Wested Jacket Purchase

Synycyl

New member
Hello all. I am about to purchase my first Wested Indy jacket. Size wise their standard line in a 44" matches my measurements. I am leaning towards a LC in distressed hide. I am not so interested in SA but I want a jacket that I can use daily weather permitting that will last. I chose the LC over the Raiders because my understanding is it fits a little looser, which I would rather have than too tight. My close second for durability was goat, but I like the distressed cowhide coloring in the Wested website photos better. Anyone have a photo of an LC in distressed cowhide they could share? I am open to any other comments or suggestions too. Thanks.
 

Major West

Member
My size 40" recent pre-distressed hide Crusade Wested. It is a heavier jacket. You mentioned considering Goat, in weight terms that would be like wearing a wind breaker compared to this. Both choices would be good for everyday weather wear, the hide jacket will add extra weight on your back though. All the OTR leather options are good choices. My first OTR LC jacket was the authentic Lamb. Still going, great choice too.

20161020_2035025425_01.jpg
 
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Synycyl

New member
Thanks Major West for the reply and the photograph. I have sent Wested an email asking about fit so I can place the order, but coming up on two days and I haven't had a reply yet. In their defense, they say they reply in 2-3 days so hopefully I will hear back soon. I am sure they get a lot of browsing questions, but I am ready to place the order as soon as I get the size right.

You mention that your jacket is a size 40". It looks like a good fit. It looks like you have some extra room to layer if necessary but its not floating on you. Is 40" the same size as your chest measurement or did you go up (or down) a size from your chest measurement? I measure right at 44" and I want to make sure if I order a 44" OTR I will have a little space to wear a sweatshirt or similar underneath.

Thanks again for the reply. I can't wait to pull the trigger on this purchase.
 

Drones33

New member
Just want to chime in to concur with Major West. All the OTR options are good leathers but the distressed hide is excellent. Very sturdy, looks amazing. With regards to the sizing, might be worth reading over Wested`s excellent blog entry "Last Crusade jacket Vs. Raiders jacket" (click on the link at the top of Wested`s home page) Gives some very handy info regarding sizing/shape of the LC.

You must let us know what you ultimately choose and post a few pics:hat:
 

Synycyl

New member
Thanks for the advice Drones. I enjoyed the blogs very much. It was pretty much the reason why I have decided to go LC over the Raiders, the more relaxed fit. My interpretation of the blogs is that if I order a 44 and my chest size is 44, it has some extra room built in, but I just wanted an answer from Wested directly. I don't want it to fit like a 44 inch suit coat. I am expecting from all my reading so far that they will tell me to order the 44. But at a cost of $30 for shipping to return it if its not right, ( and I suspect another $30 shipping charge for the corrected one) I was hoping someone there would confirm my interpretation.

I have decided on the distressed hide, the standard LC. Just waiting to get the sizing correct.
 

Major West

Member
My measurement is just under 40. Stick to the size your measurement is closest to.

If you're bang on a size 44 and you order a 44, you'll be fine. There will be room for a couple of layers under there. Purely as a test I've worn one jacket on top of another.

There's a measuring guide on the website. It might be worth your while taking your arm length measurements to make sure they fit the OTR arm size, which is probably about 25 on a 44 jacket. You'll want to measure from the top of your arm to just above the first knuckle. There's always the custom option if need be.

Being the holidays they might not reply until after new years. They will tell you extra space is built into jackets though, on both the LC and the Raiders.
 
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Synycyl

New member
Hi Major

Great advice once again. I have read the measurement guides and I think I am good with the OTR sizing. My concern with the measurement guide is I think some of the measurements are subjective. For example, where exactly is the "nape" of the neck for the start of the back measurement? And where exactly does the shoulder end and the arm begin? The size chart shows that a Raiders and a LC have the same size shoulders, but the blogs seem to indicate that a LC has longer shoulders that drape off the shoulder more than the tailored fitting of the Raider shoulders. Yet both jackets have the same sized arms on the size chart. Does that mean that the length of the arms is slightly shorter on an LC to make up for the slightly longer shoulder?

Long story short, I have read so many guides and forum posts that I think its easy to get analysis paralysis. I really appreciate your real world feedback in helping me make this decision. I think I will just go with the 44" LC and hope that I am a "normal" sized person. Worse case scenario, if something is off, at least I will have a frame of reference as to how far off the measurements are, and I will have purchased a jacket that is returnable.

Thanks again.
 

Major West

Member
I'm sure you'll be fine with the OTR measurement, the OTR jackets are designed well. Also the jacket will conform to your body after a while wearing it and fit even better. My advice is wear it a lot for a couple of weeks to break it in.

The custom measurements are a bit confusing. Also because as you say both jackets are designed slightly differently. I found it useful to have an OTR jacket to take measurements from when I ordered Customs. I noted that on the jackets the back length measurement is actually from the top of the collar stand, and that will make the length slightly different because both jackets are different designs.
 

Dr.Sartorius

New member
Major West said:
My size 40" recent pre-distressed hide Crusade Wested. It is a heavier jacket. You mentioned considering Goat, in weight terms that would be like wearing a wind breaker compared to this. Both choices would be good for everyday weather wear, the hide jacket will add extra weight on your back though. All the OTR leather options are good choices. My first OTR LC jacket was the authentic Lamb. Still going, great choice too.

20161020_2035025425_01.jpg

Can you post some more pics? With better lighting? how does the artificial distressing look?
 

Major West

Member
I will do when I get the chance. The distressing is good. Better than the older hide they were using before. Softer too.
 

Major West

Member
Dr.Sartorius said:
Can you post some more pics? With better lighting? how does the artificial distressing look?

Click for larger pic



You can see it's quite a subtle distressing in just a few places. There's room for a lot more manual distressing as Drones did with his.
 

Synycyl

New member
Conclusion to the purchase

Since I started this thread, I suppose I should conclude my purchasing experience. The short story is this. Even though my chest measures 44 inches, the size 44 jacket I received was so tight in the chest and shoulders that I could not raise my hands high enough to get them in the handwarmer pockets. The sleeves were 1.5 inches shorter than what Wested has printed on their size chart for an off the rack 44. I paid $30 to have it shipped to me and had to pay $65 to have it shipped back. I told Wested this and the only thing they did was refund my purchase price. $95 in shipping and I have nothing to show for it. Some people on this forum have had great experiences purchasing from Wested. Even though I read all their guides, blog posts and followed the advice of their customer service reps, I still was unable to get a jacket that fit the first time. If it is not right the first time, you end up paying almost a hundred bucks in shipping (US customers) which you should factor into your decision making process if you decide to go this route. Buyer beware.
 

Major West

Member
Unusual. I can't imagine what happened apart from an accidental mislabeling of the size tag on the jacket. Did you take a picture of yourself with it on, then we could comment?

You could have asked them to exchange it for 44 Raiders. They would have sent that free.
 

Synycyl

New member
I don't have any photos, but imagine an overstuffed sausage!

I don't want to be negative. I made an assumption that was not correct. I knew that if the jacket did not fit, I was responsible for return shipping. I assumed that if I paid $30 to have the jacket shipped, I would pay $30 to return it. But since I do not have a corporate account with the shipper, it cost me $65 for return shipping. Although Wested's prices look good, when you factor in almost $100 in shipping charges if your jacket is not correct the first time, then their prices aren't so good.

The reason I went LC over Raiders was Wested describes the Raiders as more of a tailored fit and the LC as more of a relaxed fit. I was not looking for a tighter fit, so I wouldn't have thought to ask for a 44 Raiders. I was actually thinking of going custom, but since they didn't send me the correct sizes the first time, I was not confident that they would get it right the second time.

When I sent the jacket back they said it was fine. The jacket measured what they thought it should in the chest. They said the sleeves measured 24.5 inches. I disagree, I could not find a measurement longer than 24 inches no matter where I measured the sleeves. I think they just wanted to get their measurement within an inch of what was advertised. But even so, I think sleeves an inch shorter than they are supposed to be is a big deal. Their chart says 25.5 inch sleeves. Wested did not see an issue with that discrepancy. The back was actually half an inch longer than what the size chart said it was supposed to measure.

You are correct that Wested would have sent me another jacket. They would not have charged me another $30 shipping fee. But my issue was I already ordered one jacket from them, and what they sent didn't match the sizes that were advertised. I didn't get what I ordered, and I had to pay $65 for their mistake. If I rolled the dice again (having lost $95 on my first roll) and the jacket didn't fit, I would have had to pay another $65 to return it. I am pretty sure Wested will only do one exchange, so at that point I would have been out $160. I decided to cut my losses at $95.
 

Major West

Member
The size charts are approximate, as it says in the blog. They are the same charts for both jackets but both jackets aren't the same design. For example the Crusade has a longer back length by an inch and hangs off the shoulder. which means the sleeve starts an inch off your shoulder. It mentions in the Blogs about the size charts:

''The shoulders are actually different sizes on the CRUSADE on the RAIDERS, I know I know it doesn’t state it on the website but those are approximate size charts.''

Did the sleeves look badly off when you were wearing it or did you send it back because it didn't match the chart? Shame you didn't take a picture of it on. As for the tightness, remember leather, can be stiff until you break it in.

Of course I don't know what your build is, you might have big arms for example. If you're not an averge build, ordering a custom jacket exactly to your specs might have been the way to go. I would always advise ordering a Raiders custom if ordering a first jacket/custom jacket as the measurements are more standard and true to fit.

The Raiders jacket is described by them as an Easyfit jacket. If your're a big guy the LC might be better, but personally I find the Raiders more comfortable to wear.

Also the hand warmer issue. I wouldn't use that as measure of if the jacket is wrong or not. If you ordered a Temple of Doom jacket expect the handwarmers to be useless because the ToD side pockets are very small like they were in the film. If your hands are small they might work if they are medium to big, probably not. I've not had a problem with Raiders sidewarmers but LC, I find a bit awkward sometimes and I recently ordered a custom LC and because I ordered the back length too short for the design of the jacket it's very uncomfortable to use the handwarmers.
 
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Synycyl

New member
Major, I know you are trying to help, but you seem to be questioning my ability to determine if a jacket fits. I apologize I don't have photographic proof.

Wested says that in order to determine your chest measurement, you measure your chest with a cloth tape and you order that size. I measured 43.75 so I ordered 44. They further say that they leave enough extra room to layer a jumper underneath. I tried it on with just a t shirt and it zipped up like a wetsuit. There was no way any layering would be possible. This was not due to stiff leather. It was due to not enough leather around the chest.

I understand measurements are approximate. That is why I did not mention the shoulder measurement. They are supposed to be 7.5 inches, but they measured 7 inches. Half an inch I can excuse. But as you described the way the LC is supposed to fit, if the shoulders are 0.5 inches too short, and the sleeves are 1.5 inches too short, that is two inches shorter than advertised. Do you think 2 inches of deviation from a 25.5 inch sleeve is a reasonable approximation? I don't.

I did not return it because of the sleeve length difference, I returned it because it did not fit in the chest as advertised. I measured the jacket because my first thought was that the jacket was mislabeled.

When the jacket was on and my arms were down by my sides, about half of my wrist watch was visible. Not the end of the world. If the chest fit as advertised, I would have lived with the sleeves as is. Of course, they would have fit better if they were 1.5 inches longer as advertised.

I wish the problem was that my arms were too big and muscular, but that is not an issue. I am just an average build.

What is the relevance of the fact that the TOD jackets have smaller pockets? I didn't order one of those. I didn't order a SA jacket designed to fit Harrison Ford's measurements. I ordered a jacket that is supposed to used as a jacket. I ordered a jacket that was allegedly the roomier of the two standard versions that they sell. I could somewhat understand your argument if I had ordered a Hero version, or a TOD jacket, but I did neither of those things. I don't think that a jacket that is so tight in the chest that you can't raise your hands to your handwarmer pockets is properly sized. In one of the photos you posted, you have a hand in your handwarmer pocket, so I know its possible to use them.

I understand that a custom jacket would be a great thing if it actually came with the sizes you ordered, but as I see it, I ordered a jacket with a 44 inch chest, 25.5 inch sleeves, 7.5 inch shoulders, and a 26.5 inch back. I did not receive a jacket with those measurements. So was I willing to risk another $65 plus the cost upgrade for a custom, plus the restock fee if it didn't fit? No. If they didn't get the first batch of measurements correct, why would they do better if I ordered a different set of measurements? If 1 to 2 inches of deviation is close enough, no thanks.

Congratulations on your jacket. It looks great. I wish my experience mirrored yours.
 

Major West

Member
I'm only questioning it, because you said Wested measured the chest and said it was fine for the size. As a veteran customer, I'd have no reason to disbelieve them. So possibly you measured your chest incorrectly, too low down, perhaps you're actually a 45-46 size. That would explain logically why it seemed a tight fit. Of course it could have been a mislabelled jacket, but Wested measured it when you sent it back.

Unfortunately if you'd taken pictures or even come back to this thread to ask our opinions etc, Before returning it, maybe we could have found out or confirmed what the problem was and advised. Is there a reason why you didn't? We could have said, it's not a good fit for your frame, change it for a Raiders. Or we could have confirmed the jacket looked wrong and was mislabelled etc. Remember we know what these jackets should look like.
 

Synycyl

New member
Wested said that the chest size was fine. Wested also didn't have a problem with sleeves that were 1.5 inches too short.

Are you really saying that I am not smart enough to measure my chest properly? I used a tailors tape. I measured the widest portion of my chest. After all, would anyone not use the widest portion of their chest for a chest measurement? But I also tried deeply inhaling while measuring the widest part of my chest to see how large the chest measurement could possibly be. Then I did the same thing while wearing a t shirt and sweatshirt. Maximum measurement was 43.75 inches. While holding the measuring tape at 44 inches around my chest the tape was freely able to move from my navel to my arm pits. Is there any other method I could have tried?

Strangely enough, when the jacket did not fit my first course of action was not to take a picture of myself and post it on a forum to see if you agreed with me that it did not fit. I did go to a tailor to double check my chest measurement though. Surprisingly he said I measure 44 inches. Perhaps he did it wrong also?

Just curious, what do you think should happen when a vendor sends you a jacket in which the sleeves measure 1.5 inches shorter than they are supposed to be? Or assume that I can't measure a sleeve and take their word for it that the sleeve was only an inch shorter than what they advertised. What should happen? Should the customer eat the entire cost of postage both ways? Should the consumer have confidence that the rest of the measurements were correct? Should the consumer be confident that the vendor would get it right the next time?

If Wested had said "Sorry, you are right the sleeves were too short. Let us split the cost of return shipping", I would have been satisfied and paid them even more money to upgrade to a custom jacket. But they did absolutely nothing for me, the customer.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Synycyl said:
Are you really saying that I am not smart enough to measure my chest properly?
Hi, Synycyl. Welcome to The Raven. :hat:

Major West isn't saying that. He's only trying to figure out the problem by investigating every avenue. I've never communicated with Major West but he is a decent & helpful fellow. Yes, your jacket problem sucks (like crazy!) but don't give a hard time to a friendly hand, mate. The guy is trying to help you. :)

Maybe negotiate with Wested to send another jacket free of $hipping charges, at no co$t to you?

---
P.S. Drones33's jacket in post #333 is the most luscious I have ever seen! :eek: Please, send my your address so I can sneak over to your house & nick it! :whip:
 
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