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A-2 Options


Garandomatic
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Garandomatic

Always wanted one. I see the Brit made variety are very expensive, but excellent quality, and basically ridiculously out of my price range. Does anyone know of a good reproduction of an A-2 jacket for no more than $500, preferably a bit lower?

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As a long-time wearer of those "Brit-made" A2s you refer to I completely understand where you're coming from! Yes, they are expensive, but as with anything else, if you want the best it costs! It depends how accurate you want your jacket to be. The Eastman jackets are perfect in every detail, hence the cost. However,there are also plenty of "look-alike" A2s out there which aren't as detailed and made from inferior materials and thus are not as expensive. Another alternative would be a current USAF issue Cooper/ Saddlery A2. These are often to be found on eBay for well within your target budget. Stylistically very close to the original A2 but, in all honesty, a more comfortable fit! Also, they come with velcro panels attached so that might be an issue if you want a pure WW2 look...though they can be removed. Also, they are not reproductions but genuine military spec jackets.

 

Here's one, for example.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Size-42L-Air-Force-USAF-Cooper-Leather-A-2-Pilot-Flight-Jacket-Not-Helmet-/261241825093?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd339e745

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Garandomatic

As one of my old heroes once said, "It costs to be cool." And my response was always, "But T, I'm broke!" I don't reenact, and have a shearling jacket that is roughly styled after a military piece that I am happy with, so accuracy doesn't need to be 100%. I just want something to wear around the times when the shearling is necessary. I'd say if the materials and construction were good, that would be high on my list, and accuracy slightly lower. The only thing I'll be flying while wearing it is my old 3 series BMW.

 

No joke, this last year, my classroom was so cold that I wore that shearling coat in FULL comfort indoors. It was ridiculous. Sometimes you have to open the windows to let the heat in in the Spring and Fall.

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Johnny Signor

Try over on the

Fedora Lounge , that site has a lot of people who know jackets/manufacturers ,type,prices ...............................

post it under the "Outer wear" section .

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Eastman jackets are amazing. If you are patient keep an eye on ebay.co.uk typing eastman jacket and sooner or later a good deal can come along.

I was lucky enough to buy my first one for half the price and it was hardly worn, compared it to a coopers and uswings and there is no comparison, it is just awesome. Aero also makes some killer A-2's. For USN M422a jackets, Eastman also.. I might have a spare one in 42 somewhere for sale.

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Eastman Leather's A2s are like used BMWs....they hold their price very well. Over the years I've owned and sold 12 of them, mostly on eBay, and in each instance my "loss" was minimal. I've even made a few profits too, selling ones I painted nose-art on. When they do appear for sale, the bidding is usually very competitive indeed. People like good used examples because they're already already broken in!

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Become a member of the vintage leather jacket forums, and constantly browse their buy sell and trade section, you can get one of those really nice jackets for a song if you catch at the right time. I picked up a nice 1939 Werber repop from Goodwear....hardly worn for $650 and the jacket sells brand new for $1500.

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