US Wings Antique Lightweight Lambskin

[Noah]

I've always thought that leather is very nice. Post some pics!

[drbrody]

Hi everyone. Longtime lurker, first time posting. I bought the US Wings lightweight lambskin back when it was $195 and I love it. It's exactly what I wanted. I'm anxiously awaiting autumn so I can actually wear it outside the house during the day. The XL size is a perfect fit for me. No need to post a picture; it's nearly identical to the pics on the US Wings website. Now I wish I'd purchased the cowhide version too, before the price went up.

My thanks you all for your advice, opinions, rants and rages! I'm the kind of guy that tends to over-research purchases like this (just because I like to) and you were all extremely helpful. I was nervous buying a leather jacket online but it all worked out great ... with one exception...

This is actually the second lightweight lambskin jacket that US Wings sent me. The first attempt had one patch of leather that was many shades lighter that the others, even worse than the "tiger stripes" variation that is noted elsewhere in this thread. (Also there was some extremely minor damage on the backside of the collar, which I could have easily tolerated if it had been the only problem.) So I sent an email requesting an exchange. Sarge wrote back in less than two hours and said he would personally pick out a new one for me, and if I didn't like that one, I could return it again for a third attempt. Luckily, the second one was perfect. Gotta hand it to Sarge and US Wings: customer service is outstanding.

[Pennsylvania Jones]

Welcome to the Lounge! And congrats on your new jacket! Wear it well.

Steven

[Noah]

Welcome to Indylounge drbrody! I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your jacket!

[Stefana Jones]

Now I wish I'd purchased the cowhide version too, before the price went up.

Did the price of the cowhide really go up ?

If it is so, I ordered mine just in time !

[Pennsylvania Jones]

No, the Cowhide's still $995. ;D I'm kidding, it never left $195.

Steven

[drbrody]

Oops, I was wrong; the cowhide is indeed $195. A true bargain.

I'm torn about getting it though, now that I discovered the Saddleback Leather web site (saddlebackleather.com). They make an old-school briefcase that I'm drooling over, and I'd rather save my money for that. I can totally see Indy marching across campus with a briefcase like this. Note that it's not the same style as the one Dr. Henry Jones Senior carried in TLC, which had metal clasps like an attache case. This one is the traditional flap-over style with leather straps and buckles, and the full-grain leather is very thick. I just got one of their wallets and I'm deeply impressed.

Sorry for the diversion, back to the jackets...

[Pennsylvania Jones]

I've heard about that site before. The stuff's pretty expensive for me, though.

Steven

[Pennsylvania Jones]

U.S. Wings just added pics for their Striated Lambskin Legend Jacket. I'm not that impressed, though. New pics are great, but the jacket doesn't look too distressed.

Steven

[New Yorker Jones]

Oct 4, 2010 16:36:07 GMT -5 Pennsylvania Jones said:

U.S. Wings just added pics for their Striated Lambskin Legend Jacket. I'm not that impressed, though. New pics are great, but the jacket doesn't look too distressed.

Steven

See, I love the look of the Legend. I don't want too much distressing, I want to add that on my own.

[Noah]

I've seen those pics. That's the thickest looking lambskin jacket I've ever seen. That looks like what Indy would wear on his adventures.

[Pennsylvania Jones]

Yeah, Noah, it does! But... Seeing as I live in AZ, a hot and dry desert, that could be a problem.

NYJ, I know, distressing is usually done by the buyer, not the seller. But here, they give you a jacket that includes half-baked distressing. So its appearance in the pics is a little... odd. It's a shiny new jacket, just with a few crinkles. That's why I'm not impressed.

I think I'm actually doing a 180 on this product.

Steven

[modelmaker4]

I think the jacket looks great, my only problem with it is that the adjustment straps are just too long!

[Noah]

U.S. Wings now has pics on their site of the Kid's Cowhide Legend jacket.

www.uswings.com/ijlegend.asp

[Pennsylvania Jones]

Same as the other one: Cowhide only, and no handwarmer pockets. IMO at least another leather option AND handwarmers would make it a better jacket. IMO.

Steven

[Noah]

Pics of the Bison Legend jacket are up.

www.uswings.com/ijlegend.asp

[Pennsylvania Jones]

Bison AND the USA-Made Cowhide.

Steven

[drhenryjonesjr1899]

After witnessing and being privvy to inside information concerning a situation involving U.S. Wings, Hack, and a particular fan message board website being administrated and moderated by people of highly questionable character...NEVER will I endorse or purchase ANY U.S. Wings product.

Sold all my U.S. Wings Indy-Style jackets well below costs. Truly disgusted by what transpired and the "true colors" of people were revealed.

At those prices, without the particular fan message board website discount which is ONLY for that site, you would be better off purchasing a custom jacket from Todd's Costumes or Magnoli Clothiers.

[Biker Jacket Jones]

I find this information very disturbing, since I'm in the market for an Indiana Jones jacket or something similar, and while they aren't a top contender, U.S. Wings hasn't been completely ruled out in my search, either.

Of course, you're message doesn't mean much to me if I don't know the details of it. It's not that I think you're lying or anything like that, but you just basically told everybody to never buy from U.S. Wings and gave no reason whatsoever to do so other than you had inside information that you haven't divulged. You information could theoretically be wrong, and could just be an attempt to dissuade business from them for no real reason. Again, I'm not saying that this is the case, that you're wrong, or that what you say is balderdash. You must understand my position, that I'm a commoner that knows next to nothing and has nothing to go on, one way or the other. And let's be clear about one thing up front--there could only be one "particular fan message board website being administrated and moderated by people of highly questionable character" that you could possibly be talking about, and it's the only one mentioned at the bottom of U.S. Wings' Indy-style Adventurer pages.

Could you elaborate on why we're not supposed to buy from U.S. Wings, and, if so, cite a few source if they exist? You've made some pretty steamy accusations, and even mentioned Hack by name, which could potentially defame his character, so I'd think this is pretty major stuff you're talking about.

And as a side note, could you say what the INDY GEAR discount is? I've heard about it before, and am aware of its existence, but I've never heard what the amount is. Unless it was substantial, I'd rather forfeit the discount than register there, assuming I even bought a U.S. Wings jacket in the first place, but I'm just curious as to what it is.

[drhenryjonesjr1899]

"Babuchanan"
Completely understand your position. But, it is MY personal preference not to puchase nor endorse any U.S. Wings products. Never did I specifically state NOT to purchase from U.S. Wings.

If any member on this board or any other board, or any Indy fan for that matter, wants to purchase a U.S. Wings Indy style jacket, by all means. It is up to the consumer to decide whether they like the jacket or not. One's like or dislike of a product shouldn't be decided upon by another individual.

As for the details, without any concrete proof, whatever I say is hearsay and could be seen as slander. But I will provide a post from someone who summarized it pretty much.

"First we have a jacket maker supposedly telling a noted "researcher" that the Raiders jacket was made of 3 ounce, oil-pulled calf hide (even though several of us here know that jacket maker actually said it was made of a thick cowhide). So, everyone jumped on that bandwagon and threw Tony Nowak under the bus ("Tony was wrong" was a popular quote).

Then, we had a big blow-up between a certain vendor and a certain site and the "researcher" accused the vendor of only wanting to make a dollar off the fans and the vendor claims that the "researcher" had never even spoken to the jacket maker and that he hadn't done a lot of the things he claimed (basically calling the "researcher" a liar).

After, undoubtedly, some backroom scurrying by people close to both parties (two come to mind immediately), there's a big public make-up *kiss, kiss, hug, hug* and they both throw the jacket maker under the bus as a coke-head womanizer who can't remember the eighties much less details about the jacket.

Yay, free jackets all around."

"Oh, I did forget that now that striated lamb is such a success, surprise, surprise, the Raiders jacket most likely wasn't calf but shrunken lamb that the jacket was made of. So Tony wasn't wrong after all and there are, undoubtedly, heartfelt apologies all around."

And lastly,

"A certain "hulking" member somewhere else is still pushing that Cooper made the hero jackets. I believe this is the same person who stated that Cooper couldn't remember the eighties because of all the powder he was shooting up his nose and was obviously exaggerating his own importance--another of Cooper's apparent faults (the "hulking one's" assertion, not mine) . Of course, now that all the parties of the big blowout have made up (hug, hug, kiss, kiss), I guess all of that has been forgotten (and, most probably, edited out of existence).

I decided a long time ago that there was way too many discrepancies for me to believe this person (subsequent events have only confirmed my original suspicions). There has been absolutely NO evidence presented by any of the parties involved that Cooper had anything to do with the jacket, other than he held the first commercial license to make the jackets for stores. Of course, if you're still "over there" don't ask for that evidence unless you want to be viciously attacked and given a ticket to the banned party"

As for that particular fan message board website, go with your "gut feeling". BTW, if you are a member of that site, and in good standing, it a $100.00 discount.

[Biker Jacket Jones]

Nov 19, 2010 23:10:46 GMT -5 drhenryjonesjr1899 said:

"Babuchanan"
Completely understand your position. But, it is MY personal preference not to puchase nor endorse any U.S. Wings products. Never did I specifically state NOT to purchase from U.S. Wings.

I reread your post, and it does say that you'll never buy from U.S. Wings again, not that you aren't recommending them. I see what you mean.

I carefully read your post about the back and forth between the "vendor" and the "researcher." It looks like the typical revolving door of the origins of the original Raiders jacket. I've taken the time to read every single thread and every single post posted in the Indy's Jacket forum of this particular message board. Dispute about what was and wasn't screen used, and who made what was and wasn't screen used was real big back in the day, and it still pops up from time to time here. I have no reason not to believe what you said, since it fits in with what little I know. I know that U.S. Wings had Neil Cooper listed with their Legend Jacket information for a while, then suddenly, any and all references to the Cooper name and the name of Indiana Jones and the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark were removed, merely referring to it as a jacket based off of the original pattern, not even that it is the original pattern, but simply that it is based off of it (and there's really not much of any way that it could be the exact original pattern, even if they did claim that).

To be honest, this doesn't bother me much. Screen accuracy and origins don't matter to me, and neither does what Neil Cooper did and didn't do. I'm merely looking at a jacket based on its individual merits as a practical piece of clothing. If you had went on a spree about how shoddily made they were, that their U.S. made jackets weren't actually U.S. made, that they fell apart in months, that their customer service sucked, exceptionally shady business practices, etc., that would have certainly been different, but I have seen nothing that would convince me to not consider them. If, however, you are personally offended by the actions and claims of U.S. Wings, Hack, Cooper, "that particular message board site," etc., then I can only support your decision to not buy from them.

A few more questions on the $100 discount. U.S. Wings basically makes five lines of jackets. To what jackets could the $100 discount be applied to?

• US Wings Original Pattern Indy-style "Legend" Jackets, USA-Made
  
• US Wings Original Pattern Indy-style "Legend" Jackets, Imported
  
• USW Indy-style Hero Jackets (the big one for me, since the USW Striated Lambskin Indy-style Hero Jacket is the only U.S. Wings jacket I would even consider buying)
  
• Signature Series™ Indy-style Jackets
  
• Kid's Indy-style Jackets
  
• And just for the sake of it, could the $100 discount be applied to other jacket types, or are they exclusive to Indy-style Adventurer jackets?
  
• And what about the Indiana Jones Dorfman Pacific hats? Any discount on those?
  

Thank you for your time.

[Pennsylvania Jones]

If the kids jackets could be discounted, then that'd be $50 for a kid's Raiders jacket!

Steven

[drhenryjonesjr1899]

"Babuchanan"
As far as I know, the discount only applies to U.S. Wings' Indy-style jackets. As to which one, I have no idea. And as to the fedoras, as far as I know, there is no discount.

Your best bet would be to contact U.S. Wings directly.

BTW, as for the kids Indy style jacket, if you are member of good standing of a particual fan message board website...the kids jacket is $75.00 plus shipping and handling.

[Deleted]

I believe there is one other site that is getting the $100.00 discount. If you want the link to that site send me a PM.

Cheers,
John

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2010 23:10:46 GMT -5 drhenryjonesjr1899 said:

"Babuchanan"
Completely understand your position. But, it is MY personal preference not to puchase nor endorse any U.S. Wings products. Never did I specifically state NOT to purchase from U.S. Wings.

If any member on this board or any other board, or any Indy fan for that matter, wants to purchase a U.S. Wings Indy style jacket, by all means. It is up to the consumer to decide whether they like the jacket or not. One's like or dislike of a product shouldn't be decided upon by another individual.

As for the details, without any concrete proof, whatever I say is hearsay and could be seen as slander. But I will provide a post from someone who summarized it pretty much.

"First we have a jacket maker supposedly telling a noted "researcher" that the Raiders jacket was made of 3 ounce, oil-pulled calf hide (even though several of us here know that jacket maker actually said it was made of a thick cowhide). So, everyone jumped on that bandwagon and threw Tony Nowak under the bus ("Tony was wrong" was a popular quote).

Then, we had a big blow-up between a certain vendor and a certain site and the "researcher" accused the vendor of only wanting to make a dollar off the fans and the vendor claims that the "researcher" had never even spoken to the jacket maker and that he hadn't done a lot of the things he claimed (basically calling the "researcher" a liar).

After, undoubtedly, some backroom scurrying by people close to both parties (two come to mind immediately), there's a big public make-up *kiss, kiss, hug, hug* and they both throw the jacket maker under the bus as a coke-head womanizer who can't remember the eighties much less details about the jacket.

Yay, free jackets all around."

"Oh, I did forget that now that striated lamb is such a success, surprise, surprise, the Raiders jacket most likely wasn't calf but shrunken lamb that the jacket was made of. So Tony wasn't wrong after all and there are, undoubtedly, heartfelt apologies all around."

And lastly,

"A certain "hulking" member somewhere else is still pushing that Cooper made the hero jackets. I believe this is the same person who stated that Cooper couldn't remember the eighties because of all the powder he was shooting up his nose and was obviously exaggerating his own importance--another of Cooper's apparent faults (the "hulking one's" assertion, not mine) . Of course, now that all the parties of the big blowout have made up (hug, hug, kiss, kiss), I guess all of that has been forgotten (and, most probably, edited out of existence).

I decided a long time ago that there was way too many discrepancies for me to believe this person (subsequent events have only confirmed my original suspicions). There has been absolutely NO evidence presented by any of the parties involved that Cooper had anything to do with the jacket, other than he held the first commercial license to make the jackets for stores. Of course, if you're still "over there" don't ask for that evidence unless you want to be viciously attacked and given a ticket to the banned party"

As for that particular fan message board website, go with your "gut feeling". BTW, if you are a member of that site, and in good standing, it a $100.00 discount.

Pretty much how I saw the story unfold.

Cheers,
John