MA-1 recommendations?

[WolfofStateSt]

You make two good points here.
The first is that fit trumps all else. If it doesn’t look good then who cares who made it and what it cost.
The second is that not every jacket need to be fancy. It is nice to have a jacket or two that didn’t cost an arm and a leg or require a two year waitlist to acquire.
I have a blue MA-1 that I purchased from Gibson and Barnes a couple years ago. I ordered it with the Thinsulate insulation and it is super light and yet quite warm. When I got a stain on it at work, I wasn’t happy, but I also wasn’t as bummed as if it had been my Buzz Rickson

It pays to be more discerning regarding leather; cheap leather stands out like a sore thumb.

I’ve owned McCoy’s, Alpha, Rothco, and Vintage MA-1s, and I can not see a massive difference in the nylon. I bet most average people you will meet won’t either.

I have also learned to utilize the used market. I just ordered a vintage Monarch G-1 from the 50s, which was cheaper than the RMC MA-1, which cost me $600. I was surprised to see RMC MA-1s, new and used, running over a thousand.

Edit:
I wouldn’t spend more than a thousand dollars on anything other than high-quality leather.

But sometimes I get so caught up looking for the best, most accurate jackets that I forget they are just jackets. Hell, sometimes you get the original and realize the repros are improvements. I prefer the polyester knit collar of cheaper MA-1s to that of the original ones with wool collars I’ve tried.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

Well I ended up going with another Alpha Industries MA-1 which was on sale, this time in Sage. I take it back, after trying all sorts of MA-1 the modern Alpha is my favorite. The sizing is great, and the materials don’t feel any worse than the Real McCoys I tried. It's much better than the Rothco I had. The Alpha MA-1 in Sage is still the King, at the price I don’t think RM or Buzz can compete.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

For reference this is the Alpha jacket, which I think fits perfectly and looks amazing.

 

[Fifty150]

I’ve owned McCoy’s, Alpha, Rothco, and Vintage MA-1s, and I can not see a massive difference in the nylon. I bet most average people you will meet won’t either.

I'm the average person. I'm not combing the interwebs for hours, trying to source the perfect vintage item. I'll buy whatever jacket is easily accessible. In my case, the jackets I own were from uniform issue. I didn't shop and buy it. I took whatever they handed me. And it looks like collection includes Alpha, Rothco, Spiewak, and Propper. All uniform supply contractors.

I'm wearing the jacket to be warm, and for a reasonable amount of resistance to wind and rain. All of the jackets seem to do that. The zippers haven't failed yet. The stitching hasn't unraveled. And the fit, to me, is fine. The tag says' XL, I put it on, I can move my arms, and it's not riding up my back. But that's me. I'm not concerned about how it looks, or comparing it to old photos of soldiers wearing the jackets. I'm not trying to get a certain "fit". I just need a functional fit.

On some very cold nights, I will wear it as a layering piece, under a heavier coat. For people wearing the jacket as a fashion item, it probably never gets worn as an intermediate layer. But it seems to work that way. The N-3B coats fit like they were made to be worn over an MA-1. I've got a leather coat that seems to fit perfectly for those winter motorcycle rides.


I think that when I look at my Alpha Industries and Rothco, side by side, the shell looks and feels different. Maybe the less expensive jacket is a lesser priced blend of polyester. That explains why a Rothco cost about 1/3rd of the price of an Alpha. But as for fit and function, both work exactly the same. When there's a wind and a light rain, I feel warm.

this is the Alpha jacket, which I think fits perfectly and looks amazing.

It looks good on you.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

I'm the average person. I'm not combing the interwebs for hours, trying to source the perfect vintage item. I'll buy whatever jacket is easily accessible. In my case, the jackets I own were from uniform issue. I didn't shop and buy it. I took whatever they handed me. And it looks like collection includes Alpha, Rothco, Spiewak, and Propper. All uniform supply contractors.

I'm wearing the jacket to be warm, and for a reasonable amount of resistance to wind and rain. All of the jackets seem to do that. The zippers haven't failed yet. The stitching hasn't unraveled. And the fit, to me, is fine. The tag says' XL, I put it on, I can move my arms, and it's not riding up my back. But that's me. I'm not concerned about how it looks, or comparing it to old photos of soldiers wearing the jackets. I'm not trying to get a certain "fit". I just need a functional fit.

On some very cold nights, I will wear it as a layering piece, under a heavier coat. For people wearing the jacket as a fashion item, it probably never gets worn as an intermediate layer. But it seems to work that way. The N-3B coats fit like they were made to be worn over an MA-1. I've got a leather coat that seems to fit perfectly for those winter motorcycle rides.


I think that when I look at my Alpha Industries and Rothco, side by side, the shell looks and feels different. Maybe the less expensive jacket is a lesser priced blend of polyester. That explains why a Rothco cost about 1/3rd of the price of an Alpha. But as for fit and function, both work exactly the same. When there's a wind and a light rain, I feel warm.








It looks good on you.

Well I have combed the internet looking for the right jacket, with the intention that hopefully if I pick the right jackets now I will never have to buy new ones again barring significant and extenuating damage past regular wear and tear. I say the Alpha is the way to go and when it comes MA-1’s anything that costs more than $150 is in terrority of diminishing returns.

When it comes to N3B/N3As I have found the originals are significantly better than the repros, if you can find one in good shape.

It's with leather where the expensive and rare jackets truly shine.