Club Obi Wan

Just went to Wested to pick up a Raiders Jacket, Pants and Shirt while working on Treasure of the Templars. First off let me say what an honor to meet Peter and see his creations. He is a real gent through and through.
I was going to have a Raider J custom fit and in retrospect I wish I had stuck to the plan but nevertheless I am now in proud possetion of a Wested gem.

Being in possesion of four jackets from different Makers Here are my (OPINIONS) ,

1. WESTED Goat - ROTLA - Circa 2005 -- Love the color and the cut. Would preffer D rings from the US wings but these do the job. Out of all the jackets this one seems to hang the best and when the jacket is zipped you cannot beat how the back pannel looks. Even though this was off the shelf Peter but in the elastic for me and it makes all the difference. I told Peter that this has to endure real life adventures and stunts and he assures me that this new goat is the one but It is too early to tell. The lining is all cotton and I wish I would have got nylon sleeves so it slides over the shirt easier. Also - I cannot speak to distressing because I have decided to let this one run it's natural course. The price is Great and it's a Wested.

2. Flight Suits off the rack ROTLA goat circa 2004. GREAT JACKET!!! Indesructable If you want something to stop bullet or at least protect yo during real life adventures this one is a good choice. The hide is ultru consistant and the cut is beautiful. My favorite design element of this jacket is the scallop on the pockets - it just smacks of adventure. In light of my recent trip to the War Museum and seeing the cuts of clothing in the day I am more sold on this jacket than ever -- However... This thing cost some doe but it will last you a lifetime and you can pass it on. Regarding distressing -- it did not take much abuse in that no matter what I did to this thing it just would not look worn. The dye goes so deep that there is no chance of brining out a lighter color in the leather.

3. U.S. Wings 2004 -- No one is quite sure if its lamb or what. At first a handsome jacket to be sure but then the not so little things started to bug me right away. The inconsitantcy in the hide...one arm smooth as silk the other not so much and the back pannel looking like cellulite fat. The D rings are great but the straps are positioned too low on the jacket and cause undue stress at the pockets - so much so that the pockets began to rip after two days of normal wear. I think the dye was sprayed on with a water spritzer because it began to rub off in the first three days -- If you want a jacket that will distress quickly this is it. I do like the scallop pocket on this one as well. Can't speak to the price as I got this in trade but Had I paid for it I would have been ticked.

4. Disney Jacket, circa 2003 -- Fine for a costume but very little practicle use and not even close to accurate. Quality of the leather is so so and it cost WAY too much. It distresses ok due to the cheap die job.

So that is what the sliders on the Wested look like. I thought they only came in anodized black?

think it's possible to get the rectangle sliders sent along with the jacket w/ d-rings so i can swap them if i want to?

Thats funny because my wested came with d- rings.

Wow great comparo there TE. That's the 1st look I've had at the back of one of those US wings....man...that sure is some grain popping out there. The leather wouldn't be all that bad if the panels matched....at least from what I could tell...lose all the "cellulite" etc...the front looks pretty good.
The wested and the FS both look pretty good, but the wested looks the best. Nice collection.

Nice collection.

Thanks I am actually thinking about selling everything but the Wested. Dan R already has dibs on the FS but the other two will be good starters for someone.

TE - Despite the enormous SIZE (man, I scrolled myself dizzy), that is an
EXCELLENT comparison set - I've never seen them all laid out so well side
by side - THANKS! Saving that...

All that being said, now I can't understand why anyone has issues w/ the...

...no, wait, almost did it. I'm not going to be the one that starts it this
time. Suffice to say, one jacket that I don't have looks great! Don't
know why anyone would have issues w/ something like that...

P.S. Mystery meat. Thanks, I blew a tube when I read that...

(P.P.S. Other guys...you can (or at least could, and I think you still can)
request Wested use D-rings or sliders. Depending on what they've got, I
think you can even request the brass or anodized black. But things
change, and I may have gotten that off VERY old posts when I was
searching. When in doubt, ask Peter!)

Meh, that Disney Jacket really doesn't look so hot.

Sorry for the GINORMOUS image - I worked so hard on it that I could not bare to loose any detail. Would you all prefer that I reduce the size for better viewing?

NO! (Not unless the mods ask you to...in which case smaller is better
than none...but if you have to, could you still keep a link to the fullsize
hosted offsite? That comparison is worth keeping!)

Ah, comparisons! Love 'em!
Thanks for doing that, it's great!

On the size issue, you could always make a smaller one to post here (I'm talking image size here...) that you can click and it will link you to the bigger sized image.

This is an example of what it looks like, using brackets instead of the ) and ( of course -

(url=http://www.yoursite.com/images/bigimage.jpg)(img)http://www.yoursite.com/images/smallima ... img)(/url)

Regards,
Swindiana

Thanks TE,

Those are great comparisons for some of us who have only seen our Westeds.

Have a great day!

I'm personally proud of the scalloped pocket flap on the FS jacket. The originals did NOT come with that flap, and were WAY to thick, and I kept beating on Dave Marshall's door to correct those points. When I saw him at the 2nd QM summit, he suggested I send him my jacket back to him so he could try a new flap, scalloping the shape and making it thinner (it was the old A-2 thickness and stiff as a board) so it would flex. My supplying them my jacket meant they didn't have to create a new prototype jacket, as mine was only requiring that change.

I did, he did, and it's now standard.

Sometimes persistance pays off.

Regards! Michaelson

Swindiana wrote:
(url=http://www.yoursite.com/images/bigimage.jpg)(img)http://www.yoursite.com/images/smallima ... img)(/url)

Regards,
Swindiana

See we need to sticky this somewhere on new thread with tips for posting or something, along with the one that goes:
(url=http://www.insertwords so you don't have to see the link.com)Click here(/url)

Good info to know, Swindi! I don't know how all you guys figure these neat tricks out.

Awesome pics! Thanks for posting!

The front cargo pockets on the Flightsuits today seem to be more "scalloped" than what I can see in the pic provided, I think. But, I could be wrong tho...

Also, the USWing Indy jacket looks pretty good too! Thanks again for posting!

Kindest Regards,
Captain D

I have not seen a current FS but The one I have has my favorite scallop out of all of them... So Far.

Hey Texas Girl - GREAT AVITAR!

Mr. Lawrence: Thanks for the comparison, Those jackets look great. BTW, nice avatar you put up this time. Looks good.

Cheers!

Dan

Indiana Texas-girl wrote: Good info to know, Swindi! I don't know how all you guys figure these neat tricks out.

As I said in the other thread, I just roll a boulder over the keyboard and see what comes out.

Trial and error is the key. You know, making it up as I go?

High regards,
Swindiana

Thanks T.E. for the comparison. I'm more interested than ever, now, in the Flightsuits goat. I have a brand new US Wings lamb, which I'm debating about selling.

hanks T.E. for the comparison. I'm more interested than ever, now, in the Flightsuits goat. I have a brand new US Wings lamb, which I'm debating about selling.

I'm curious why you are selling your USW? Mine is a lamb as well and it just is not a tough jacket - Looks fine but wont hold up to the real adventures ----- such as life. ps Im selling mine too.

I haven't fully decided to sell it yet but I'm leaning that direction. It is a real
nice jacket, having the one piece back and what I would consider to be nicely
matched pieces, no "cellulite' grain. I think it just has too heavy of a look to it.
I barely wore it, if at all. Got it just before the weather got warm. I think
I would rather put the money into the Flightsuits goat or eventually the Wested lamb.
I'm holding off until I can wear it a few more times, then I'll
decide.

Again - Just curious - I paid alot of money for my FS Goat and It is the toughest jacket I have ever owned. But now that I have a Wested I don't think I would go back in time and spend the money again on the FS. I have not had the Wested long enough to see if it fairs through my adventures like the FS but I am told it will. So why not just get the Wested and save a little money?

T.E., wasn't it the Wested goat that had the dye release problem you mentioned in the gear care area earlier in the week? Regards! Michaelson

Indeed it is. Due to cement goo getting on it and having to rub it out with chemicals (Rum Accetone etc) As I mentioned somewhere the FS is the jacket to have if you want something that will take a beating and have few blemishes but if you just want a reasonably priced Indy jacket why not go to the source. As I mentioned The wested distresses nice... almost too easy though. But it is almost half the cost and while I like some design elements better on the FS I like how the Wested fits better. Once again it comes down to every changing prefference but I appreciate the accountability.

I'm thinking about the FS goat first because I have heard really good things
about the FS in these forums (Wested, too, BTW) But I have a goat in a USW
A-2, and I really like the leather and the durability. So I thought I would get the FS in a goat,
first, then later, Wested in lamb. But I haven't decided for sure, which is why neither has been ordered.
The problem, obviously, is the more jackets I own, the fewer times each is worn. Which is another reason
for possibly selling the USW lamb (I still have the USW Indy Vintage cow). I know that once I get a FS or Wested, the USW lamb will never see the light of day.
Then of course there is always the scenario of wear the USW lamb, abuse it, destroy it, and my wife might just say " that jacket looks bad! You should get a new one"

T.E. Lawrence wrote:Once again it comes down to every changing prefference but I appreciate the accountability.

'Accountability'?! Heavens, no, that was not the point or angle I was taking at all, my friend! I was just curious if that was the jacket you had had problems with. Heck, I've even heard of vegetable tanned FS's having dye release in the past, so it's not a 'weakness' of the jacket OR hide...it's just that particular batch. Who knows, they could have pulled the hide off another pile to make your jacket from another table, and this dye release may not have even occurred, so don't misunderstand my question. I've had one goat Wested in the past, and have to say it was one of the nicest and softest goatskins I've had on my back. It's back in IndyDawg's stable now, and there it better stay too!

T.E., I hope you get things sorted out on your Wested too. That was a lousy situation to have happen to a nice jacket like that, but things happen....

High regards! Michaelson

Just in case this image gets deleted due to size, I went ahead and threw it up on my site. The software wanted to optimize it and make it smaller so I had to move some things around and break it into four images to retain the size. Hope you don't mind, T.E.! I just didn't want this great piece of info going the way of the Dodo.

http://www.sovereignmodel.com/raiders_jacket_comp.html

Hope you don't mind, T.E.! I just didn't want this great piece of info going the way of the Dodo.

Gosh- not at all. I'm honored to have finally contributed something of value since this forum has given me so much.

T.E., I hope you get things sorted out on your Wested too. That was a lousy situation to have happen to a nice jacket like that, but things happen....

Thanks Michaelson, Actualy I went ahead and chemicly distressed the jacket so everything kind a matched then I re-stained it and gave it a Picard bath and it looks like I've had it for a few months longer than I have but it does not have that "Hey look at my artificially disetressed Jacket" that so much of my other gear has had over the years. There is a quiet comfort in being in a place in life were you know that everything gets to where it needs to be in time. It also helps to know that friction is the death of all things.
ps. There aint noth'n wrong with accountability, my friend.

There isn't!? Wish you could have convinced my kids of that when they were growing up!

High regards! Michaelson

If I knew then what I know now...

Oh well I'm sure I'll go through it with my daughter soon enough----alas