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Thoughts on the Buzz brown L-2?

jnlight75

Member
I'm curious if anyone has checked out the brown-colored Buzz L-2 test sample jacket? Clearly they didn't sell too well at HPA here in the States, as they are trying to sell them off at $299. I'm somewhat intrigued by the jacket, and repulsed at the same time. Not sure if it works. It can be hard to tell what the nylon on these really looks like until actually in hand. Anybody here have one?

Jeremy.

brn_l2_exptest_mont.jpg
 

Monsoon

Well-Known Member
jnlight75 said:
I'm somewhat intrigued by the jacket, and repulsed at the same time.

That's the best description I've heard so far.

The price is pretty good, but not a fan of the color.
 

Rutger

Well-Known Member
Three weeks ago I almost pulled the trigger cause I'm such a sucker for BR (got my somanieth B15D(mod) last week).

pro:
Rare, possibly collector's item in 5-10 years, different arm pocket, nice cut, good price, probably high quality.

against:
When I imagined myself walking around in it I thought to myself, this is so very unlikely going to work.
Including shipping to Europe and the 40% customs/taxes it's still a neat sum of money, so that ended it for collectability as well.

The balance tipped to not buying, but if I ever find it on ebay (very unlikely) I will bid on it, probably to the max of $180-$200.
The customs can be evaded then by having the jacket derated to like $60 where customs is no longer interested.
 

bw-8

New Member
I got one when they went on sale. I haven't had the chance to wear it yet but I would. The color is unusual but I have seen older nylon flying suits in this color. I like it or I wouldn't have bought it. It's a nice jacket overall!
 

bretron

Member
Been eyeing this one a while myself... Decision for me came down to, Yeah its a great price on a NEW buzz jacket, BUT I'd rather spend the same amount on a USED one in OD that I'd actually wear. How bout this; buy it and if you don't like it I'll buy it off ya for another 50% off :lol:
 

Willy McCoy

Member
Great jacket. I have seen photos of that pen pad configuration on the arm on Boeing factory test pilot jackets. Great deal for a nice jacket.
 

jnlight75

Member
bretron said:
Been eyeing this one a while myself... Decision for me came down to, Yeah its a great price on a NEW buzz jacket, BUT I'd rather spend the same amount on a USED one in OD that I'd actually wear. How bout this; buy it and if you don't like it I'll buy it off ya for another 50% off :lol:

Ha... I've already been down the L-2 road a couple of times, and currently have a Buzz L-2 and L-2A - both great jackets. So it is really the question of the degree to which this one intrigues (or repulses) me. Any further drop below $299 would probably make me go for it.

Any chance of posting a pic for us bw-8? It would be interesting to see the color on someone, and all the photos on the Japanese sites have strange shots.

Jeremy.
 

Tim P

Well-Known Member
it would make sense that as part of a development programme, a brown light zone jacket would be replaced with another. therefore superceding the A2 with a brown nylon jacket is not far fetched as a concept that would have been explored.
As we know, the olive one rightly won the day but the brown one may well have been a serious contender at the R&D stage.

People think nothing of buying the William Gibson stuff, black repro kit is fantastic as far as I'm concerned. The brown of this particular jacket however... not for me, however much it may have its roots in a real jacket.
 

bretron

Member
Tim P said:
People think nothing of buying the William Gibson stuff, black repro kit is fantastic as far as I'm concerned. The brown of this particular jacket however... not for me, however much it may have its roots in a real jacket.

+1 the black wg collection looks like badass special ops gear. Or just badass in general :D
 

jnlight75

Member
bw-8 said:
jnlight75 said:
bretron said:
Any chance of posting a pic for us bw-8? It would be interesting to see the color on someone, and all the photos on the Japanese sites have strange shots.

Jeremy.

)K. In the meantime, here 's a photo of a flight suit in the same shade posted by bebel in the selling/buying section:
http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12316

It's the very last photo in the series.

Interesting photo of what looks to be a seriously faded K-2 suit. I believe these should be green, same as an L-2 jacket. That gets me to wondering if the brown L-2 is really an example of a bad batch of green test nylon that was faded to a brownish color by the time Buzz got their hands on one to copy.

Not sure I would call it disco... My greater concern is whether it is more baby poop...

Jeremy.
 

Willy McCoy

Member
My guess is that BR deconstructed the jacket they received and matched the color to a patch that was shielded from sun and the elements.
There have been brown colored flight gear from the beginning of flight. I believe the primary reason for the Air Force to change that directive was to show the separation from it's humble Army Air Corp beginnings. Just think if brown would have been the primary color for flight wear and someone posted up a blue test sample jacket.
 

bw-8

New Member
Going down to Mexico to tangle with Hurricane Bud. I'll work on getting those photos of the 'baby poop" disco Jacket after I get back. Sorry to be late! :mrgreen:
 

Willy McCoy

Member
I lived through the disco era and for the life of me cannot recall any brown nylon disco jackets. However I remember flashy bright primary colors splashed across synthetic clothing for days.

If disco would've became in vogue in this era of oatmeal sweaters and somber hues for clothing I would not be surprised to see a brown nylon disco jacket - but the cut would probably be looser/longer than a pilots jacket. I would suspect the Buzz Rickson William Gibson offering would be par the course for disco if disco resurfaced in this era. Thank God it hasn't.

If someone could post a picture of a brown nylon disco jacket that remotely resembles a pilots jacket I would be astounded.
 

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
bw-8 said:
jnlight75 said:
bretron said:
Any chance of posting a pic for us bw-8? It would be interesting to see the color on someone, and all the photos on the Japanese sites have strange shots.

OK, I found one on e-Bay with photos that can be obtained at a significant discount:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271025543901?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Going on the seller's track record, it will probably get 'nudged' up over HPA's recently discounted price. They are now sold out (probably one of the sale items here?).

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=12226

Based on recent experience it should get listed a couple more times to maximise the return....

Couchy
 

bw-8

New Member
It went for $350 which is just a little more than sale price with HPA expenso shipping! :lol:
 
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