PilatusPilot
Well-Known Member
God... That's a sexy jacket right there.. looks amazing
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Cooper A2 jacket question
- Thread starter PilatusPilot
- Start date
B-Man2
Well-Known Member
It’s an issued military jacket , worn by a USAF pilot and it’s the predecessor company to Cooper for a lot less money than a civilian Cooper which is what the orange labeled Cooper is .... a civilian A2 .
Lord Flashheart
Well-Known Member
I'm still wearing - and enjoying - my first jackets back from the time when I didn't even know there was anything else. An A-2 (goatskin from Sportys Pilot Shop) and an RAF Irvin repro (which is warmer on a cold day than the "proper" repro I got from Aero this year).
Wear them and enjoy them is what I say. Plenty of time to make your own mind up about the fine details here.
Wear them and enjoy them is what I say. Plenty of time to make your own mind up about the fine details here.
Chandler
Well-Known Member
There have been similar posts in other threads... I'm not clicking that hyper-text.
LJDRVR
Active Member
All good points. The cool thing about the Cooper is that although it lacks many original maker details the reproductions feature, it is a genuine issue, Milspec jacket. There’s a certain amount of cachet to that. I also agree that the Saddlery jacket is nicer than the Cooper.
FlakMagnet
Well-Known Member
I both love and hate my orange label Cooper. I love that it is very easy to wear, but I also dislike how the epaulets roll a bit to forward and how wide the shoulders are., especially when unzipped. And the fact that the leather doesn't really show much character after wearing it for so long.
MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
Interesting insights on the Cooper. I assumed they were less expensive due to how many of them they made.
I picked up a USAF Saddlery one a long time ago (when I was still active duty) which I yanked off the USAF command crest Velcro piece and put on a patch I hand painted for my Army branch insignia. I knew I'd never make a 'WW2' style one out of it. I'd always intended on painting my rank on it, and maybe someday I will put Captain's bars on it from what rank I was when I got out.
A while back I found another Cooper which didn't have the Velcro on it, and I've kept that one clean but haven't really worn it yet. I've toyed around with making a replica of one of the ones worn in the movie, "Space Cowboys"...
I picked up a USAF Saddlery one a long time ago (when I was still active duty) which I yanked off the USAF command crest Velcro piece and put on a patch I hand painted for my Army branch insignia. I knew I'd never make a 'WW2' style one out of it. I'd always intended on painting my rank on it, and maybe someday I will put Captain's bars on it from what rank I was when I got out.
A while back I found another Cooper which didn't have the Velcro on it, and I've kept that one clean but haven't really worn it yet. I've toyed around with making a replica of one of the ones worn in the movie, "Space Cowboys"...
PilatusPilot
Well-Known Member
Interesting that you say that, because your website has pictures of jackets made by cockpit usa.... Funny coincidence ain't it
MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
I'm glad you posted that as I was just about to.
If you're gonna use someone else's photos, this is the last forum you're going to try to post them.
FtrPlt
Active Member
Gents,
Maybe I'm misreading -- apologies if I am.
Re: Cooper jackets. The orange tag jackets evolved over time. The early ones essentially being clones of the Saddlery USAF-contract jackets. That said, none of the orange-tag Coopers were ever USAF issue items. Saddlery (Cooper Sportswear) was contracted to produce a couple of batches of the 1988-spec reissue A-2.
The early Saddlery jackets featured pretty robust purplish-hue knits. The early orange-tag Coopers shared the same.
There is a detailed thread on all the USAF-issued A-2 jackets on here somewhere. Here's one I posted quite a while ago:
www.vintageleatherjackets.org
This one includes label images of the various Saddlery (Cooper Sportswear) USAF contract labels:
www.vintageleatherjackets.org
Maybe I'm misreading -- apologies if I am.
Re: Cooper jackets. The orange tag jackets evolved over time. The early ones essentially being clones of the Saddlery USAF-contract jackets. That said, none of the orange-tag Coopers were ever USAF issue items. Saddlery (Cooper Sportswear) was contracted to produce a couple of batches of the 1988-spec reissue A-2.
The early Saddlery jackets featured pretty robust purplish-hue knits. The early orange-tag Coopers shared the same.
There is a detailed thread on all the USAF-issued A-2 jackets on here somewhere. Here's one I posted quite a while ago:
1988-spec Saddlery finish differences
Picked up another Saddlery the other day but was (pleasantly) surprised to see that the exterior finish was not the shiny/wet look of my other Saddlery. The exterior is very much like that on the early Cooper orange-tagged jackets. In fact, my initial impression when I opened the box was that it...
www.vintageleatherjackets.org
This one includes label images of the various Saddlery (Cooper Sportswear) USAF contract labels:
1992 contract Saddlery A-2
Anyone have one of these? I'm curious to see if they're the same as the 1988-contract jackets.
www.vintageleatherjackets.org
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MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
Now that I think on it, I don't think I've seen a 90s-today issued USAF A2's tag for a jacket that is for sure an issued one (the one I have supposedly was an issued one as I got it from someone in the USAF but that doesn't prove anything). I think my brother was issued one when he was still a USAF Missileer (which is what happens when someone gets to be a general but never flew anything, so he can get to cool stuff as well), maybe I'll ask him about it.
B-Man2
Well-Known Member
HiGents,
Maybe I'm misreading -- apologies if I am.
Re: Cooper jackets. The orange tag jackets evolved over time. The early ones essentially being clones of the Saddlery USAF-contract jackets. That said, none of the orange-tag Coppers were ever USAF issue items. Saddlery (owned by Cooper) was contracted to produce a couple of batches of the 1988-spec reissue A-2.
The early Saddlery jackets featured pretty robust purplish-hue knits. The early orange-tag Coopers shared the same.
There is a detailed thread on all the USAF-issued A-2 jackets on here somewhere. Here's one I posted quite a while ago:
1988-spec Saddlery finish differences
Picked up another Saddlery the other day but was (pleasantly) surprised to see that the exterior finish was not the shiny/wet look of my other Saddlery. The exterior is very much like that on the early Cooper orange-tagged jackets. In fact, my initial impression when I opened the box was that it...
THis one includes label images of the various Saddlery (Cooper Sportswear) USAF contract labels:
1992 contract Saddlery A-2
Anyone have one of these? I'm curious to see if they're the same as the 1988-contract jackets.
I’ve always been a fan of these early contract re issue USAF A2’s. Most don’t seem to like them, but I’ve found that they usually have some nice goatskin and can be bought for $100- $150. depending on size and condition. Most willingly pay high prices for repros, but refuse to consider purchasing these original issue USAF jackets . Here’s one that I have :
FtrPlt
Active Member
I know that at least up to 2007 (the last physical example I've seen) USAF-issue A-2 jackets all have a standard mil-spec label on them.
Saddlery had 4 different USAF contracts. For those not familiar the two digits following the '100' is the contract year -- eg 1988, 1992, 1995, 1996 for the various batches
1988 DLA 100 88 C0420
1992 DLA 100 92-M-0061
1995 SPO 100-95-C-4030
1996 SPO 100-96-D-4020
FtrPlt
Active Member
The jacket color changed to a much darker brown somewhere along the way. Your 95-contract jacket is far more brown than my 88-contract.
These are mine. the first two are 1988-contract Saddlery's. The middle one is my issue jacket, circa 1990. The one on the end is a very early orange tag Cooper that I bought ~1985 so it predates the 1988 Saddlery jackets. These all share the same heavy-duty purplish knits and chrome Ideal pullers.
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B-Man2
Well-Known Member
Have you noticed any difference in the quality of the goatskin between the 88 and the later contracts ?The jacket color changed to a much darker brown somewhere along the way. Your 95-contract jacket is far more brown than my 88-contract.
These are mine. the first two are 1988-contract Saddlery's. The middle one is my issue jacket, circa 1990. The one on the end is a very early orange tag Cooper that I bought ~1985 so it predates the 1988 Saddlery jackets. These all share the same heavy-duty purplish knits and chrome Ideal pullers.
FtrPlt
Active Member
I only have my 1988-contract jackets so have not been able to compare them to anything else. Between the two -88's, the colors are different although leather thickness feels the same.
MauldinFan
Well-Known Member
Well, that answers my question on if the actual issued USAF ones had that tag as mine does. I'd have just assumed they'd have come with a white GI-issue tag (like the CWP jackets/suits have).These are mine. the first two are 1988-contract Saddlery's. The middle one is my issue jacket, circa 1990.
