Jacket choice

[soulman]

Hello all. I need a bit of advice. I am at present on the island of Puerto Rico and have decided to move here from my home state of Virginia. With the tropical climate in mind. What would you suggest as the ideal choice for this climate? It needs to be light and tough that much I do know. My current collection consists of a U.S. Made Cooper Indy in goat, an A-1 in horse and an A-2 in lamb. I think each woul be too warm to wear down here. So I need to purchase another Indy that may better suit the weather. Any ideas?

[Michaelson]

About your only real choices would be lambskin, thin cowhide, or cotton.

If you could find a REALLY thin goatskin, that would be ideal....but humidity is the thing, and NO leather works in humidity....and that's why I mentioned cotton, like the Wested version.

Regards! Michaelson

[61ButteMT]

Avirex (Cockpit) makes a "100 Mission" cotton 'A-2'. Since you have that style, you might like it. A good price is ~$110 on the Internet.

[Michaelson]

Yep, that's a good one!

Regards! Michaelson

[soulman]

A cotton Wested would be kinda neat to have and I could see how it would be a bit more comfortable than the leather versions. I'll have to look into that. I have a year before I move so there's time to research. I also have to sadly part with my current jackets as they will not be needed. thanks for the input thus far!

[damian della morte]

A Todd's Indy jacket is my choice for the warmer weather and they're a lot tuffer then you may think. I've been wearing mine as a three season jacket for several years now I don't know about that kind of humidity but the jacket has seen a lot of rain showers

[Michaelson]

How many seasons do they have in Puerto Rico, though?

Regards! Michaelson

[damian della morte]

have 3 cockpit jackets myself, great jacket

Avirex (Cockpit) makes a "100 Mission" cotton 'A-2'. Since you have that style, you might like it. A good price is ~$110 on the Internet.

[Texan Scott]

Tropical climates tend to be rainy. You could get something like a Wested cotton jacket and wax it, then it would be more water repellant? If you ever intend to move back stateside, even for visits, etc., you might consider holding on to those leather works of art?

[soulman]

As far as climates, there's hot and humid most of the time and then during the summer there's hotter than the blazes of hades. That about covers it. Texan you do have a good point and reason to consider holding on to the jackets that I presently own. The A-1 from flightjacket.com is simply awesome!

[Texan Scott]

The reason why I mention it is that I have gotten rid of a few Indy jackets, or other leather jackets in the past, then regretted it later. If you have family stateside, maybe they can store them for you? Just a suggestion.

[fenris]

Basically, the weather there is the same as here in the Philippines. That's why I opted for a cotton Indy jacket even if the only time I'll be able to wear it is in a mall on a cool rainy day and probably during Christmas season.

The only place that is cold here is up in the mountain city of Baguio (well, the most civilized compared to other mountain-based places here), but that is basically a vacation/tourist spot. Over there, the seasons are cool (summer), cold (non-summer seasons), fxxxgxn' cold (christmas season) and foggy (during afternoons with a light rain). Leather jackets are pretty common over there. I've seen a lot of A2s... No Indy jacket, though.

[soulman]

Well I made it back to the states. Before leaving I had one last adventure. I hiked into the rain forest. There I learned the true meaning of hot and humid. The area had spots where the tree canopy was so thick that it was almost night. I hiked a couple of hours in and while doing so I was thinking. What would Indy wear? The leather jacket is out of the question. The heat was nearly unbearable with just a shirt and shorts. The cotton Wested seems to make more sense than anything else at this point. I'll also likely part with the A-1 and the USW Goat. They have no place down there and leaving them with family may not be an option. Hmmm what to do?

[Lao Feng]

Hi Soulman --- Was the forest called "El Yunque"? If so, a dense jungle indeed!

[soulman]

It was El Yunque. That was an amazing hike. I can't wait to get back down there.

[fenris]

soulman,
why not just bring 'em along with you? you don't need to wear everything you bring along anyway...