Trying to get a SCREEN ACCURATE jacket from Wested

[dunross76]

Hi there,

I am trying to get another Wested, but this time I want to make sure that its completely SA. What sort of details should I stress when placing a new order? I know that Marc got Peter to get his jacket right, so I am hoping to succeed this time too. I will be ordering my second Wested and certainly would like to avoid sending my jacket back to the UK as I did previously. I would appreciate any feedback. Best, Dunross

[GCR]

Now, I'm no expert by a long shot, and I don't pretend to be. But after being around this hobby for as long as I have been, and after seeing so many pictures of people's new Wested jackets (and owning two myself), I've noticed that there are some design deviations that tend to occur with the Wested jackets. I'm not too sure about specifics, but in general, these are the things I've seen Wested miss the mark on as far as RAIDERS SA details go:

Pocket size & placement

Pocket flap scalloping

Leather facings where none should be

Depth of action pleats (they tend to be too deep)

Yoke seam and arm seam are even or in some more recent cases the arm seam appears to be higher. To be SA, the YOKE should be higher than the arm, not below it and not even.

Collar not coming to the halfway point on the stormflap.

Zipper not extending to the bottom of the jacket.

Zipper is larger than it should be, and made from antique brass rather than nickel or aluminum (the Raiders zipper was silver in color).

Lack of gussets under the arms, and the arm holes cut too low.

Incorrect "D" ring hardware for the straps, rather than the dual rectangular metal loops (or the tri-glide style sliders that Todd uses, though they may not be totally SA). These I wouldn't worry too much about, after all, it's easy enough to switch them out once you get the jacket. And some folks like the D-rings anyways, as they are correct for the LC jacket.

The stitching around the straps is a point of contention as well, though I have no idea what the correct method really is. As I said above, I've got no idea about specific details like the guage of zipper, the correct size of the pockets or anything else, I just know that most of the Westeds I've seen (including my own) don't have every detail correct for "strict" Raiders screen-accuracy. That being said, I hope this doesn't deter you from giving Wested a shot. If anything, I think your chances of getting a good SA jacket from Wested might have improved quite a bit now that Marc is working with Peter to standardize the changes that he requested for his own jacket. You might want to PM Marc, if he doesn't chime in here on his own, just to get his advice on how to go about getting all the details right for the jacket you want from Peter.

-GCR

[dunross76]

Thanks GCR!!! This is very informative!!!

Does anynone know the exact measurements for the pockets?
Dunross

[Ragingblues]

dunross76 said:

Thanks GCR!!! This is very informative!!!

Does anynone know the exact measurements for the pockets?
Dunross

It will vary according to your jacket size, in order to keep things properly proportioned. However, if you wear something close to a 42R, I'll be glad to measure my G&B Expedition pockets. They're always perfect on every size jacket they sell.


Ken

[dunross76]

Thanks Ken!! I am , indeed, 42R. I would appreciate the measurements! Best, Dunross

[Marc]

I've printed all my specs. again, as well as the 1:1 pocket pattern used for my latest Wested and re-sent to Peter last Friday via post. He should have it by the end of this week and should than be able to incorporate the changes needed. I'll get in touch with Peter once he receives my specs. and talk it through with him on the phone.

Hope this will be a gain for all of us.

Regards,

Marc

[Ragingblues]

dunross76 said:

Thanks Ken!! I am , indeed, 42R. I would appreciate the measurements! Best, Dunross

42R pocket dimensions, taken from the outside seam edges:

6-3/4" wide X 7-3/4" tall

BTW, there's no giant list of specs needed to get the pocket dimensions or shape correct from G&B.


Ken