The Deck Jacket thread.

[Pandemic]

I just saw that someone on US Amazon is now selling the Red Tornado N1, for around $270 delivered. It’s a 70/30 wool/alpaca lining and the pics look good. Does anyone have experience with this jacket?

 

[hk47]

Pardon Our Interruption...

www.ebay.com

 

[Pandemic]

Here is the size chart for the RT. I’m lining it up with the IH size chart and it seems to fall between theirs - ie, medium RT is tighter than medium IH and large RT is tighter than IH, so I’m not sure if I would size up with this or not. Edit: those numbers actually line-up pretty well with Buzz Rickson, so I think I would go Large

 

[Doctor Damage]

Here's a official(?) photo of a USN deck jacket from a series of slides apparently in the National Archives. I'm guessing WWII era judging by the other slides (not posted here).

 

[Pandemic]

I was pretty close to ordering the RT above, but then I realized that third party sellers on Amazon don’t add on duties and tariffs to the US. Suddenly the $750 BR already sitting at HPA in the US looks like a better deal compared to the $250 RT sitting in China.

 

[Joseph Hill]

I've got a longer story about the Red Tornado deck jacket and dj's in general, but I've only got a moment with the computer right now. For now I will say the quality is top notch. The bedford cord and liner are very high quality. Toasty warm. The repro Talon feels like any other Ive dealt with Japanese or Chinese (and whichever Aero uses). Its a little rough, but some quick up and downs every few inches smoothes it up. The cut is very good. Alot of the high end brands have something a little off, and look like repros. This thing sits like every original Ive tried on. Really surprisingly good. The sizing you have to watch. Its not asian sizing like if you've been delving into the Cidu's and such, but they don't fully relate to western nomenclature. I have two of these (again part of a larger story). Go by the number size, not the letter sizing. These are difficult to measure because of the loft of the liner. I am a classic (US sizing) 40. So average that I have often been able to get one offs being the sample size. The Red Tornado 40 is a proper US medium and fits me perfectly. The 42 fits a little bulky like any US large. I have to look who I bought from, as its been a bit, but some use the # while some use thec letter sizing. Make sure to get the correct # sizing for you. Just as an aside, the liner in the 42 was noticibly darker brown than in the 40. If that detail is important to you it's probably an unpredictable variable.

 

[Pandemic]

I've got a longer story about the Red Tornado deck jacket and dj's in general, but I've only got a moment with the computer right now. For now I will say the quality is top notch. The bedford cord and liner are very high quality. Toasty warm. The repro Talon feels like any other Ive dealt with Japanese or Chinese (and whichever Aero uses). Its a little rough, but some quick up and downs every few inches smoothes it up. The cut is very good. Alot of the high end brands have something a little off, and look like repros. This thing sits like every original Ive tried on. Really surprisingly good. The sizing you have to watch. Its not asian sizing like if you've been delving into the Cidu's and such, but they don't fully relate to western nomenclature. I have two of these (again part of a larger story). Go by the number size, not the letter sizing. These are difficult to measure because of the loft of the liner. I am a classic (US sizing) 40. So average that I have often been able to get one offs being the sample size. The Red Tornado 40 is a proper US medium and fits me perfectly. The 42 fits a little bulky like any US large. I have to look who I bought from, as its been a bit, but some use the # while some use thec letter sizing. Make sure to get the correct # sizing for you. Just as an aside, the liner in the 42 was noticibly darker brown than in the 40. If that detail is important to you it's probably an unpredictable variable.

Thanks! That’s super helpful. I chatted with the seller who claims they pay the import duties, so i think I’m going to take the plunge.

It seems like RT is a direct copy of the Buzz Rickson jacket, down to the sizing. This makes me a lot more comfortable that day with a Bronson, which is full of little tweaks and changes.

I’m a 38-40 size, so I’ll go with the L(40) in this.

 

[Joseph Hill]

A while back, I noticed 4444Design's CGN9 Long Beach jackets. My pop spent most of the last half of his navy career in Idaho at the nuclear reservation. They were developing and building the reactors for the first nuclear surface ships in the world, the Enterprise, Bainbridge, and Long Beach. He even designed the original ships crest for the Long Beach, unfortunately the navy decided that cartoon emblems weren't dignified enough and changed it to a standard coat of arms. The original did make it onto a slew of coffee mugs, ashtrays, and patches though. Deck jackets were issued to ships not individual sailors like a peacoat, but there was an unwritten rule that you didn't mess with another mans dj. My dad had one when they went on sea trials, and it disappeared from his foot locker. It was snagged by the Chief Warrant Officer. It was a bit of a triple **** move. A CWO didn't need a working mans coat, pop couldn't get another one, and it was plain old theft. Pop had to wear his peacoat in the engine rooms, it was nuclear, but you still had turbines, pumps, and generators and such, so it was just as dirty as an oil burner. Guys kept asking why he was wearing his pea coat below decks, but he had to keep his mouth shut, because it was an officer that took the dj. Unlike my wife, my dad is not the axe grinding type, but he's held a grudge about this since '61, '62? I get the idea, to get him a replacement that no one can take from him. I agonized over brand, sizing, how to order, all that. I settled on the Red Tornado, but I got caught in the #, letter sizing discrepencies, especially since some sites seem to use different letter sizing. I was sent a 40 which fit me perfectly, but too small for my dad. I tried messaging for a return or exchange, but the Aliexpress messages kept failing to deliver for some reason. Christmas was coming, so I just ordered another in a larger size. Christmas comes, and pop thought the jacket was great. It was the correct size for him, unfortunately at 88 his shoulders, neck, and back hurt too much to get it on and off. He's reduced to oversized zipper sweatshirts these days. Five years ago he probably would have got great use from it. The 42 was too small for my brother, and too large for me The 40 fits me, but if my wife found out I had TWO deck jackets my dad couldn't wear, she'd strangle me. So now I have two deck jackets I really like, but am not sure what to do with.

 

[Pandemic]

^
Very cool!

My dad still had a steel helmet by his bed that he puts his glasses in before going to sleep - just like he did in Vietnam.

I have a secret drawer in my office of clothes I am selling, that my wife doesn’t need to know about. If she did know how much buying and selling I do of clothes … I don’t think she would really be mad, but I know I would be embarrassed.

If you want to sell that Size 40 let me know, though I don’t mind ordering a new one at those prices.

 

[Joseph Hill]

I'm much better at buying than selling. I don't mind selling, I just seem to be a tard about the logistics (computers also make me feel a bit like a monkey at a typewriter). I'm much better at bolting and un-bolting things. Unfortunately I have a bunch of undeclared merchandise that I should probably learn to move on. If you're not in a great hurry, we can probably work something out on the 40. I only have a few select days in the week I can manage anything extracurricular. Probably go to PMs.

 

[Pandemic]

@Joseph Hill mind if I ask what you paid for your RT deck jackets?

I’m trying to decide whether to buy now or hold off in case the tariffs get dropped next month - and wondering how much they have padded the current price (around $270 with shipping) for the tariff.

 

[Lukken]

I've got a longer story about the Red Tornado deck jacket and dj's in general, but I've only got a moment with the computer right now. For now I will say the quality is top notch. The bedford cord and liner are very high quality. Toasty warm. The repro Talon feels like any other Ive dealt with Japanese or Chinese (and whichever Aero uses). Its a little rough, but some quick up and downs every few inches smoothes it up. The cut is very good. Alot of the high end brands have something a little off, and look like repros. This thing sits like every original Ive tried on. Really surprisingly good. The sizing you have to watch. Its not asian sizing like if you've been delving into the Cidu's and such, but they don't fully relate to western nomenclature. I have two of these (again part of a larger story). Go by the number size, not the letter sizing. These are difficult to measure because of the loft of the liner. I am a classic (US sizing) 40. So average that I have often been able to get one offs being the sample size. The Red Tornado 40 is a proper US medium and fits me perfectly. The 42 fits a little bulky like any US large. I have to look who I bought from, as its been a bit, but some use the # while some use thec letter sizing. Make sure to get the correct # sizing for you. Just as an aside, the liner in the 42 was noticibly darker brown than in the 40. If that detail is important to you it's probably an unpredictable variable.

It can't be on par with the USA/Japanese brands, can it?

 

[breezer]

It can't be on par with the USA/Japanese brands, can it?

lets find out! After many deck jackets my humble opinion is that the expensive Japanese repros, while great, are not necessary............plenty of cheaper versions will do the same job. Getting a comfortable fit is just as important as the garments quality.

 

[Joseph Hill]

For all the work I put into figuring out ordering and all I can't now remember what I finally paid, but I seem to recall it being on sale at a couple of sites (Christmas dip) for around 220.

As for quality, I can't compare to the high end repros. I've never seen any in person. I have tried on a couple of original dj's. Other than the zippers, which I stupidly forgot to scrutinize, the Red Tornado feels like a crisp new original deck jacket. You don't know me, and I make no claims of professional expertise or credentials, but I can't think of anything lacking in the RT.
There must have been Bedford cord in the aether last year, as my brothers Christmas gift to me was a Bedford cord shirt/jacket by a company called Freeman. They're local here, but I somehow never had them on my radar (would have been too expensive for my tight-wad tendencies anyhow). Sort of like Freenote (what's with the naming conventions?) in that they have un-fussy, well engineered designs that let fantastic fabrics be the standout. The Freeman cord was flatter in the ribs than the RT. I won't say one is better than the other, but it highlights the RTs correct rib profile.

Also if it means anything I decided I couldn't part with the 40. But if someone wants the 42 to make a comparison, it needs a home.

 

[Cskarev]

Pretty cold today so I had to put my Iron Heart N1

 

[raf]

Every single USN Vet I've spoken to has said that a "Brand-New" fabric jacket of this type was "OK" for shedding rain--when NEW. After laundering, the laundering process stripped-away the original water-repellant and thereafter the fabric jacket soaked-up water like a sponge. Got progressively worse with continued launderings.

Same thing for US Army Field jackets.

Problem is that "laundering" facility did not take the time/effort/expense to re-instill appropriate waterproofing chems.

Keep in mind that neither of these garments were intended as "foul weather" gear, and impermeable garments were intended to be worn over them in case of sustained rainfall.

Many suitable chems available from respected Mfrs to "wash-in" water-resistant treatments. Strongly suggest obtaining the "correct" chem for your particular type of fabric. Always clean the garment first (suggest Woolite detergent, since it has NO "Optical Brighteners") and rinse at least 2X before applying appropriate waterproofing chems.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

Here's a official(?) photo of a USN deck jacket from a series of slides apparently in the National Archives. I'm guessing WWII era judging by the other slides (not posted here).

View attachment 726567

Leave it to the USN to pick the frustrating color, navy so dark it looks like black until you wear it with black. I can’t with them anymore.

Is this navy or black? Who knows? The government’s best and brightest folks.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

Pretty cold today so I had to put my Iron Heart N1
View attachment 734428 View attachment 734429

Based. You’re lucky you live in a place that isn’t ungodly hot this time of year for some confounded reason.

 

[WolfofStateSt]

The idea of a leather N1 jacket is crazy.

 

[MrProper]