Eastman "house" A2

[Jeff M]

The itch is back.....thinking about ordering an Easman A2.

Their "standard" A2 is significantly less expensive than their "manufacturer" specific "original maker" designs.
How do they "stand up" as regards a good overall A2 design? Do they have the "vibe" ?

Failing that...considering either the Rough Wear contract 27752 in War Horse hide, or the Star Sportswear contract 28557.

Any experieces/recommendations here?

BTW, I am 5 9", 185#, 44 inch chest..rather muscular build. I will be checking with Eastman..but any words of wisdom/warnings re; sizing?

 

[Edward]

At some point (probably still) Aero used to have a lovely little spiel against their house A2s along the lnes of "This is the jacket we would pitch to the USAAF if we were competing for a contract in 1942". I view ELC's house jackets as along the same lines.... The vibe is all there, and if what you want is a period jacket to wear in a civilian context, I would consider them ideal. If you're doing re-enactment I'd probably stretch to a contract repro (not that more than a handful of folks will ever notice the difference...).

 

[Baron Enski]

Ive got the Star and the 27752 and started with a couple of the house jackets horse and steer hide, , their all nice jackets but if you could manage to stretch to it go for a contract jacket their a bit more special. Of the 2 the Star is more easy to wear straight off because it has nt got the collar stand.

 

[Jeff M]

Thanks all.
Not sure what to make of this..
I enter my chest size, height and weight into their size calculator and receive the message back "unfortunately we are unable to cater to your size".
My build is very "average"
If you saw me walking down the street, I would not make an impression on you as being short/tall/skinny/fat.

 

[Edward]

Try giving Eastman a phone call is probably your best bet. I spoke to them once on the phone a couple of years ago - very helpful.

 

[Jeff M]

Try giving Eastman a phone call is probably your best bet. I spoke to them once on the phone a couple of years ago - very helpful.

Will do.
Playing with their size calculator...I can't come up with any combo of specs that they say they can "cater". :lol:
That can't be good for business!

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Double check the info you're inputting. It defaults to 10 or 20 stone, in addition to your weight in pounds, so make sure that's blank; otherwise, it'll think you're too fat.

 

[Jeff M]

Interesting.
Found the problem.
It only wants you to enter your weight in "stones".
I re-did it using "stones" rather than pounds...it worked.
Even if I leave the "stones" slot blank and enter my weight in pounds...no luck.

BTW, I take it 1 stone = 14 lbs?

 

[Peacoat]

You can do it in pounds as well, but you have to do it in the right section. And yes, I believe 1 stone = 14lbs.

 

[Jeff M]

You can do it in pounds as well, but you have to do it in the right section. And yes, I believe 1 stone = 14lbs.

The one marked "Pounds", right next to the one marked "Stones"?
Did that.
After removing the number "10" that is automatically put in the "Stones" box so that it was empty.

What you have to do is replace the "10" in the "Stones" box with a "0". If you just leave it blank it automatically adds the "10" back to the "Stones" box when it does it's calculations after you hit the "Calculate Size" button.

 

[NowOrNever]

Fitting of ELC "House" A-2

Jeff M,

Like you I wanted to save some money on a good A-2, while choosing a reproduction maker with good credentials. I am living in England so ELC seemed like an ideal choice. (I've long admired that company for many years.)

Having studied the information on the ELC website I was unsure which size would fit me best. I read through many helpful posts on Fedora Lounge giving hints on how to determine fitting. I suggest you also read through if you haven't already. I took the advice to measure existing jackets I own with a measure. Although this was not exactly complex it still left me wondering how close I was to the size chart that ELC had. At that time I don't recall seeing the interactive gizmo you mentioned, therfore didn't use it.

For your information I am approx 5ft 9in, 12 stone and 40 chest. Just an average medium in off the shelf sizes in UK.

In my final judgement I thought that I was a 40 chest (regular). I was fortunate enough to find a ELC "House" A-2 in that size slightly worn on ebay and purchased it for better or worse. I have uploaded a couple of photos of the jacket for reference if it is useful.

I think it is a good choice for coming close to authentic & the steerhide should show more wear over time.

Good luck.

http://public.fotki.com/OldCountry/eastman-house-steerhide/2012-02-16-13-04-58.html

http://public.fotki.com/OldCountry/eastman-house-steerhide/2012-02-16-13-05-16.html

 

[Trimfellow]

Hello folks,
just thought this might be relevant to this thread. Here are a couple of pics of an Eastman "house" A2 in steerhide.

The first pic was taken after some "aging", the second "as new". Had this jacket now for about two years and it gets moderate wear.

Cheers,
Trimfellow.

 

[Edward]

BTW, I take it 1 stone = 14 lbs?

Yes. Sixteen ounces to the pound, fourteen pounds to the stone.

And twelve pennies to the shilling, twenty shillings to the pound.........


.....yet still there are those who complain about the metric system......

 

[Jeff M]

Two countries separated by a common language...

 

[ryans]

Love the Crown zipper on your steerhide Eastman A2. Never seen a steerhide other than on their website so your photo is very helpful. Thanks.

 

[Trimfellow]

Here are a few more pics for those interested.

These three pics were taken soon after the jacket arrived, they show off the stitching well and the "seal" colour is quite accurate in them.
One bit of advice when ordering, if in doubt order a size up. I normally go for a 40" in a jacket but ended up sending a 40" back and changing for a 42".

Cheers,
Trimfellow