-
The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.
M65 Field Jacket in Black - are there any good ones?
- Thread starter Seb Lucas
- Start date
Papa M
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 330
- Location
- Brighton, England
Since this one sells for 40 of our English pounds I suspect that the quality is pretty poor.
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...ing/u-s-m65-style-field-jacket-in-341204.html
I've just looked through the Real McCoys catalogue and they appear to only do it in Olive colour.
Good luck in your search mate.
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...ing/u-s-m65-style-field-jacket-in-341204.html
I've just looked through the Real McCoys catalogue and they appear to only do it in Olive colour.
Good luck in your search mate.
phinque
New in Town
- Messages
- 2
- Location
- Jupiter, Florida
How about this:http://veilance.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?Mens/Field-Jacket
BellyTank
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,061
I believe there is one in the William Gibson range of "BLACK" jackets,
from one of the Japanes flight jacket and clothing purveyors.
No doubt expensive.
The one from S&A should be OK- the M65 is not usually a quality garment,
at least not a military one. Alpha do good ones.
Update-
*******
Buzz Rickson/William Gibson-
http://historypreservation.com/hpassociates/detailpop.php?uniqnum=295
The best one available and Only $499!
I wouldn't spend that much on an M-65...
B
T
from one of the Japanes flight jacket and clothing purveyors.
No doubt expensive.
The one from S&A should be OK- the M65 is not usually a quality garment,
at least not a military one. Alpha do good ones.
Update-
*******
Buzz Rickson/William Gibson-
http://historypreservation.com/hpassociates/detailpop.php?uniqnum=295
The best one available and Only $499!
I wouldn't spend that much on an M-65...
B
T
Papa M
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 330
- Location
- Brighton, England
The Real McCoys M-65 (in Olive) retails for £375 here in England.
Rest assured that both Real McCoys and Buzz Rickson versions will be magnificent quality.
However I tend to agree that it is an awful lot of money for an anorak.
Rest assured that both Real McCoys and Buzz Rickson versions will be magnificent quality.
However I tend to agree that it is an awful lot of money for an anorak.
BellyTank
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,061
It's not that it'a an Anorak, it's that it's an M-65 Jacket.
B
T
B
T
Papa M
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 330
- Location
- Brighton, England
BellyTank said:
Point taken. Its iconic status elevates it above being "just".
P5640blouson
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 203
- Location
- SoCal
Look at any police supply companies in the U.S.A.
Look at any police supply companies in the U.S.A. You can get government issue quality M-65 in any camo or hard color for the M-65. It is a widely adopted jacket in many fields of work and as such I believe even Propper Intl makes it in black, I think. The M-65 is very common, I cannot believe the Real McCoys sells theirs for hundreds and hundreds. Is it cut differently?
I have 2 M-65s in woodland camo issued to me in a previous life.
Look at any police supply companies in the U.S.A. You can get government issue quality M-65 in any camo or hard color for the M-65. It is a widely adopted jacket in many fields of work and as such I believe even Propper Intl makes it in black, I think. The M-65 is very common, I cannot believe the Real McCoys sells theirs for hundreds and hundreds. Is it cut differently?
I have 2 M-65s in woodland camo issued to me in a previous life.
PistolPete1969
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 185
- Location
- Wilds of Southern Ohio
Check out Flying Tigers Surplus (flyingtigerssurplus.com). They have black M-65's for $49.95. That is the best deal going. Uncle Sams Deals (unclesamsdeals. com) has them WITH the liner for just a few bucks more
I have one I got from Brigade Quartermaster 3 years ago for work. It is a Rothco chinese-made jacket and beats hands-down any coat issued to me.
Pete
I have one I got from Brigade Quartermaster 3 years ago for work. It is a Rothco chinese-made jacket and beats hands-down any coat issued to me.
Pete
Papa M
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 330
- Location
- Brighton, England
P5640blouson said:
I don't think the cut is drastically different. Probably the difference lies in the extreme quality of material and finish.
BellyTank
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,061
Papa M said:
My point was more that I'd probably pay a good price for a good Anorak
but not for any M-65 style jacket- which is not any type of Anorak.
(It's also an ugly, styleless and boring jacket, in my opinion.)
B
T
P5640blouson
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 203
- Location
- SoCal
More info on the Army issue M-65
More info on the Army issue M-65: the issue ones are made to military contract and so the quality is going to be to a specification that is more on the functional side than on the fine tailoring side. Having said that, if you spend $500 on a M-65 you are going to get a very accurately tailored jacket. Nevertheless, there are advantages to the issued genuine garment. Having spend much time wearing a "real" M-65, I can tell you about some of these advantages: The army M-65 comes in a gazillion sizes, from x-small short to xxl-x-long. You are sure to be able to find the fit that you want right off the shelf, and then get it tailored if you want micro adjustments. You'll find loose threads everywhere on the real M-65 and have to de-thread it yourself. The fabric is to spec and durability is very very high. You also get Quarpel treated cotton/nylon sateen fabric with the issue M-65 which is hydrophobic, antibacterial, and very hygenic in rough use. Hope this helps in your search for that perfect M-65. Propper does have a black one commercial version in only the standard sizes (sm med large). The real takeaway is that it costs Less than $70 and you can almost take that to a fine tailor to get it to exactly what you want in terms of fit. I don't know how much a tailor would charge for mods, but i just came back from an Italian tailor here to modify one of my leather driving jackets for fit and sleeve length. No price was quoted and we spent about 30 minutes to get a handle on the intricacies of the jacket and the proposed mods. I'm expecting to see a bill of no more than $125, I hope. If you mod a $70 issue M-65 you would still save substantially over a custom tailored M-65, and you'd be getting the real deal garment! I just pulled my old M-65s out to look at how cool this functional coat really is.
More info on the Army issue M-65: the issue ones are made to military contract and so the quality is going to be to a specification that is more on the functional side than on the fine tailoring side. Having said that, if you spend $500 on a M-65 you are going to get a very accurately tailored jacket. Nevertheless, there are advantages to the issued genuine garment. Having spend much time wearing a "real" M-65, I can tell you about some of these advantages: The army M-65 comes in a gazillion sizes, from x-small short to xxl-x-long. You are sure to be able to find the fit that you want right off the shelf, and then get it tailored if you want micro adjustments. You'll find loose threads everywhere on the real M-65 and have to de-thread it yourself. The fabric is to spec and durability is very very high. You also get Quarpel treated cotton/nylon sateen fabric with the issue M-65 which is hydrophobic, antibacterial, and very hygenic in rough use. Hope this helps in your search for that perfect M-65. Propper does have a black one commercial version in only the standard sizes (sm med large). The real takeaway is that it costs Less than $70 and you can almost take that to a fine tailor to get it to exactly what you want in terms of fit. I don't know how much a tailor would charge for mods, but i just came back from an Italian tailor here to modify one of my leather driving jackets for fit and sleeve length. No price was quoted and we spent about 30 minutes to get a handle on the intricacies of the jacket and the proposed mods. I'm expecting to see a bill of no more than $125, I hope. If you mod a $70 issue M-65 you would still save substantially over a custom tailored M-65, and you'd be getting the real deal garment! I just pulled my old M-65s out to look at how cool this functional coat really is.
P5640blouson
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 203
- Location
- SoCal
OD green M-65 is the icon
The M-65 really only looks like an M-65 when it is in solid color. Camouflage breaks the pattern up completely. The OD Green Vietnam era M-65 is iconic in several ways, not all as positive as what would make everyone want one. In the U.S. it is a reminder of the Vietnam conflict and back in the 80's you would see many homeless veterans wear them as they were very useful in all sorts of weather. The OD green M-65 is an Icon and relic of the U.S. Army, and of soldiers who served in one of the most challenging conflicts. I never thought to wear mine in civilian attire as the woodland camo doesn't go well in the business casual environment. Now that I've got a good look at movies like 007 and Taxi where the M-65 is shown, I'm beginning to want to wear mine to work [huh]
The M-65 really only looks like an M-65 when it is in solid color. Camouflage breaks the pattern up completely. The OD Green Vietnam era M-65 is iconic in several ways, not all as positive as what would make everyone want one. In the U.S. it is a reminder of the Vietnam conflict and back in the 80's you would see many homeless veterans wear them as they were very useful in all sorts of weather. The OD green M-65 is an Icon and relic of the U.S. Army, and of soldiers who served in one of the most challenging conflicts. I never thought to wear mine in civilian attire as the woodland camo doesn't go well in the business casual environment. Now that I've got a good look at movies like 007 and Taxi where the M-65 is shown, I'm beginning to want to wear mine to work [huh]
Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 24,789
- Location
- London, UK
P5640blouson said:
Yeah, to me it's the Taxi Driver jacket.... I plan to buy a cheap one eventually and add Bickle's patches to it. Then I just need to cut a strip from a rug to spirit gum to my hied and I'm a fair bit of the way to a reasonable costume.... lol
Purely as a jacket, I prefer its WW2 era forerunners, but that's back to personal opinion again.
Papa M said:
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it.... of course one would like to hope that the RMNZ, Buzz etc versions are superior for what they charge, but I have no problem believing that a cheap, mass produced jacket like that could be up to the same standard as the military issue original - which is, of course, a cheap, mass produced garment itself.
I've ordered other items from S&A beofre, fwiw - very pleased with their service, the only drawback being that they used a private courier instead of the regular post meaning that it's much more of a pain to arrange delivery - though YMMV, of course, especially if you live in a house rather than a flat, and there is a 'safe place' they can leave deliveries.
Hi all...
Would someone really pay all that money for an M-65 field jacket? I thought that there are stil lots of them available as surplus?
When I was in the military, I went back to using the M-65 with the liner after a a disappointing try of the fancy Gore-tex jacket, with the under-arm zips.
I really liked the M-65, I'm going to have to dig mine out of storage and see if they still fit!
Would someone really pay all that money for an M-65 field jacket? I thought that there are stil lots of them available as surplus?
When I was in the military, I went back to using the M-65 with the liner after a a disappointing try of the fancy Gore-tex jacket, with the under-arm zips.
I really liked the M-65, I'm going to have to dig mine out of storage and see if they still fit!
Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 24,789
- Location
- London, UK
matei said:
Somebody must do, or the megabucks repros wouldn't be available on the market.... [huh] I agree with you, though - it does seem an odd one when it is so easy to pick up a very serviceable option for relatively little. It's not like we're dealing with some ultra-rare WW2 era jacket where an expensive reproduction is your only option of finding something accurate and that will fit those of us who aren't skinny nineteen year old anymore!
BellyTank
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,061
There is also an expensive "Black" M-A1 in the William Gibson Black
collection- another easily get-able jacket.
B
T
collection- another easily get-able jacket.
B
T
Similar threads
