the contracted supplier for these in the 80s...
---a great a-2 with lotsa options on what kind you want...and incredible customer service handled often by the company's owners, jacky clyman personally helped me when i needed an exchange

4. ebay stuff like cooper and such---i've bought a few post ww2 jackets off ebay, and it's a crap shoot as the sizing seems to differ in each to the other...some brief reviews:
a. schott REAL contract a-2: very rare as these have 1-piece backs, and some conform to no handwarmer standards, or to relaxed 90s with handwarmer standards...mostly you'll see the civvi a-2s from schott on ebay with two piece backs...i have several of the rare contract 'real' a-2s...they are nice, but extremely short (24" in a 44) and have super pointed collars...you end up looking like a gaucho...leather quality is great as expected...in these you'd better order a long and get 2 sizes over your normal civvy size...at a 44 i'd need a 48 long, virtually impossible to find...if you don't need to hit the mark and just want an a-2ish coat, their ism is great, though doesn't have a 1-piece back, and has a detachable mouton collar which many on ebay have lost...this is the jacket donald sutherland has on (wrongly per period) in kelly's heroes the film
b. cooper original post ww2...what can i say...a cult classic but has a gaping size neck, paper thin but otherwise very durable goatskin, suPPPPPer pointed 'talkin' bout Shaft' 70s style collars...would only get this if you want to complete your quiver of a-2s, not as your main pick
c. flight apparel industries...kind of a cuLt pick in my book, the owner sadly died in a 1983 plane on plane crash...this jacket is constructed patternwise pretty much like the cooper, however the leather is smooth, the sizing a bit small, and the collar while not as pointy dointy as the cooper, is fRiGGiN' biG, and i mean biGGGGG...the jacket seemed more like a toy a-2, the outer windflap was narrow, likely to save leather cost...a fun offbeat jacket, again, to complete a quiver
d. spiewak and sons...a nice, not tooo small (a la schott) military fit...on all of these the left collar point is always larger for some reason...a nice classic jacket from the good ole post war days, milspec contract, get one size larger, and the long i'd suggest...quality great

so that's what i've found...don't ask how much i've spent finding all this out...could've bought a buncho chapman's (by the way, sent him an email off his website to order a jacket and never heard back several weex ago)

speaking of not hearing back, i also joined the vintage leathers site a number of times, they never got back to me either...wish the irs was like that

 

[CSG]

aswatland,

That GoodWear link may make me rethink getting a modern A2. Dang spendy but I just spent about half an hour on the phone with John and he's got some *nice* looking product. Plus, he's next door in Washington, not England.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

CSG
Good rethink IMO.
Checkout his A-1 as well...!
HD

 

[green papaya]

http://flyingtigerssurplus.com/catalog.php?c=2&p=345&id=2

COOPER makes a real nice leather flight jacket with or without side entry pockets

 

[aswatland]

I don't think that John makes non-WWII A2's or G1s repros.....yet.
HD

Oh! lol Of course there are cheap A2 style jackets, but why bother to buy when you can can get one of John's masterpieces?

 

[Senicko_Spain]

I'd love to be a member there, rgraham, but they seem to be slow to get around to approving new members. Registered but can't see the forums, can't seem to get approved even thous I used my ISP email address.

Spain, sorry you're confused but I can't help that.

Not confused, just a little perplexed as to your US limitations WRT the manufacture. that's all. As for membership on the VLJ, well, they go more for authenticity and sometimes can be very "Brand-centric" but you can give them a try. Lot's of knowledge over there you are just going to have to navigate the minefields to get to it. Good luck.

 

[Doctor Strange]

http://flyingtigerssurplus.com/catalog.php?c=2&p=345&id=2

COOPER makes a real nice leather flight jacket with or without side entry pockets

Cooper's been out of business for several years, but their NJ-made jackets live on in US Wings, Legendary USA, American Mystique, and probably under several other brand names too.

Personally, I think that FlightSuits/Gibson & Barnes jackets are better, if a modern cut and handwarmer pockets are what you're looking for.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

fLew the 'Coop' (er)

just a bit more info on cooper...the original cooper jackets can be found nowhere but ebay, thank goodness (thin leather, gaping necks)

the uswings stuff MaY be made by 'unite', as i think schott may be (correct me if i'm wrong, and i may be)...however, the stuff (aside from cockpitusa) on legendary.com, acejackets.com and the lowest price supplier at flyingtigerssurplus.com are made by unite and look pretty close, very close, to the uswings milspec (i've bought both), though you can't get those jackets in true 'old school' milspec anywhere but uswings (under the uswings brand)

the really least expensive way to get these jackets is at leathercoatsetc.com under the excelled label, but with a 'unite' tag on the liner...these are made in the u.s., and are a great price...and the g-1 they make is u.s. navy contract...however, the g-1 and a-2 by unite (acejackets/legendary/flyingtigerssurplus) are all current usaf standards, no throat hook, fuller body...i prefer the uswings milspec as the best price old school milspec cut...tho, again, the uswings a-2 sizes are one full size larger than a typical milspec (so what would be a 46 milspec and one size small in most brands is not small in the uswings milspec, and is a true civilian 46)

i know about all these jackets, my bank account records can prove it (wahhhhhhhhhhh!)