Noble House BF 109 Jagdflieger (Messerschmitt) Review

[jps79]

Dear members,

for quite some time I´ve used the lounge as valuable source for infomation and a nice place to read about fine things.
Now I would like to post a short thread about a Noble House jacket I`ve ordered recently.
The main reason why I decided to post is that I couldn´t find a real review of one of their jackets in the whole internet. Some people stated that they like the pictures or that they heard the quality is low but most of them never had a NH-jacket in their hands.
Therefore I decided just to order a jacket and take a look at it by myself.
I´ve chosen the BF 109 Jagdflieger in brown horsehide. It retails for 349 € which is quite cheap if you compare it with the prices of other manufacturers.
Here ist the first picture of the jacket after unboxing:




My first impression:
The jacket is heavy and thick. It is definitely more than a mall-jacket. Nevertheless, the leather smells unfamiliar (not like Aero`s or ELC`s horsehide). The smell is rather unpleasant.

When I looked at the details, I found some annoying (for me) things:
The leather quality varies depending on which part of the jacket you look at. The next photo shows the difference in leather quality between sleeve and back



The zippers are marked as "Ritsch" but if you take a close look at them, they are from YKK:


There are worlds between the quality of Eastman`s moleskine and the NH moleskine (which is a simple blue cotton lining in reality). The zipper of the inner pocket is not even marked as Ritsch:


The Jagdflieger-label looks somewhat...hmmm...strange and what definitely is ridiculous is the "FQHH" patch. The jacket may be made of horsehide, but it is in no way even similar to the leather used by Aero.


To be fair: you get what you pay for. For the price, the jacket is ok. If you are used to wear Aero or Eastman, NH is not for you. Nevertheless, NH has thousands of satisfied customers derived from their eBay feedbacks.
The jacket does not meet my requirements. I´ve sent it back to NH.

Hope this helps

Regards
Joern

 

[wallis]

Thanks. Great review.

...if other comments prove the quality of this jacket to be typical of Noble House, I don't think I'll be buying from them.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Pretty much what you'd expect. Mismatched leather is okay by me, it adds character and was often found on vintage jackets and I have to say I like YKK zips. They aren't retro cool, but they hardly ever break down. That pattern there isn't bad looking. Some of the other NH jackets are pretty ugly in my view.

 

[Metatron]

Thanks for the review. I agree with Seb, some of their patterns are good, and some look off. I own their 'Nachtjager' which is I like, (but I wish it came in brown).

I think they are a bit over-ambitious with the number of models they try to offer: if they stuck to just the German designs they would have a better reputation imho. For example: their sheepskin kanaljacke is almost spot on, and with no competition at this price, while their B6s/B3s etc are way off. But maybe you just have to make American flight jackets to survive in this business?

 

[Troglodyte]

If you like that style, have a look at the Luftwaffe Arado on the Aero Leather website. I bought one a couple of years ago, and it is exceptional. You cannot buy them through the Aero website, but Aero will point you to the correct German retailer. I am not being deliberately cryptic here, I simply can't remember the company's name.

They're expensive, more than double what you paid for the NH jacket, but you are indeed getting what you paid for.

Trog

 

[Troglodyte]

This one:

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=370

 

[Troglodyte]

Incidentally, I've worn the jacket quite a bit, but nobody has ever asked me about the "improvements" (map pocket and oxygen hose loops) on it.

If they would make you self-conscious, I am sure the makers could leave them off.

Best,
Trog

 

[Greenman]

I ordered the same JF109 from their website. Paid, and was surprised to receive no confirmation, just a laconic,'your order is on its way,' a couple of days later. The jacket arrived naked, in a box. The main zip pull was absent and both upper and lower button holes had unfinished stitching and loose threads. The colour had been described as COGNAC, but IMO was a rather disturbing brick red. I returned it instantly as an omen of ill luck. I hope of course that NH will redeem themselves with a quick refund. I'll let you know.

 

[Edward]

The Jagdflieger-label looks somewhat...hmmm...strange and what definitely is ridiculous is the "FQHH" patch. The jacket may be made of horsehide, but it is in no way even similar to the leather used by Aero.


To be fair: you get what you pay for. For the price, the jacket is ok. If you are used to wear Aero or Eastman, NH is not for you. Nevertheless, NH has thousands of satisfied customers derived from their eBay feedbacks.
The jacket does not meet my requirements. I´ve sent it back to NH.

Hope this helps

Regards
Joern

Useful review, thank-you. It seems to me there is a market for what they produce, bearing in mind that there are folks out there who want a jacket of a particular design, but aren't maybe able or willing to afford an Aero, ELC, etc. This mid-price market has it all to play for. It sounds like they've skimped in the exact areas I would have expected: consistency of hide quality, lining quality, and zip types. Sounds to me like it could be worth picking up a cheap used one as a beater, but not necessarily a jacket to shoot for by first preference.

Interesting labels. The top one is clearly a nod to the Luftwaffe Imperial Eagle of the period, tweaked a bit for, uh, modern sensibilities. The FQHH label... is it only me, or does that bear a striking resemblance to the Aero FQHH label? Have they been a bit naughty, or is that just a typical style label for the period?

Pretty much what you'd expect. Mismatched leather is okay by me, it adds character and was often found on vintage jackets and I have to say I like YKK zips. They aren't retro cool, but they hardly ever break down. That pattern there isn't bad looking. Some of the other NH jackets are pretty ugly in my view.

Yes, YKK might not be the prettiest zips, but you can't argue with their reliability. I agree on mismatched hide in terms of grain or subtle colour differences, even. What I dislike on cheaper jackets is mismatching of leather thickness, with some panels being crazy thin compared to others, and a lack of consistency across several jackets in the same pattern. Of course, the consistency in terms of hide quality is one of the things for which we pay other makers the big bucks....

I think they are a bit over-ambitious with the number of models they try to offer: if they stuck to just the German designs they would have a better reputation imho. For example: their sheepskin kanaljacke is almost spot on, and with no competition at this price, while their B6s/B3s etc are way off. But maybe you just have to make American flight jackets to survive in this business?

I would suspect that the US jackets - especially the A2 and to a degree the USN jackets too - are the top selling style in any of these lines. Basing a business on the Luftwaffe designs might be limited, especially when there are many period-enthusiasts who would simply never be prepared even to consider wearing one. (Course, if Hilts had been in the Luftwaffe, things might have been different...).

 

[Greenman]

I ordered the same JF109 from their website. Paid, and was surprised to receive no confirmation, just a laconic,'your order is on its way,' a couple of days later. The jacket arrived naked, in a box. The main zip pull was absent and both upper and lower button holes had unfinished stitching and loose threads. The colour had been described as COGNAC, but IMO was a rather disturbing brick red. I returned it instantly as an omen of ill luck. I hope of course that NH will redeem themselves with a quick refund. I'll let you know.

This firm, online at least, are utterly deficient communicators; my regrettable experience is that they peddle leather jackets with defective zips and poor stitching. Strangers to customer service, they have failed to understand that good, timely and reassuring communication is crucial toonline purchasing. God help them.

 

[TomS]

Thanks for the effort!

 

[Greenman]

6 Months after a mistaken purchase, NH have emailed me 3 times to ask if I want a refund for the 109 JF jacket. Three times I have answered that, I do indeed want a refund. No acknowledgement and my refund remains unpaid. My repeated emails to info or sales (@-x-jeans.de)have been ignored. The telephone number on the website does not work. Needless to say, my firm opinion is that this company is utterly defective. They still have my money. Crooks of the first order.

 

[Edward]

6 Months after a mistaken purchase, NH have emailed me 3 times to ask if I want a refund for the 109 JF jacket. Three times I have answered that, I do indeed want a refund. No acknowledgement and my refund remains unpaid. My repeated emails to info or sales (@-x-jeans.de)have been ignored. The telephone number on the website does not work. Needless to say, my firm opinion is that this company is utterly defective. They still have my money. Crooks of the first order.

How did you pay? Might be worth getting your bank / cc card provider / paypal to go after them. Paypal are a bit rubbish on this front after any length of time (though I seem to remember some folks found them helpful during the Mark Moye hoo hah), but I've always found any Visa provider to be very on the ball here in the UK.

 

[Sloan1874]

How did you pay? Might be worth getting your bank / cc card provider / paypal to go after them. Paypal are a bit rubbish on this front after any length of time (though I seem to remember some folks found them helpful during the Mark Moye hoo hah), but I've always found any Visa provider to be very on the ball here in the UK.

+1 especially with credit card people.

 

[Worf]

That stinks! Brings back a ton of bad memories too. I wonder where that cat is and what he's up to?

Worf

 

[mihai]

@Greenman please send me an e-mail perhaps I can help with contacting them by phone (I already did it successfully lately)

 

[FredS]

Greenman has this issue been resolved? I ask because you have me worried now...I ordered and returned a Noble-House "Perfecto" jacket and now 1 week after returning it I still haven't heard anything from them and my money has not been refunded yet as promised by them. Reason I returned the jacket was the shoddy workmanship. The leather itself was beautiful and buttery soft Argentinian steerhide, no complaints about the leather used but the finish left a lot to be desired.

 

[FredS]

Hallo Greenman...you still around? Did your issue ever get sorted? I am still waiting and they are even getting a bit rude to me for having dared to phone them the past 4 days in a row asking whether they have now received my returned jacket and when am I going to get my refund. I have the track and trace number from the post office of the jacket I returned and when I check it online it says it was delivered last Monday already at 14h 34. Now Noble -House gets all agitated and vague with me saying they can't find the jacket and then the next thing saying maybe it was delivered to their neighbours and when I asked if they could check then if it is with their neighbour next-door they tell me that I am stressing them all out and throw the phone down in my ear. I phoned them again on Saturday and the owner was shouting in the background and told the person on the phone to stop talking to me and tell me I would be phoned back on Monday. I am starting to fear that I have lost my money now...

 

[Jeff M]

"Noble" house?
Riiiiiight.

 

[FredS]

"Noble" house?
Riiiiiight.

Meaning? Not so noble...I hope they honor their refund policy.