Thinsulate lining in US Wings jackets

[TreasureHunter]

So my wonderful wife gave me a US Wings Indy jacket for Christmas (see this thread for background http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6029). Yes, she kicks a** . She initially ordered the VIP, but it was out of stock so she changed to the Vintage Cowhide. Although I really like the Vintage look, I opted to return it and wait for the VIP. I can't wait to get it!!!

Here is my real surprise though. Granted this is my first leather jacket of any kind, but all of the US Wings jackets come with a thinsulate lining. Probably not hard to believe, but I'm surprized that this is never mentioned anywhere (i.e., this forum, the US Wings description, etc.).

Is this just a given for all leather jackets? I guess from all of the discussions about how warm this or that kind of leather is, I assumed that the lining was just plain silk or cotton or acetate or whatever. As always, never assume anything!

Are the Wested's lined with thinsulate also?

[FLATHEAD]

The U.S. Wings Indy jackets do NOT come with Thinsulate linings.
They come with a cotton/poly lining that is a nice brown color.

The thinsulate linings come in some of their other offerings, like the
Avirex A-2 and such, but not in the Indy jackets.

As a matter of fact, here is the description of the lining of the VIP
Indy jacket right from U.S. Wings own website:

"and silky nylon-acetate lining round out the features".

If you look at the actual descriptions for each Indy jacket
none of them mention thinsulate. You must have read that off
of one of their other jackets like I said.

Flathead

[TreasureHunter]

Flathead,

My info didn't come from the US Wings website, rather from holding the jacket in my hand. When I slid the jacket on I noticed that the lining felt a bit thicker than I had imagined. Then looking at the tag on the sleeve I discovered that it was indeed lined with "genuine thinsulate" by 3M or whoever makes that stuff.

I called US Wings customer service to ask if this was just the case for the Vintage Cowhide or was part of all the Indy jackets they said that all of the jackets had thinsulate linings.

I'm not saying that the jacket was lined like a winter jacket, but it definitely had between an 1/8 and 1/4 inch of insulation. I'll be able to tell whether this is the case with the VIP in a couple or weeks or less.

[Rixter]

I’m not sure if Wested offers a Thinsulate inning or not, but I rather doubt it, even FS doesn’t offer a Thinsulate inning on their Expedition jacket. I own a USWings VIP as well and it will look nothing like the Vintage Cowhide, and after a few years of wear I doubt if it ever will. In all that time there’s not a hint of distressing but it’s still a favorite for this weather. In fact a buddy ordered a VIP over a month ago, a XL that is a little too big on him (I told him it would be...oh, well ) Be sure to weatherproof it if your planning on wearing it in rain or snow.

BTW: I would not rely too heavily on what customer service tells you and would email Sgt Hack directly if you want to really know anything. Of course you can just wait and see. Although, customer service may actually be right for a change, - don’t know. I didn’t ask my buddy what lining was in his jacket, but mine definitely is the “silky nylon-acetate” type. At any rate, I’m not really sure I would care to have a thinsulate lining in that particular jacket if your planning on wearing it through more than one season. But, whatever, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your new VIP.

Just my

[FLATHEAD]

If the jacket you had in your hands had thinsulate in it, did it also
have a quilted look to it?

If it didn't, then I think you just got the sleeve lining from one of their
A-2 jackets put in the jacket you had for that short time that had the
thinsulate tag on it.

I have seen over 2 dozen Wings Indy jackets so far, and not one of
them had any insulation in them. They all had either the brown
cotton/poly lining, or the acetate lining. My Vintage Cow Indy jacket that
I got from Wings has the brown cotton/poly lining in it.

Also, Rixter is right, never, ever believe what Wings customer service
tells you. Why? Because these people can't tell you if any of your items
are in stock, nor can they tell you what the grand total of your order is
after you place it!! How absurd is that? I placed orders from them in
the past, for stuff other than Indy stuff, and not once could the phone
person tell me if my items where in stock, or what my order total was.

Because of the very poor quality control at Wings, plus the extremely
poor customer service, I will never order from them again unless someone
puts a gun to my head.

What prompted this was I ordered my dad a knit cap from them, along
with some other things, and when I had to send back one thing for a
refund, first they lost my order. Then they said I never sent back the
package. Then, after proving to them that they actually signed for my
return, they still gave me a hard time about giving me my money back.

I had to resort to threats of the sicking the Better Business Bureau
on them to get my money. The whole process took over two months.

So, never, ever believe what their customer service department says.

Flathead

[TreasureHunter]

Wow, hopefully my exchange doesn't go that badly! I was definitely put off by their apparent use of an "answering service" to handle their orders. Like you mentioned, when I called the 800# to see when the VIP would be in stock they said they didn't have access to that info. I used to work for a mail order company and was surprised to hear that. When I pressed the subject they suggested that I either order via the website or call customer service, which I am guessing is the offices in Ohio.

Again, I'm hopefully that my exchange will go smoothly and this little adventure will end with me smiling in my new jacket .

Thanks for the heads up though. I'll keep in mind that if I run into any trouble to just ask for Sgt. Hack.