The A-2 review

[Baggers]

Well, I won't be one of them.

But hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Cheers!

 

[PADDY]

Eastman wait...

Scot, that's a crazy wait for an A2!!! you are a better man than me. As I couldn't be bothered with that sort of wait.

 

[scotrace]

And when it arrives it'll have to be laid aside

The temps reached around 85 F today. So there will be little chance to wear it when it does come.

Listen to me whine. I knew what I was getting into. I hope it's as nice as I think it will be.

 

[shamus]

I've never waited that long for a jacket, but did wait 5 months for my custom Wesco boots, was told 2 months, but I guess you know how that goes...

Good luck on the A2.

Are they waiting for the colt to grow up?

 

[scotrace]

Gubmint

Now I'm told (as of 6/1/06) that is is "stuck in customs" for the last 2 weeks or so. Additional paperwork demanded, etc. No idea why.
"Might be freed up tomorrow, might be several weeks."


Customs!!

Paddy, I think you could pad your pensioner years nicely by acting as quiet UK Agent for US buyers of Eastman leathers. I bet you could get them made up much faster!

 

[Marv]

Damn......into week 15 of an 8 week wait, hope mine doesn't take that long from Eastman and I am only into week 2.....bummer.

 

[MudInYerEye]

Marv,
Don't sweat it. Direct dealings with Eastman are rarely problematic. Unfortunately us Yanks wanting a new Eastman have to go through Eastman's US rep HPA, who are notorious for generating runarounds. Scot's long wait is not surprising.
The "stuck in customs" bit is odd. I just had an A-2 sent from England last week. It arrived in four days via Royal Mail, no hold-ups.

 

[greyhound68]

Scot,
I must have got lucky. I got my Monarch ELC in a week because they had my size in stock. Also got a beaut of a Star ELC off ebay and got it in less than a week. I have dealt with HPA and with jackets it is rare to have that long of a wait. I sure hope the wait is worth it for the jacket. Now that it is too hot to wear outside you could do what I do is turn up the ac and wear it inside. My wife thinks I am crazy but if you like A2s you do crazy things sometimes. Good luck I hope you get it soon.

 

[Baggers]

Scott, that Customs excuse sounds like a dodge. I've ordered several jackets direct from Aero and Wested in the last year or so and never had one stuck in Customs for more than four or five days. Usually they're through within 24 hours. Eastman has been doing this for years, I'd think they'd have the documentation down cold by now.

Something definitely sounds fishy. Is there any way you can get out of this deal and move on?

Cheers,

 

[scotrace]

You're right as can be, Baggers. And I''d like to do it in the worst way.

But you and I know what would happen. In less than a week, some guy would be on VLJ with a big happy post. "I called ELC and they had a 1401P in my size! i got it in three days!" And then there'd be pics of some other fellow in MY jacket.




I was SO SO hoping it would come today, D-Day. Would that not have been perfect?
But nay: "Still in Customs." Maybe it'll come for Pearl Harbor Day.
They've been sitting on right smart o' my money since February.

I've got to find a place to do this bellyaching in private. No sense driving y'all nuts too.

 

[scotrace]

Arrived

Nineteen weeks to the day.

 

[jake431]

Nineteen weeks to the day.

Congratulations, and that sucks, all at the same time.

-Jake

 

[Baggers]

And...

Nineteen weeks to the day.

Dare I ask, does it fit?

 

[scotrace]

I'll try and get some pictures up. I think it does. Any smaller and my shoulders wouldn't fit in it. Sleeves are right... waist may be a bit long... but I can certainly live with it.

Weraing it right now. Summer Schmummer!

Uh... how do you attach this little bell?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

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Well, Was it worth the wait?????????

 

[tallyho]

HPA customer service

not specificly an A-2 order but a reflection on their service. I bought one of the B-2 gunners caps, the really nice redish one. Well I have a really big mellon and I ordered a 7 1/2. it took them 8 weeks to get it to me and it was a 7 3/8! the order form showed the right size but they sent the wrong one. when I called them about it, they didnt seem to really care. they said I could shi it back and they would get another one for me. when i asked them if they were going to cover the shipping and insurance on the return since it was their mistake and they said no! his argument was if you bought something at the stor in your town and the sales person gave you the wrong bag, they wouldnt give you gas money for the return back to the store. Only because I have such a large head and have not been able to find an orginal that will fit(my original 7 1/2 has shrunk?) did I wait for the replacement.

take it for what its worth.

on a side note, does Willis and Geiger still make jackets?

 

[scotrace]

Another

Another thread bump for new jacket enthusiasts.

 

[NextStepGuy]

HPA not good

It's too bad we have to deal with these people. First, they charge an extra 3.5% when they take credit card orders. Next I couldn't get them to send me one email. I always have to call their long distance number (no tall-free). Add to this that they always seem to be surprised when I ask a UPS tracking number. On top of that, they gave me a refund once and they kept the 3.5% fee (they could have reverted the card transaction so I think it's a scam). So no, I don't recommend them either. But do we have a choice when in the US to get an Eastman jacket?

 

[MudInYerEye]

So no, I don't recommend them either. But do we have a choice when in the US to get an Eastman jacket?

Make friends with an English man, or woman.

 

[Stinchcomb]

Hello everyone. I’m new in town, but while doing research on repo A2’s came across this place. I read a lot info and opinions here about A2’s, and Acme Depots was very helpful with what to look for. I ended up buying my A2 from US Authentic (flightjacket.com). It came down to a compromise of price, quality, and authenticity. I’m no expert and have never seen in person some of those $800 plus jackets, but I figured for a good knock around jacket you just can’t beat US Authentic price. I got the Horsehide Russet. I love it. Some posters didn’t like the stiffness of the horsehide, but for me it is what I was looking for, heavy leather in thickness and weight.