Club Obi Wan

.....lets all jump on the bandwagon!!!!!

http://canada.roots.com/style.aspx?cati ... template=3

NO way!! Awesome... hmm... No action pleats and back flap though... Not quite SA, but I bet it's good quality jacket after all...

I think that is a good jacket. It's fine with a something of modern design...

Indiana G wrote:.....lets all jump on the bandwagon!!!!!

http://canada.roots.com/style.aspx?cati ... template=3

And my guess is that this will be the first of many...

No thanks from me. I'll stick with the companies who have always kept this hobby alive. Wested, GB, USW, Todd, Magnoli. I think we all have loyalties to these guys.

Although it will be nice seeing more Indyesque clothing in stores.

these are wise words ...

As someone who likes the "Indy jacket" from the front, and despises the back, preferring a plainer, more basic look in the back, this jacket looks amazing. Even their bags are appealing.

Anyone know anything about their quality of manufacturing, materials, stitching, etc?

Hmmm.... If the lawyers at Lucas films are going to thump on a company that has legitimate ties to the Indy jacket (USWings), they'll be working overtime to send letters out to companies that do things like this. Just a thought.

Peace.

Actually, since it doesn't say "Indiana Jones" anywhere on that page, they're pretty much safe.

WeeMadHamish wrote:Actually, since it doesn't say "Indiana Jones" anywhere on that page, they're pretty much safe.

Dude......It say RAIDERS in the description of that POS. Thats enough for me.

Vegeta wrote:

WeeMadHamish wrote:Actually, since it doesn't say "Indiana Jones" anywhere on that page, they're pretty much safe.

Dude......It say RAIDERS in the description of that POS. Thats enough for me.

LOL - that's no "POS." Do you know Roots? My wife's purse cost more than my Wested.

It's a Wested with out any customization Or a Wested missing half of the order.

Non-Canadian COW members may not be familiar with the Roots brand. It's a top quality Canadian product, and was the supplier to both the Canadian, Britain and US Olympic teams at at least two recent Olympics. Frankly, I'm surprised to see any of their leather jackets selling for less than $500.

Even though their Raider design may be derivative, it'll be a quality product.

SD

Two-piece back(A seam right up the middle!)...No pleats...No side buckles...For $438? No thank you, I'll take my G&B for that...And not have to worry about it! I don't even really like the color....Do I really want to know what sort of jargon 'Tribe Leather' is?

But *Sigh* ain't bandwagonin' fun, though? It's makin' me kinda misty....

PyramidBlaster wrote:Two-piece back(A seam right up the middle!)...No pleats...No side buckles...For $438? No thank you, I'll take my G&B for that...And not have to worry about it! I don't even really like the color....Do I really want to know what sort of jargon 'Tribe Leather' is?

But *Sigh* ain't bandwagonin' fun, though? It's makin' me kinda misty....

I agree........ (but this is JMHO) too.

St. Dumas wrote:Non-Canadian COW members may not be familiar with the Roots brand. It's a top quality Canadian product, and was the supplier to both the Canadian, Britain and US Olympic teams at at least two recent Olympics. Frankly, I'm surprised to see any of their leather jackets selling for less than $500.

Even though their Raider design may be derivative, it'll be a quality product.

SD

agreed. roots is well known for quality merchandise. my wife has a purse/bag from them and i was quite impressed with the quality. i've also tried on numerous jackets of theirs......very well made and would look to be quite durable.

i'm not knock'n roots' products at all. if anyone pulls the trigger on this, they're getting a decent jacket and a good price.....obviously they wouldn't be that worried about having its ties to the indy franchise and probably would be more interested in the fact that its a nice jacket, great colour, made well, and with good leather.......best of all......it's CANADIAN!!!!

.......just don't wear it with a DP please......

I realize the Indy fans here are loyal to the "pure" jacket makers like Wested, G&B, etc., but isn't the Indy jacket itself a "derivative" of an A-2? Its not as if it was an original jacket to begin with in terms of its styling.

IMHO, you guys are correct to be loyal to US Wings, G&B, Wested, etc., if nothing else than because it is frustrating how hard it is to find a company not outsourcing its manufacturing to #### China, and not ridiculously expensive for doing so.

That being said, Roots seems to have a good product, if a little trendy-driven for my tastes in terms of their marketing positioning - they have Paris Hilton on their news section, so I don't know if its fair to knock them. They don't seem to want to be making too close an Indy jacket, given that the whole back is an entirely different animal altogether. I would imagine that a company who outfitted the US, UK, Canada and others in the last Olympics has a good enough attention to detail that if they wanted to make a jacket closely resembling the Indy, they would have come ALOT closer. Just my $.02 (worth even less at today's exchange rate...;( )

No thanks from me. I'll stick with the companies who have always kept this hobby alive. Wested, GB, USW, Todd, Magnoli. I think we all have loyalties to these guys.

I understand where you're coming from and respect that, but it is better to have more options open to all of us so long as the company is legit.

It certainly is a good time to be an Indy fan.

SD

I've never really been fond of Roots. I've always felt they were far too expensive for what you get. The same applies with this jacket. It will be fine for kids with parents that have too much cash and too little time, but those of the pure faith will know the difference.

Maybe it's for people who want a good looking leather jacket that *GASP* don't want to look exactly like Indy but capture the spirit.

I'm sensing that ugly elitism that sometimes creeps in here from time to time.

Give me someone in a jean jacket going on adventures any day over someone dressing up as Indy and prancing about their apartment.

Cassidy wrote: Give me someone in a jean jacket going on adventures any day over someone dressing up as Indy and prancing about their apartment.

LOL

Cassidy wrote:Maybe it's for people who want a good looking leather jacket that *GASP* don't want to look exactly like Indy but capture the spirit.

I'm sensing that ugly elitism that sometimes creeps in here from time to time.

Give me someone in a jean jacket going on adventures any day over someone dressing up as Indy and prancing about their apartment.

That's very funny.

I quite like the look of the roots jacket. I agree that the back panel often doesnt look good - mainly because most of the time it's ill fitting and just doesn't work. I think this version of the jacket would probably suit people better..maybe.

Either way, more choices can only be a good thing. Lately i've been thinking of another jacket - I have a wested and todd's...but would like an indy-esque jacket without it being an indy jacket. This one looks good, but i'll probably opt for a decent vintage cut A2 (not that I have any idea where to start looking for them).

Dre wrote:I quite like the look of the roots jacket. I agree that the back panel often doesnt look good - mainly because most of the time it's ill fitting and just doesn't work. I think this version of the jacket would probably suit people better..maybe.

Either way, more choices can only be a good thing. Lately i've been thinking of another jacket - I have a wested and todd's...but would like an indy-esque jacket without it being an indy jacket. This one looks good, but i'll probably opt for a decent vintage cut A2 (not that I have any idea where to start looking for them).

http://www.eastmanleather.com/

http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/index.html

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/weba ... ?page=home

http://www.realmccoys.co.nz/cata.html

Some places to start.

bobjones-
If you're looking for a nice indy type jacket without the panel back, check out the overstock Chaps Hipster. I absolutely love mine! (plus it was only about $120 shipped!).

-Corey

From looking at the closeups, it seems to be very well made. A very crisp finish to it--nice seams, stitching, etc.

Pricey and not SA, but it does look like a nice jacket.

Two-way zipper, too! Not sure why one would need one on anything but coveralls, but interesting.

The tribe leather is lamb i am guessing, i will call them tomorrow to see what it is.

I just wish it was a bit less expensive, especially if it is lamb, because frankly at that price, you could probably get a G&B to customize the back so that it looks like this jacket. I would look to get a goatskin over lamb, given that the notion of a jacket tearing is just too much to accept, unless it was some piece of @#$% bought for $125 or so. The new CS look very nice, but cowhide is too heavy for my spring-weight jacket...suede perhaps?

Anything I've ever owned from Roots is still wearable after years. They're pretty much known for their quality and durability, but since it's not an Indiana Jones jacket...

folks, i just bought the 'mens racer' jacket from roots.....i'm very happy with it but what i find amazing is that the cut/fit/sleeves/drape remind me of how i would like an indy jacket to sit on me. it is sooooooo close to the peru temple jacket that it has me thinking i should send this one to todd to have him do an indy jacket out of the measurements.

if their raider jacket is anywhere close to the fit of this one, it would be the closest thing to a raider jacket that i have in the closet....based primarily on drape, cut and fit of course. too bad they can't mod it to capture the right back panel, pockets, straps, buckles, seams etc......

agent5 wrote:

No thanks from me. I'll stick with the companies who have always kept this hobby alive. Wested, GB, USW, Todd, Magnoli. I think we all have loyalties to these guys.

I understand where you're coming from and respect that, but it is better to have more options open to all of us so long as the company is legit.

Don't get me wrong, I think this looks like a great jacket. I've heard of Roots before and know they have nice stuff, I just don't really think many people here at COW will embrace it, since most of us are after screen accuracy, etc. However, for the majority of Indy Fans who just want a jacket that looks something like Indy's, this could be perfect for them. A great product that resembles Indy's jacket (from the front, anyways). It's always nice to see more companies making products in the Indy style, because I (and I am sure many others) wear and use products in this style.

I like Roots stuff and I know they make some nice leather stuff. This is not a jacket I would buy but I do own several pairs of their boots.
best
Canada

Frick....This movie is going to make it reaaaallly hard to keep my "original" style that I try so hard to do. I hate looking like a clone of everyone else, I'm gonna stick with Wested (or another SA version).....taking that extra time/effort to get something no one else is bothered (or smart enough) to get is worth it to me.

Sorry...I just don't like this jacket. And besides, why buy a more expensive duplicate, when you can go to Wested and buy a cheaper more SA one from the guy who made the originals?

I'm sticking with Wested.

I quite like the look of this one, the front really looks like the Vanity Fair cover jacket.

However, it is a shame that the people who buy it may possibly miss out on the far more accurate and pedigreed jackets from our vendors.

It's expensive too.

...Many of you are missing the point, methinks.

It's not supposed to be a screen accurate jacket - it's supposed to be a durable, adventure jacket.

Every time something like this pops up the SA crowd jumps all over and it rips it apart.

I think the reason for that is that many people here work very hard to get the best gear they can afford. It takes a lot of research, persistence, patience, and knowledge to attain much of the gear and look/feel authentic.

When some company make some knock off that any Joe Blow on the street can get it's almost an insult. When you go through all the trouble to get a genuine custom Wested and you wear it out and look "original" it feels good.

Then you walk by some guy who just walked into Roots and picked up a pretty close version, then the next guy, and the next guy....your Wested starts to just blend in to the crowd.

"That's an awesome hat" gets replaced with "hahah, another Indiana Jones" because now everyone is wearing the latest factory knock off for $59.95.

There is a difference between the "close enough" people and the SA crowd. It's accepted that some people just can't afford certain things, but it's a big difference from the bandwagon crowd that just drives up prices, wait times, and makes the gear "belly button" clothing.

...If everyone in the World wants to dress up like Indiana Jones that's fine by me.

Isn't that what this is all about?

Have we become an exclusive club that wouldn't welcome newcomers to the fold because we don't want them adopting our style?

If someone showed up here with a pic of their gear and they were wearing the Roots jacket, would we say, "Get lost idiot, you're a newb and that's not a Wested?"

Of course not. There's a fine line here that's bordering on cliquey and I want no part of it.

No...

Lets be honest here...the fine line is being respected, and looking like a uber nerd who people laugh at.

It's not about being exclusive, it's about maintaining that class that goes with Indiana Jones and not becoming looked at like some of the other nerd types in the world.

When you go to a Comiccon and see like one or two well done Indy's it looks really cool. The people who get Indy gear take pride in the gear and it shows...but then you see some of the other people who are into other things and man....they just make an already hard stereotype to break into a nail in the coffin.

I saw Indy G one time (the first time I met him) on the street and he looked totally classy in his Wested and Fedora. He blended into the "suits" and looked completely natural. Plainly put, he didn't look like some nerd that you shake your head at and say, "Really.....REALLY?"

That's why I like the gear, you can wear it and still look cool, you get comments from the ladies, you feel good that you have something that everyone else can't get their hands on, you feel part of a community of people who care as much as you do about a jacket, or shoes, or whatever.

When anyone can just walk into Roots and pick up a knock off, it'll either make it so people won't see the gear as classy, and start to see people as "Indiana Jones people", or it'll just dilute the special qualities of the gear and it'll look no different than baseball caps.

Cassidy wrote:.If someone showed up here with a pic of their gear and they were wearing the Roots jacket, would we say, "Get lost idiot, you're a newb and that's not a Wested?"
Of course not. There's a fine line here that's bordering on cliquey and I want no part of it.

I dont believe thats what most people are saying here, but if you dont want to be a part of something, thats obviously your choice.
The point isnt that people will buy it and wear it and enjoy it, thats great, but the company could have just as easily put in a bit of research and effort and time, just like the many other people and vendors here have done over the years and made it so much closer to what Indys jacket looks like

The leather raider bag looks like what i would use for a ford prefect costume.

Guardian Devil wrote:

Cassidy wrote:.If someone showed up here with a pic of their gear and they were wearing the Roots jacket, would we say, "Get lost idiot, you're a newb and that's not a Wested?"
Of course not. There's a fine line here that's bordering on cliquey and I want no part of it.

I dont believe thats what most people are saying here, but if you dont want to be a part of something, thats obviously your choice.
The point isnt that people will buy it and wear it and enjoy it, thats great, but the company could have just as easily put in a bit of research and effort and time, just like the many other people and vendors here have done over the years and made it so much closer to what Indys jacket looks like

But again, the argument that it's not an Indiana Jones jackets doesn't hold any water.

They weren't trying to make an Indiana Jones jacket, but rather capture the spirit. So it isn't logical to criticize something for what it's not when it was never intended to be that.

I don't think that's true. I think that's exactly what they're trying to do.

Some bigwig at the top of the company said, "You know, this new Indiana Jones movie is coming out...how do we get our piece of the pie on this?"

They, like many others know that legally it's hard to rip off a certain type of gear, so they name it "Raiders" or "Adventure Something" and write up a little description about it.

I personally feel these companies aren't trying to pay homage or "capture the spirit" they're just trying to make money off something else.

I mean that's their choice n' all, but I just don't like the idea of it. I had another thread asking if Indy 4 was going to make gear collecting harder, and I think this is a perfect example of how it might have a negative side.

thanks for the compliment CLM.....man, both of you gents bring up good points and perhaps we are touching upon a topic of "how deep do you get into your gear?"

there are some that collect this and that and probably won't wear everything together so close'nuff stuff is good enuff. there are other folks here (including me....unfortunately ) that need the SA stuff, with the proper fit to your frame, as you are planning to wear items as your everyday attire. another end of the spectrum are the folks that wear the stuff as a costume, whether it be wool/paper hats, pleather jackets and a bungee chord rolled up as a whip.........when it comes down to the bottom line, we all like the adventure gear/indy gear. everyone has a preference of what to buy, which vendor to go with, and in the end they share that here. i like to read posts on DP hats and Overstock jackets as much as i like to read the AB and wested posts. variety is the spice of life friends.

roots along with many (and i mean MANY) other retailers will be making some coin off the new movie for sure.....but they're not selling a crappy product. their jackets are a good bang for the buck which i can attest to. some folks may not want an SA jacket but wants one that reminds them of indy....that's cool.

in the end, i think it's better to have options out their than not. i mean, i recall reading about the early days of the hobby when people were comparing their a-2 jackets to the indy jacket....i wonder what the arguements were back then?....."whose a2 is the most SA in colour"?

cheers guys.......be happy that the movie is bringing gear options to the surface.....just not the ones that are just trying to make a buck off ya.....cough...cough....belstaff....cough......

...interesting mentality here. If the jacket were 100% dead-nuts accurate to the Indy film of your choice, they would be welcomed as a new vendor. Instead of worrying about who's getting a piece of which pie, we would all be lining up for the jacket.

I can only speak for myself, but I wasn't looking for an SA jacket, esp. since I don't like the back of the accurate Indy leather jacket, so this roots one is fine. If their corporate whores department (I mean "Marketing") wants to ride the back of the new movie to make a dime, good for them, its not as if Wested hasn't been making some off of a movie prop he made almost 30 years ago.

As an "outsider" here, I for one understand the mentality here, and respect the manufacturers who have made a sincere, strenuous effort to make their jacket as close as possible to the ones used in the movies, but also see elements of "fanboyism" that the other poster is referring to. (Just check out Star Wars or Apple computer forums if you need more stark evidence of what I refer to).

The people here have only a VERY mild case of it, but I think some posters are caught in a typical cliquish contradiction; I want to look cool wearing the stuff I spent alot of hard money and effort to obtain, and want people to see that I am "special" and respect that--BUT-- I don't want it to become TOO popular and see everyone is dressing in Raiders attire/gear.

They just have to decide which do they want, to be unique, or part of a very popular and therefore perhaps too commonly worn "look." Its perhaps the fundamental problem with the concept of "Fashion."

Here is the thing. Adopting Indy/Costume gear for everyday wear works really well when done right. For me, getting complements on the gear makes me feel good.

I don't get complements when I used to wear baseball caps, or jeans...and of course I'm not just looking for complements to boost my self esteem, but it does feel good when you go through all the trouble to hunt down that hard to find item and people notice that and you look good in it.

When things become popular again however, then the identity you worked so hard to get becomes washed out in a sea of bandwagoners. Not only that, but then after the fad is gone, you don't go back to looking unique, you just look like one of those guys that bought a Chicago Bulls Team jacket in 1991 and never bought anything since....basically, you look like your just holding onto a dead fashion.

Indiana Jones has basically been "dead" to the general public for so long now that you could get away with wearing almost the full gear and not many people would even notice. Now, for the people who wear almost all the gear in daily use, are going to be recognized now as "nerds" or "freaks".

I think everyone should enjoy collecting Indy gear, and no one should be left out or told off because of it, but I also feel bad for many of us here who have built up reputations based on how we choose to dress. I feel bad that some might lose the identity and never get it back because now you'll see people all wearing Wested replicas, that will eventually find their way onto Hobos when the hype is gone and they can't sell them anymore.

Do I like the Roots jacket, ya...why not it's not a bad jacket, do I think it's the single piece of gear that'll crumble the entire gear collecting universe, of course not, but it could be the start of many things, and that is what scares me.

Cassidy wrote:...If everyone in the World wants to dress up like Indiana Jones that's fine by me.

Isn't that what this is all about?

Have we become an exclusive club that wouldn't welcome newcomers to the fold because we don't want them adopting our style?

If someone showed up here with a pic of their gear and they were wearing the Roots jacket, would we say, "Get lost idiot, you're a newb and that's not a Wested?"

Of course not. There's a fine line here that's bordering on cliquey and I want no part of it.

Very much agreed - if we do that, we'll be no better than the 3L33t stitch-nazis at TFL.

Ya, but this has nothing to do with this community....that's my point. I think it's awesome if someone out there sees Indy 4 and wants to get into gear collecting...that is amazing to me and they should be welcomed with open arms.

It's for the 10000000 other people out there that just want to make it a fad then drop it like a hand full of fire ants. All it does is saturate the style and then make it harder for people that actually wear the style for good reason.

CLM - I get where you're coming from, I really do.

I've owned a pair of low top black Converse Chuck Taylor's every year of my life since I was 10. That's 24 years now.

I've been the cool kid, the reject, the grunge kid, the reject, the reject, the OC hipset kid...and now an old dude with retro shoes.

People come and go, but your personal style is your own. Don't give a #### about who is copping your style. You'll still be an original when they've come and gone.

I was just worried that the "me first" thing would exclude others. I think ultimately we're on the same page, though, in terms of community.

dude, I'm pushin 31....I don't have much time left to have an original style before I have to start hitting the mail order bride sites!

What we should do here at Indygear is start getting all our gear in 1980's neon colors...then the bandwagon people will be like..."oh, that's the cool new way to wear it!"

then when they're all wearing neon, we can all switch back and laugh at them....and point too!