Is nylon better?

[Tim P]

Nylon looks good from new
Nylon has no odour
Nylon in 'your size' fits
Nylon needs no breaking in, does not benefit from torturous 'treatments'
Nylon has authentic handwarmer pockets without being cheesy
You can move around in a nylon jacket, even the bulkiest parka, in comparison to its sheepskin equivalent
Nylon says flight just as much as leather does
If you want to add insignia, a regular sewing machine will do it
Vintage nylon, for all its faults is unlikely to have dry rot
In OD, blue and sage, nylon is diverse in colour

this is why I am choosing nylon type jackets in preference to A-2's for now. anytime you don an a-2 it is a compromise to some extent, be it hemmed in shoulders (perish the thought of blousey) lack of useable pocket space, odour, creaks, collar up round your ears when you sit down and so on. I am a big fan of the A-2 but it is worn purely for its looks as far as I am concerned. It is just not a forgiving jacket..

 

[better duck]

Sorry, beg to differ: nylon only in black and around my womans legs! :lol:

 

[Tim P]

In all honesty I do like a-2's but it is rare to get on that has everything you need from a jacket.
I do agree with the nylon round the womans legs bit..
how about a nice b15c on top, open and some nylon legwear to compliment it.?

 

[greyhound52]

Tim,
You are correct about nylon jackets. My vote for the best all around nylon jacket is the L-2B. You can wear it in the spring and fall even to the begining of winter (with some layers). I also really like the MA-1s I have. Another great jacket. While the A2 looks cool (and I have 10 of them) it doesn't cut it on a cold windy day like today. Your comments on fit are right on as well. I have found, however, that 1950s nylon jackets a bit short. I had to go to an XL in some models of the 50s L-2B to make the fit look right. My Rolen L-2B B model is a large and quite long unlike the Blue Anchor or Skyline models I have. So you can find so fit issues with vintage nylon as well. Comfort wise you are right on the mark with that. Nylon beats leather just about every time.

 

[watchmanjimg]

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of nylon. However, I also love leather. I don't give much thought to collecting A-2s because of the high cost of originals and past difficulties finding a decent example that fits to my liking (whether original or repro), so I focus primarily on moto/utility leathers and occasionally earlier G-1s. It would be very tough for me to say that I prefer nylon to leather in general, but I definitely prefer nylon to the A-2.

 

[Tim P]

I think that sums it up well actually.

 

[better duck]

Nylon looks good from new
Nylon has no odour
Nylon in 'your size' fits
Nylon needs no breaking in, does not benefit from torturous 'treatments'
Nylon has authentic handwarmer pockets without being cheesy
You can move around in a nylon jacket, even the bulkiest parka, in comparison to its sheepskin equivalent
..

Good to see you agree about the nylon - around - a womans - legs bit: good to know we have some common ground there, but now to be a bit more precise:

Leather smells: love it!
The idiosyncrasies of sizing: baffling, frustrating, but part of the game;
Breaking in a leather jacket: part of the fun: adding scars, creases, spots: adding character: couldn't do without; a nylon jacket with all of the before mentioned just looks ragtag and old...
Handwarmer pockets: who needs them? separating the men from the mice!
Bulk is manly: creaking, groaning leather; a girl picking up and lifting your B3 and crooning: "wow, this is heavy, you actually wear this?" (actually happened to me the other day!) Sweet music to the ears!

No Tim: no convincing me that I should switch to nylon!!

 

[watchmanjimg]

Hi Peter!

Everything you said is true. However, so is everything Tim said. I doubt any of us could convince you to give up leather for nylon, but there's no need. Like many of us, you can simply enjoy a bit of both!

 

[Anonymous]

Nylon looks good from new
Nylon has no odour
Nylon in 'your size' fits
Nylon needs no breaking in, does not benefit from torturous 'treatments'
Nylon has authentic handwarmer pockets without being cheesy
You can move around in a nylon jacket, even the bulkiest parka, in comparison to its sheepskin equivalent
Nylon says flight just as much as leather does
If you want to add insignia, a regular sewing machine will do it
Vintage nylon, for all its faults is unlikely to have dry rot
In OD, blue and sage, nylon is diverse in colour

this is why I am choosing nylon type jackets in preference to A-2's for now. anytime you don an a-2 it is a compromise to some extent, be it hemmed in shoulders (perish the thought of blousey) lack of useable pocket space, odour, creaks, collar up round your ears when you sit down and so on. I am a big fan of the A-2 but it is worn purely for its looks as far as I am concerned. It is just not a forgiving jacket..

YES, YES and thrice YES Tim !!! But did you have to tell the whole world ? Now they'll all want nylon instead of the (whilst good) grossly overrated A-2

Dave :ugeek:

 

[better duck]

how about a nice b15c on top, open and some nylon legwear to compliment it.?

No objection at all! I'll just have to look past the B15 ...
Just kidding: the b15 is a great jacket, but I'll stick to the B15A if you don't mind.

 

[Tim P]

dont get me wrong i have a foot in both camps.. just jaded chasing the holy grail of A-2's. few offer everything.

 

[Atticus]

I like leather jackets, but only in warm weather. When the temperature drops below forty-five, give me a pre-1973 MA-1 and I'll be happy as a pig in poop. Warm collar, warm pockets, thick insulation, wind-proof nylon, comfortable cut---as long as you don't expose it to open flame, the MA-1 has got it all.

But...

Its gotta be tastefully patched. To me, a nekked MA-1 looks pure skinhead. And an oversized, nekked MA-1 looks pure ghetto. But a tastefully patched, trim-fitting, A,B,C or D series MA-1 fairly screams classic, jet-age coolness!

AF

BTW, my avatar shows my '61 Skyline which came to me in nearly mint condition (with C&C Crown zip). Its a jacket that I'll never patch.

 

[Peter Graham]

I'm a recent convert to nylon and I'll never look back. I've found the perfect winter jacket in the N-2B, the perfect intermediate jacket in the MA-1 and the perfect summer jacket in the L-2B. My leather jackets haven't had a look in since I started buying nylon. I have a nice original A-2 which I will probably never sell but I doubt that it will get much wear. The M-422a and other Navy variants are a much more practical proposition than the A-2. Of course there's cloth jackets. B-10's and B-15's are great but much more succeptible to wear than nylon. Yep, it's nylon all the way for me !

 

[tgd31968]

From a purely performance standpoint you cannot beat nylon or cloth. There is a reason, and not just cost, that they replaced sheepskin and leather. My MA-1 is nice and toasty on a fall day where as my A-2 needs something a little extra under it. and my N2b is much friendlier than my B-3, but as far as classic flight jacket look, I will take sheepskin and leather any day.
Ma-1's, B-15's have just been too copied to stand out, so they need patches to make them look like something other than a mall cop. And I don't wear patches so....

I like em all. nylon and cloth are more pratical, but leather/sheep more classic. A bit like the less filling/tastes great debate.
Terry

 

[usafwso]

I like nylon & nomex. Just spent a bit of time up at Yellowstone National Park, with a pair of D-1B flight pants. Should have had an N-3B parka too. Was not the least bit cold in those frozen temperatures.