Flying Legends 2011 New Eastman Jackets on view

[Roughwear]

My take on ELC prices is that they will get significantly higher in the next year with the rising costs of materials, fuel etc... I suspect GW jackets will also become progressively more expensive too. It is often cheaper now to buy a well preserved original A2 than a new Eastman made from the Italian hh. Unfortunately decent sized originals are getting very scarce, but they are still out there. Many wearable original Irvins can be purchased for quite a bit less than the price of a new RAF jacket. For me there is no contest!

Gary was inundated with sales and orders last weekend. You could hardly squeeze into his mobile shop for much of the time. So there are still plenty of people out there buying, but perhaps not so many doing so from our forum! My next A2 in 2012 is likely to be another GW. John's goatskin is second to none!

 

[JDAM]

With the rising price materials there may be justification for this price rise, but it is putting the jacket out of the reach of many people.

Also Andrew, I feel there comes a point where you might feel it is simply not worth it, regardless of the individuals spending power. (I'm never going to pay £25 for a bottle of wine - I could, but I won't..............)

Rich,
For once we agree. It has come to the point where they are not worth it and impossible to justify the outlay. £700 is serious money.
Gary is a business man so he has to make sales while he can and take advantage of the weak pound to boost exports sales but also balance the higher cost of his imported materials. When the pound goes up again what will happen to exports, will Eastman cut prices ?

+1. I could never justify spending this sort of money on a reproduction. My original 23rd A-2 cost me less than $1500, though admittedly only fractionally and a few years back.

 

[rich]

My take on ELC prices is that they will get significantly higher in the next year with the rising costs of materials, fuel etc...

I have a bad feeling you're probably right, and if so, doesn't the whole raison d'etre for the repo market become obscure .......... would anyone pay more for a fake Rolex than a real one - surely not? (I know the comparison is not so absolute as this)
I suppose the only logical(?) step is for the relative cost of originals to increase........ but having said all that, I freely admit to having no idea what the margins are like on a repro A-2, it's probably a lot less than I realise. Given the way I'm being robbed for
the cost of household utilities (eg water bill 25% increase, even though we used less etc, I guess there's an inevitability to the way it's all heading)

 

[John Lever]

It might be the time to offer a budget range made from rough old home grown sheepskin and cowhides.
Plenty of seams as per originals and mismatched colour shades.

 

[RCSignals]

It might be the time to offer a budget range made from rough old home grown sheepskin and cowhides.
Plenty of seams as per originals and mismatched colour shades.

I don't know. Such historic accuracy could be time consuming, difficult to produce, and expensive.

 

[colekwok]

So, ELC is trying to level up their prices to the McCoys'/Japanese jackets?

Umm, I am interested in the Stars Warhorse, I hope the price will remain the same till the end of the year....

 

[John Lever]

So, ELC is trying to level up their prices to the McCoys'/Japanese jackets?

Umm, I am interested in the Stars Warhorse, I hope the price will remain the same till the end of the year....

That's a very nice jacket, and it's the most expensive one they sell[so far] I have been tempted in the past, but I think you really need a bike to go with it.

 

[bobbyball]

My take on ELC prices is that they will get significantly higher in the next year with the rising costs of materials, fuel etc... I suspect GW jackets will also become progressively more expensive too. It is often cheaper now to buy a well preserved original A2 than a new Eastman made from the Italian hh. Unfortunately decent sized originals are getting very scarce, but they are still out there. Many wearable original Irvins can be purchased for quite a bit less than the price of a new RAF jacket. For me there is no contest!

Gary was inundated with sales and orders last weekend. You could hardly squeeze into his mobile shop for much of the time. So there are still plenty of people out there buying, but perhaps not so many doing so from our forum! My next A2 in 2012 is likely to be another GW. John's goatskin is second to none!

In terms of price point it would seem Gary is on a par with Goodwear. Eastman offer the unit patched option, John covers a much wider range of contracts so between them there is a good choice for the jacket nut out there. Price will always be subjective – if you go to Bond Street and buy an Armani suede or go to Ralph Lauren and get one of his joke shop A-2s, these are far higher priced than Gary or John.

I agree that buying originals can sometimes be cheaper, but there is always the issue of wear and tear on 70 year old garments that are really historical collectables – a repro will always be a repro. And yes, the new GW goatskin is out of this world.

 

[John Lever]

I think that John is more bespoke than Eastman and is willing to make variations to suit the customer. High prices are OK for a top quality product but this must go hand in hand with a degree of flexibility.
Eastman will not make any exceptions on zips. For top dollar and they are top dollar, it's not good enough. I asked for a Talon on my RW B-3 and was simply told NO.

 

[CBI]

Another reality point is that Gary "was swamped with orders" at FL and John of course had to stop taking orders for a little while. There is definitely a demand and in a way, its cool that folks are willing to pay for these (its got to be a sign of some kind of strong enthusiasm for the products). Yes, regular retail for higher end clothing is often through the roof. With leather, one can pay lots more and get much less in quality.

I understand the expense involved in these jackets and the skilled craftsmanship needed. I think the typical customer (with some means) buying a jacket is OK with shelling out the money for ONE jacket. Us collectors can't get enough until the closet is completely full and the market prices are making THAT difficult. However, these are not priced as collectibles. Try collecting cars or Rolex watches.

 

[nogbat]

have you checked out eastmans new elite units jacket on the website,,,, sit down before you look ....

 

[Persimmon]

have you checked out eastmans new elite units jacket on the website,,,, sit down before you look ....

http://www.eastmanleather.com/product_i ... cts_id=233

Well thats a whole penny cheaper than Gary told me when I wore it at Flying Legends


I see Gary has not posted the 50 Cal version of the A1 on the Eastman site yet.
Interesting !!

 

[bseal]

Where have I seen this jacket before?

:arrow: http://www.gibson-barnes.com/Flying+Tig ... rod_id/53/

$988 v. $1,518.41

 

[Persimmon]

Where have I seen this jacket before?

:arrow: http://www.gibson-barnes.com/Flying+Tig ... rod_id/53/

$988 v. $1,518.41

I think you can see in the quality of the leather and the difference in patch quality why the money is different.

You pay for what you want/afford/need.

A small Japanese car or a Mercedes.
A Timex watch or a Rolex watch
They will tell you the time or get you from A to B.
Just differently


And I bet you don't get a custom-made, metal-edge, hard-card box to treasure forever, and eventually hand-down to your next generation with Gibson Barnes !!!

 

[rich]

I think you can see in the quality of the leather and the difference in patch quality why the money is different.

Alan, after you've given either of these jackets 3 years of hard wear (such as Pete Graham was doing with his A2, ie pretty much everything) would you still be able to tell that much of a difference? Nearly a grand for an A-2? It's crackers IMO.

 

[nogbat]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :evil:

 

[Persimmon]

I think you can see in the quality of the leather and the difference in patch quality why the money is different.

Alan, after you've given either of these jackets 3 years of hard wear (such as Pete Graham was doing with his A2, ie pretty much everything) would you still be able to tell that much of a difference? Nearly a grand for an A-2? It's crackers IMO.

Rich,
Better men than me can argue that one although personally I would have thought the better leather may give a better result after that period of time.

Still even if it did not I would still have to wear a poorer version for three years in your example and suffer !!

If thats the case why do we not all buy a Eastman house jacket as in three years time it will be as good as a Goodwear , better Eastman, top RMNZ etc

Do we not choose a better quality of maker/jacket because we want to wear what we think looks the best ,feels the best, is more accurate to the 40's jacket in a box ideal.

 

[Tim P]

well the Eastman house is still affordable at least.
Credit to them for going proper high end on their stuff but ouch...

 

[Monsoon]

And I bet you don't get a custom-made, metal-edge, hard-card box to treasure forever, and eventually hand-down to your next generation with Gibson Barnes !!!

You're operating under the assumption that your "next generation" will even care about the jacket.

I spoke to a guy that ran an Army Surplus Store. He said you wouldn't believe how many people came in saying, "This was junk my Grandfather left when he died. Can you give me a few bucks for it?" and it turns out to be jump wings with combat stars from WW2, or other things that he thought were priceless, yet the family doesn't give a crap about.

Sure, someone like a grandkid might love the jacket. Some might think, "Hey, I can get $20 at a yard sale for this!"

I'm not harboring any delusions that my daughter is going to want any of my flightgear after I die (she's only 10 months old now). My niece, on the other hand.....

 

[RCSignals]

Where have I seen this jacket before?

:arrow: http://www.gibson-barnes.com/Flying+Tig ... rod_id/53/

$988 v. $1,518.41

Their regular 'mark 41' A2 is $ 608.00. So those patches, which don't look nearly as good as Sean's, are $380. Separately they would cost $464

I see many differences in the cut of that jacket over the Eastman.

G+B jackets are fine, as long as you remember that to get a good fit you have to go down in size, in some cases almost four sizes (at least with the current offerings. Older flight suits brand and older made G+B may have different fit).