affordable a-1 jacket

[Ni Gi]

Hi folks,

i am locking for an affordable a-1 jacket for day to day use.
Could anybody share experience / fotos with us authentic or doursoux a-1?
Or any other brands?

Thanks in advance!
Nick

 

[armscye]

FYI: I will shortly be posting a not-gushing review of the Landing Leathers A1. So strike that from your list.

 

[Edward]

Hi folks,

i am locking for an affordable a-1 jacket for day2day use.

It eoild be helpful if you give a price-range - what's your budget? "Affordable" is a very subjective term... In general, though, I'd be surprised if there are many budget options for the A1, it having so much more niche an appeal than anything from the WW2 period.

 

[Worf]

I think US Authentic makes an A1 just under $5 large plus shipping.

http://www.flightjacket.com/a-1-jacket.html

Might be worth lookin' into particularly if you can buy "off the rack".

Worf

 

[PADDY]

That $5 price tag got 'my' attention...!! sadly too good to be true! Think you 'meant' $500 & at that price I'd advise to keep an eye out for a second hand A1 by one of the more authentic cut makers like Goodwear; ELC; RMNZ...
Good Luck!

 

[Blackadder]

Photos and product description on the doursoux website are very poor. I wonder how they sell anything online.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

That $5 price tag got 'my' attention...!! sadly too good to be true! Think you 'meant' $500 & at that price I'd advise to keep an eye out for a second hand A1 by one of the more authentic cut makers like Goodwear; ELC; RMNZ...
Good Luck!

$ 5 large is an old term for $500 some places in the US,Paddy.
HD

 

[kingken]

Landing Leathers A-1 for $150. Google it, no idea what kind of quality your going to get with that price tag, though.

 

[Sloan1874]

Landing Leathers A-1 for $150. Google it, no idea what kind of quality your going to get with that price tag, though.

I do...

 

[Edward]

lol WPG have, by all accounts, worked wonders with their affordable A2, but they have the advantage of economies of scale, given the sheer size of the WW2 era reenactment scene. I can'y see the demandfor the A1 design ever being big enough to facilitate that (plus the design itself involves a little more complex machining). Still, who knows? Maybe the next Indy or whatever will come along wearing one... [huh]

$ 5 large is an old term for $500 some places in the US,Paddy.
HD

Two nations divided by a common language, an aw that...

 

[Plumbline]

Guys .. I wouldn't be put off by ANY of the cheaper jackets .... just be aware that it may not be up to the spec. of the major repro manufacturers.

WPG produce a great budget A-2 .. $150 ... for a decent goatskin A-2, no it's not a Goodwear or an Eastman or an Aero ..... but it's a decent jacket and is well made to a good std. Their Irvin is also a GREAT jacket for the money at well under 1/3 the price of a repro from the high end makers. Their B-3 is now $250 and is a great wearable and warm flying jacket and a decent attempt at reproducing the WWII icon.

There are jackets out there to suit every taste ( from the high end stitch perfect repro's which JC makes with over 12 months wait ... to the off the shelf $150 copies which are none the less decent leather jackets and possibly much more in keeping with what flew off the production line in the 30's or 40's )

There is absolutely no need to pay $1000+ for a leather jacket .... they are incredibly nice and many of us do .... but there is no NEED. There are a great many decent jackets in the $100 - $500 priice range and with careful buying you can even get some of the high end repros for this price. I've seen Wested Indy jackets for $65 and bought a Legendary Bike Jacket (Schott) from their sale pages at $200.

I've seen a few cheap A-1 style jackets and they looked OK .... they weren't Goodwear's ...... but they were OK and equally I've seen Levis high end repro's in San Fransisco at $1300 which were quite frankly shocking and which looked like they were constructed for 1 wearing !


Landingzone do one at $149 .. I've not seen it in the flesh and it's doesn't look period accurate .... but it's $149

http://www.landingzone.com/a1-flight-jacket.html

Flightjackets.co do one at $498

http://www.flightjacket.com/a-1-jacket.html

Valstar do some A-1 styled jackets being sold by "The Armoury" in NYC amongs other places ....

I'm sure there are others .. you pays yer money and takes yer choice ... it's very much a good time to be a leather jacket buyer ....

 

[Edward]

It's certainly possible (and you're absolutely right that there's no guarantee that paying out big money equals a better jacket); it's just that there don't seem to be as many cheaper options available for the A1. The Landing Leathers one looks a bit more hip hop than dog fight to my eye.... the second one you've linked to looks alright, though, if it was sized right.

Fwiw, I've had a few decent, cheap leather jackets over the years. My Wested Raiders is no Aero, that's for sure, but it's a grand jacket for kicking about in and taking anywhere I might not want to take something expensive... Always best when you can try em in person (or there's a good and convenient return policy), as there's much less consistency (including uality of hides) at that end of the market. For a civilian jacket that you're not concerned with being massively accurate, it's definitely easier to find something decent, bearing in mind that with the likes of an Aero we're not only paying for the quality of materials going into it (and higher labour charges for western production), but also for the skill that goes into reproducing historical and/or military specs. It's why - with all due respects - John Goodwear's jackets are able to command the price premium they do. Simply as a garment, I don't think they're twice as good as, say, an ELC A2 but for folks who really value the extra level of accuracy, John has all the other competition beaten and that's what they pay for.

Just a thought.... does it have to be leather? There was that guy selling under the Spearhead name on eBay (eBay only, not the apparent rip-off website using the Spearhead name) who did a couple of A1s, somebody round here bought one... The leather one is an unknown quantity (I'd be wary after what happened when somebody on here bought one of his A2s and tried to give it the HWT), but the wool ones look really nice, same style.... if you're not fixed on it being leather.

Did Fishmoek make an A1 at one point, or am I hallucinating that? I have one of his very early jackets which is a civilian form of A1 (same jacket, essentially, but with a zip instead of buttons), which sadly I'll have to sell as I'm just a size too big for it. Lovely workmanship, though, and that was in his early days. Could be worth looking into. He's running the business as Norshor Leathers now, I think.

 

[Smithy]

Guys .. I wouldn't be put off by ANY of the cheaper jackets .... just be aware that it may not be up to the spec. of the major repro manufacturers.

WPG produce a great budget A-2 .. $150 ... for a decent goatskin A-2, no it's not a Goodwear or an Eastman or an Aero ..... but it's a decent jacket and is well made to a good std. Their Irvin is also a GREAT jacket for the money at well under 1/3 the price of a repro from the high end makers. Their B-3 is now $250 and is a great wearable and warm flying jacket and a decent attempt at reproducing the WWII icon.

There are jackets out there to suit every taste ( from the high end stitch perfect repro's which JC makes with over 12 months wait ... to the off the shelf $150 copies which are none the less decent leather jackets and possibly much more in keeping with what flew off the production line in the 30's or 40's )

There is absolutely no need to pay $1000+ for a leather jacket .... they are incredibly nice and many of us do .... but there is no NEED. There are a great many decent jackets in the $100 - $500 priice range and with careful buying you can even get some of the high end repros for this price. I've seen Wested Indy jackets for $65 and bought a Legendary Bike Jacket (Schott) from their sale pages at $200.

I've seen a few cheap A-1 style jackets and they looked OK .... they weren't Goodwear's ...... but they were OK and equally I've seen Levis high end repro's in San Fransisco at $1300 which were quite frankly shocking and which looked like they were constructed for 1 wearing !


Landingzone do one at $149 .. I've not seen it in the flesh and it's doesn't look period accurate .... but it's $149

http://www.landingzone.com/a1-flight-jacket.html

Flightjackets.co do one at $498

http://www.flightjacket.com/a-1-jacket.html

Valstar do some A-1 styled jackets being sold by "The Armoury" in NYC amongs other places ....

I'm sure there are others .. you pays yer money and takes yer choice ... it's very much a good time to be a leather jacket buyer ....

It's certainly possible (and you're absolutely right that there's no guarantee that paying out big money equals a better jacket); it's just that there don't seem to be as many cheaper options available for the A1. The Landing Leathers one looks a bit more hip hop than dog fight to my eye.... the second one you've linked to looks alright, though, if it was sized right.

Fwiw, I've had a few decent, cheap leather jackets over the years. My Wested Raiders is no Aero, that's for sure, but it's a grand jacket for kicking about in and taking anywhere I might not want to take something expensive... Always best when you can try em in person (or there's a good and convenient return policy), as there's much less consistency (including uality of hides) at that end of the market. For a civilian jacket that you're not concerned with being massively accurate, it's definitely easier to find something decent, bearing in mind that with the likes of an Aero we're not only paying for the quality of materials going into it (and higher labour charges for western production), but also for the skill that goes into reproducing historical and/or military specs. It's why - with all due respects - John Goodwear's jackets are able to command the price premium they do. Simply as a garment, I don't think they're twice as good as, say, an ELC A2 but for folks who really value the extra level of accuracy, John has all the other competition beaten and that's what they pay for.

Just a thought.... does it have to be leather? There was that guy selling under the Spearhead name on eBay (eBay only, not the apparent rip-off website using the Spearhead name) who did a couple of A1s, somebody round here bought one... The leather one is an unknown quantity (I'd be wary after what happened when somebody on here bought one of his A2s and tried to give it the HWT), but the wool ones look really nice, same style.... if you're not fixed on it being leather.

Did Fishmoek make an A1 at one point, or am I hallucinating that? I have one of his very early jackets which is a civilian form of A1 (same jacket, essentially, but with a zip instead of buttons), which sadly I'll have to sell as I'm just a size too big for it. Lovely workmanship, though, and that was in his early days. Could be worth looking into. He's running the business as Norshor Leathers now, I think.

Very well said PL and Edward.

The idea that all good, wearable leather jackets can only be had for large sums of money is, at best stupidity, or worst, snobbery.

Although I've got ELCs, an Aero, and a number of other high-end jackets, I also have some cheaper jackets which I enjoy just as much. My particular WPG A-2 is superbly made and is the jacket I have been wearing more than any other over the last few months and is a prime example that not everything has to be bought at premium prices.

I love my high-end jackets but the concept that only big bucks can get you a good jacket is quite frankly retarded.

 

[2jakes]

Hi folks,

i am locking for an affordable a-1 jacket for day2day use.
Could anybody share experience / fotos with us authentic or doursoux a-1?
Or any other brands?

Thanks in advance!
Nick

This is my "A-1" leather jacket that I ordered several years ago from US Authentic.
The price was closer to $400 back then. Prices keep going up everywhere.

Please note that I made changes to the collar & buttons.

The sheen on the leather as you see on the ad photo is gone. ( thank goodness)
The leather on mine is soft but durable. I have worn it in the rain with no damage or stain.
It wears more like a sweater in that it's more form fitting then my A-2 jackets.
There are no side entry pockets. For the price, I would say it's a very good jacket.
It is not in the league of the A-1s being made by other well known makers...but I'm happy with it.

US Authentic ad

More detail shots :

Also please note that the camera has a mind of it's own & decides to color the jacket as she likes
or I don't have the professional skills to give you a better rendition of the "actual" color of the jacket.
But I hope you get the idea .

Good Luck to you...& don't wait too long because prices will be going up...unless you happened to
be lucky & find someone who is selling one for a good price !

 

[Edward]

What's the leather on those? It looks a good deal better in your shots than on their website!

 

[mihai]

Hi folks,

i am locking for an affordable a-1 jacket for day2day use.
Could anybody share experience / fotos with us authentic or doursoux a-1?
Or any other brands?

Thanks in advance!
Nick

Have you considered Noble House A-1? I tried it on http://www.noble-house.eu/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/29/products_id/98?osCsid=0m3ggcich0buh9qjdivr4euet2. It looked pretty good quality wise(knitts, leather, construction). I am not sure how close to the original specs the jacket is since I do not know A-1 jackets.
A better choice would be a higher end manufacturer if you don't mind wearing an used jacket.

 

[2jakes]

What's the leather on those? It looks a good deal better in your shots than on their website!

I called US Authentic . They said it's horsehide but since it was several years ago,
it could very well be goat .
I have jackets made of horse & goat.
My guess is "goarse."
Not sure if original A-1s came in goat .

Thanks for the compliment !

 

[devilish]

2jakes, no real expert either but that definitely has more of a goatskin look than horse. Goarse skin maybe?? Originals were made from capeskin, which is meant to be goat but a lot of it these days is lamb or sheep.

 

[2jakes]

2jakes, no real expert either but that definitely has more of a goatskin look than horse. Goarse skin maybe?? Originals were made from capeskin, which is meant to be goat but a lot of it these days is lamb or sheep.

Yep....yer right !

My A-1 leather jacket is made of 100% genuine "goarse skin" & has been mellowed to a bonafide patina
by constant wear in the Elysium Fields of Texas :whip:"yippee kay ay y'all..."

 

[nick123]

2jakes,
That's a very nice looking jacket!