Navy WEP Jacket: Your Thoughts & Experiences

[Doctor Damage]

Photo from SG-1, which I suppose played a part in keeping WEP jackets popular, although they used replicas in the show obviously.

 

[Doctor Damage]

vintage... 40L according to the seller

 

[Doctor Damage]

apparently Alpha did a modern day copy at some point, seem quite rare

 

[bn1966]

vintage... 40L according to the seller

In originals I think even the LONG will be very SHORT, my Regular size '72 WEP is pushing it length wise even for me. Who knows where a short would end up

 

[bn1966]

apparently Alpha did a modern day copy at some point, seem quite rare

Nice

 

[Doctor Damage]

In originals I think even the LONG will be very SHORT, my Regular size '72 WEP is pushing it length wise even for me. Who knows where a short would end up

Although I'd like one of these jackets, that exactly why I will never get one (although maybe a modern day repro would have more length).

 

[bn1966]

Although I'd like one of these jackets, that exactly why I will never get one (although maybe a modern day repro would have more length).

G&B make one apparently

 

[Treetopflyer]

The Cockpit makes a good repro.

 

[Doctor Damage]

The Cockpit makes a good repro.

The Cockpit... that's an excellent name for a gay nightclub.

These guys are offering what appears to be a really good WEP repro: http://www.militarysupplyhouse.com/jacketsus5.htm. I suspect they might be getting them from G&B. I'll take a look at Cockpit. US Wings had a version too but now they only offer a version with patches (wtf?).

 

[bn1966]

The Cockpit... that's an excellent name for a gay nightclub.

These guys are offing what appears to be a really good WEP repro: http://www.militarysupplyhouse.com/jacketsus5.htm. I suspect they might be getting them from G&B. I'll take a look at Cockpit. I think US Wings has a version too (the last time I checked), although the details were slightly modernized, which might not be a bad thing.

I like The jacket that is...

 

[CBI]

I went through the same repro process for the same reason as orginals are too short. Military Supply jackets are G & B. G & B jackets are cut very poorly, very balloon-ish. I ordered one and sent it back (after have to wait 5 months!!!!!) Cockpit's current offering is way too long. Best bet is to buy a repro from the 80's (Cockpit) on eBay.

 

[Atticus Finch]

I only own one WEP. It's a 1968 Land Mfg. that I bought a decade ago...more for its patch than for the jacket. It's a size 46 regular, and it's way short and a bit skimpy. I've never worn it...not even when I was skimpier than now. But it has a huge Vietnam-era Patron 50 patch on the right chest that's worth more than what I paid for the entire jacket.

I drink coffee most mornings with a retired USMC pilot. He and I are the same age, so he barely missed Vietnam, too. He often wears an un-patched WEP, but it's a repro...I'm not sure what brand. He told me he had an original early in his career, but it was lost sometime over the years. Says it was his favorite flight jacket.

AF

 

[Doctor Damage]

Apollo crews in Iceland. Look closely and you'll see WEP jackets being worn.

 

[Tommy-VF51]

Gotta gets me a G8 WEP, now if only I could find it in decent condition on a 42r?

 

[Cocker]

Why not trying G&B?

http://www.gibson-barnes.com/prod-293930/Usnusmc-Wep.html

 

[CBI]

awesome jackets, beware, very short waisted, sometimes, too short to be practical. IMO, G&B are terrible. I ordered one last year. The cut is totally out of proportion compared to originals. Best to find the real thing. You should be able to in a size 42. That said, I DO wish someone made a nice repro. Sometimes an older Cockpit/Avirex repro will show up on eBay, these OLDER repros are very good.

 

[Doctor Damage]

awesome jackets, beware, very short waisted, sometimes, too short to be practical. IMO, G&B are terrible. I ordered one last year. The cut is totally out of proportion compared to originals. Best to find the real thing. You should be able to in a size 42. That said, I DO wish someone made a nice repro. Sometimes an older Cockpit/Avirex repro will show up on eBay, these OLDER repros are very good.

The next time you see one of those old Cockpit/Avirex repros please post a pic of the tag for reference so we can i.d. them better. I wouldn't know what I was looking at, frankly, if I was looking for one now.

 

[Doctor Damage]

One of our members posted a link to an e-bay listing, here's the photos. As he correctly notes, we rarely see the matching trousers (there are a couple of Japanese picture books which illustrate them).