This is an old, old thread, I know, but seeing as I happen to have a good bit of experience with both Rimowa and the aforementioned cardboard suitcase I thought it might be valuable to someone for me to chime in.
First off I bought an aluminium Rimowa after a series of other pieces of luggage...
Has anyone had a chance to compare to the Austrian m65? It has plastic zips, which is disappointing, but I’ve seen people say good things about them.
Also I wonder how they would work with a tweed jacket underneath, or any other sports style jacket for that matter.
Been meaning to post this for a while. I snapped a RN WWII duffle off fleabay, size 3, which appeared unworn. It is a very serious piece of equipment, and having previously had a Gloverall Monty, I can tell you this is a different game even compared to that one. Very thick and heavy. Here I am...
You are making big assumptions here. The Burberry has been dry cleaned less than 5 times in its 15 year lifespan. The last one, some years ago, resulted in holes and damage around the cuffs and other edges of the coat, as well as on the lower parts of the sleeve where there are some creases...
It's that time of the year when I once again return, in my mind, to this topic. My now 15 year old Burberry is getting increasingly ragged (I'm not sure I dare bring it to a dry cleaners anymore, as the previous visit resulted in holes in many areas). My one is a little unique as the liner is...
Seven pairs? Impressive!
I ended up buying a pair as they were on offer locally. Unfortunately in grey as the local shop only had black, white and grey (and green, which I wanted, but in a size too small). I also bought a pair for Lady Setok. We just went for an evening stroll through some...
Reviving this old thread. How water resistant is the canvas? Also how do they compare to the Pataugas boots, which also claim relevant heritage, do the usual French thing of having a page only in French, and are made in the EU (but weirdly seem to have a leather lining)?
Thanks, those chest measurements are indeed big. Any idea how those would translate to a Valley Apparel one? I’m guessing they might follow Alpha’s sizing? I’m not sure if either one follows this chart or not.
Is that a GI N3B, or is it an Alpha (or equivalent)? I get the feeling the GI ones might be sized bigger, but I'm not sure.
In my case I'm tall, but not thin. I have pretty much zero interest in civilian parkas, if I'm honest :-) I already have more winter coats than I need (2 x Finnish army...
I spotted one I might be keen on, but how is the sizing (I'm assuming this is the same as Alpha sizing, as it's not a GI one)? I'm tall (190cm, or around 6'2"), but with a 44" chest. I wear XL t-shirts. The chest size says for XL is 46–48, and I want a loose fit for jumpers etc under, but as...
Does anybody who has had both the GI version and one of the better quality civilian ones prefer the latter? Is there a big difference in warmth?
I’d be most concerned about burn holes and similar when lighting fires with a nylon shelled one. Then again the grey-blue cotton mix ones might not...
I doubt the Valley Apparel ones are much better quality than Alpha, but for a garment with such heritage it feels wrong to get one that's made somewhere in the Far East, and I have a problem with Alpha moving their production there. If someone handed me an Alpha, would I throw it away? No. But...
To continue on this thread, I just heard from Valley Apparel that they are no longer making the N3Bs due to high demand for their Mil-Spec wear. This is unfortunate as it means one fewer American manufacturer of N3Bs. Are there any manufacturers there left?
If someone spots an XL Valley...
Sorry, I mistyped. It's Valley Apparel that makes their N3B in the US. Alpha specifically does not. They moved production to the Far East. I also believe Alpha is no longer a military contractor. Certainly not for their N3Bs. I now fixed that, apologies!
As others have mentioned, there's a close history between Valley and Alpha. But with Valley their jackets are made in the US, and they are a military contractor (although it's not clear if they still provide N3Bs to the military). So basically you are getting US-made parkas from the same factory...
Yeah, it does seem to often be difficult to find details when it comes to military issue dates.
The reason I asked was that I spotted a duffle that had an MOD code on it, but a code that placed it in the 60s/70s. I was surprised that they might still have been issued then. Or then the code was...
Another interesting new question has popped up: how long were duffle coats issued to the Royal Navy? Did they simply stop with WW2, or did they continue to be issued after that?
Seems to be very difficult to find information about these things!
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