Converting chest measurements to Pit-Pit

[ai00344]

Looking for the advice of the group. I have a chest measurement of 42, is the process of converting this to the classic pit-pit as simple as dividing this in half or is it a bit more nuanced than that? I’m looking at a jacket with a 21”(even) pit to pit and am hesitant that it may be too tight. The shoulder and length measurements are bang on for me.

 

[El Marro]

That jacket would fit like a second skin, literally. You always want at least a couple inches of room so when you double the pit to pit measurement it should be larger than your chest measurement. Some people like a really trim fit and are fine with only 2”, I prefer at least 3.5” to 4”. Anything bigger than that becomes a very relaxed fit in most jacket styles.

 

[Carlos840]

Looking for the advice of the group. I have a chest measurement of 42, is the process of converting this to the classic pit-pit as simple as dividing this in half or is it a bit more nuanced than that? I’m looking at a jacket with a 21”(even) pit to pit and am hesitant that it may be too tight. The shoulder and length measurements are bang on for me.

More or less, you also need to include chest ease, with your 42" chest a 21" pit to pit would b eskin tight.
Standard is between 2" and 4" of chest ease added, meaning with a 42" chest you should look for jackets with a 22" to 24" pit to pit depending on patterns and your personal preference.

 

[MrProper]

(((chest/PI())+(2*thickness of material)+(2*room))*PI())/2 = P2P
(((42/PI())+(2*0.5)+(2*1))*PI())/2 = 25.71

;-)

 

[ai00344]

Thanks for the quick reply guys, I’ve had my finger on the buy it now button all morning. My only current leather jacket (Schott 689) has a pit to pit of 23” and I find it a bit too loose. What I’m hearing is I shouldn’t go below 22”. Not what I wanted to hear!!

 

[Will Zach]

21 will be too tight for 42 chest. I have a 39 chest and 21 is right on for me.

 

[Marc mndt]

I have a 43' chest and I like my jackets to be fitted. My best fitting jackets have a 22' ptp. Anything under 22 would by too tight for me.

I therefore think 21' might be a bit tight for you.

 

[MrProper]

the size of the armholes also depends a bit. I like small ones and for 43 chest I need 22.5 - 23. But only if the material is not too thick. And I like it tight.

 

[Guppy]

You should be looking for 22.5-24" p2p if your actual chest measurement is 42.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Looking for the advice of the group. I have a chest measurement of 42, is the process of converting this to the classic pit-pit as simple as dividing this in half or is it a bit more nuanced than that? I’m looking at a jacket with a 21”(even) pit to pit and am hesitant that it may be too tight. The shoulder and length measurements are bang on for me.

When you say you have a chest of 42 does that mean this is what your chest measures with tape around a t-shirt? Or is this your normal chest size?

I have a 40 inch chest measured and I find I prefer a 23 inch pit to pit. Labeled sizes are inexact, never go by them. I have owned jackets marked size 42 that run from 22 inches to 25 inches. Manufacturers put their own spin on sizes.

With sizes in general you always add 3 to 4 inches of material so you can move.

 

[ai00344]

When you say you have a chest of 42 does that mean this is what your chest measures with tape around a t-shirt? Or is this your normal chest size?

I have a 40 inch chest measured and I find I prefer a 23 inch pit to pit. Labeled sizes are inexact, never go by them. I have owned jackets marked size 42 that run from 22 inches to 25 inches. Manufacturers put their own spin on sizes.

With sizes in general you always add 3 to 4 inches of material so you can move.

42 measured with a tape, 41 if I pull it really snug.

EDIT NOTE by Peacoat: I fixed the quote problem for you. Make sure you start your answer outside the last bracket after the word "quote."

 

[navetsea]

depend on how you measure your chest, don't press until the measuring tape digging into your flesh, just hold it lightly touching your chest I like using metal construction site tape, since they curved inward a little so it might represent material thickness already and the metal stay round so I can loosen up a bit the tape would stay in place while I look at the mirror.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

I have 43 chest. 23 p2p is very snug fitting, basically only room for tshirt. Couple other factors you need to consider. What kind of material? If it's broken in leather, you probably want 23.5 p2p if you want comfortable snug fit. Obviously more if you want more relaxed. But if it's new leather that's going to stretch, from what I understand, you can expect a good .25 to .5 with time. So if it's a little more snug than what you want at first, you're good. Obviously takes lots of tries to realize where that fine line is. A lot of us have bad purchases over the years to get that figured out.

Like Mr. Proper said, arm holes, will makes difference. Biswing back will make difference and shoulder size will make difference. So take it all into consideration.

 

[ai00344]

The jacket in question is by The Flat Head who are a bit notorious for disproportionate chest v. shoulders measurement. As I mentioned earlier the shoulders are right where I want them (19”). It appears with this brand most people will have to pick their poison in terms of fit

 

[Will Zach]

19" shoulder width goes well with 22 or 23 p2p. Not so sure about 21 p2p.

 

[Peacoat]

Other factors to be considered are the thickness of the hide and the thickness of the liner, especially a shearling lined jacket. The thicker the hide, or the thicker the liner, the wider the p2p will need to be to fit the same as a thinner hide or liner.