At this point, and I'm still waiting to hear back from Tony, I think Magnoli is my best bang for the buck. Thanks for all the advice thus far!

What do you guys do for a living?! Seriously... I'm just a heavily indebted medical student. So $750 would be great, if I had any kind of positive net income.

Unless TN would cut me a helluva deal, I'll give you 300:1 odds against. And by "helluva deal", I mean $600. Given how people rave about his craftsmanship and customer service, I rate this probability as 1,000,000:1 against. My original plan was budgeted for a Wested. That got blown out of...

A lot of people seem to complain that US Wings are too long. Well, after looking at the specs, their 44L comes with 37" sleeves (check) and a long back at 29.5" (check). It just might be a little loose around the waist. I'd really like to get a TN. Really, I would. But I won't spend that m...

How much would a TN goatskin Raider's run me?

I'm seriously considering Magnoli at $495. Unless someone tells me US Wings would be just as good as $350. Or that Magnoli's aren't field-rated.

(Name dropping, fwiw, did nothing...except the exchange of a few pleasantries.) LOL! I'd say it got you the right answer quickly - did you expect a freebie? Definitely got the right answer. And I wasn't expecting a freebie. Just a little disappointed. Was really hoping not to go the custom route.

So I just got off the horn with GB, and it seems like the consensus among Dave, Amy and myself was that GB is not the best choice for me. I'm too tall and fit, thus making it a custom job. At $600, I'm pretty close to TN. And that is just WAY too much for me right now. (Name dropping, fwiw, did noth...

Sent my specs to both GB and US Wings before I started this thread. Still waiting to hear back... Thank you for the personal "in" at GB; I'll be sure to try and get in touch with him!

How durable is a Magnoli? That is my primary criteria.

Okay, so U.S. Wings is back on the table, especially with that $100 discount they are offering to COW members. Question: I was originally thinking goatskin, but they also have that predistressed cowhide. How much warmer is cowhide vs. goatskin? I'm going to be trekking in some pretty hot places, but...

So I've been reading...and reading...and reading... Seemingly way too many posts for something so simple as a jacket. In any event I think I've settled on a GB Expo in goatskin , mainly because I'm getting this jacket to be my bosom companion in the African bush and South American jungle - NOT for c...