I’m coming up on the 55 in a couple of days. Wednesday in fact… I still find it hilarious that I’m a ‘senior citizen’ now.
Normally my birthday is celebrated with some new computer, but this year things are a bit more low-key given the economy and whatnot – and I don’t really need a computer better than the one I built back in October.
So, this year I splurged on a new coat…
I’ve had the same Wrangler fleece lined jean jacket since winter 2008, and a few weeks ago the zipper finally succumbed to entropy – so it was time I guess. Initially I was just going to replace it with the same thing, but after perusing the local ranch store I discovered that Wrangler hasn’t made that jacket for a decade now, and the closest thing they offer these days is really cheap and flimsy and probably won’t last a year.
So I got to thinking about what was probably the best, warmest coat I’ve ever owned – my Navy issue pea-coat from back in the 80’s. And this sent me down the rabbit hole to locate another one.
It turns out that it’s not exactly easy to get a quality wool coat these days. Everything is cheap Chinese crap designed to put you on a yearly subscription to replace it, so things like ‘rugged’ and ‘heavy duty’ are just buzzwords now. That and everything these days is all about how high-tech it is with fancy shell composites and tricky synthetic fibers to make the coat as light as possible for shipping reasons.
If you want an old-school, heavy, animal-based fabric coat you need to do some legwork.
Anyway, after a week of wandering the Internet I stumbled over Sturm in Germany. Sturm gets mixed reviews from the hardcore tacticool people who think a plate carrier is a fashion statement, but their reproductions tend to get rave reviews from reenactment fans, movie prop people, and normal Joes.
Anyway, I took a chance and ordered an old pattern USN pea coat from them, which took about two weeks to come in from Germany…
I’d have to say this is pretty authentic, having actually worn the real deal back in the 80’s. It’s just as heavy and just as warm as the original, even if it’s a wool blend versus wearing a sheep like in the old days.
Like the original, the threading on the buttons is the weak point, but I’m familiar with how to fix that. The rest of the stitching looks and feels really solid, the liner is pretty nice, and the fit is pretty good… The sleeves are a bit long, but I think I can have that tailored out pretty easy.
Overall the coat was about a hundred bucks, or $40 more than the cheap replacement for my old jean jacket.
I think it was worth it.
Listening to "Roll with the Changes" by REO Speedwagon