For sale here is a jacket from the Westride label, one of a good number of Japanese brands that are strongly influenced by vintage Americana. Where Westride is different is that they’re primarily a motorcycle label (the name is probably a good indication), a particular subset of the “American casual” family of brands, much in the same vein as Iron Heart, Buco and Black Sign, among others. Probably the closest peer for Westride is Iron Heart actually, where both labels use very heavy fabrics, producing at an extremely high level of quality. Westride have a reasonably strong following in Japan, yet for some reason they appear to have almost no international distribution at the moment.
So what we have here is Westride’s take on the classic military A2 jacket. They have tweaked the design to make something highly functional for motorcycle riding, although you can easily wear it on its own as well. Exterior is West ride’s proprietary sulfur dyed satin cotton, although the real appeal in this case is the lining. Interior uses West ride’s original thermal reflex system. This was developed in tandem with the dupont company, where you essentially have a fleeced lining done in a 75% wool, 17% cotton and 8% nylon blend, combined with polyester padding and an aluminum film. The lining incorporated here is a smart use of technology, making the jacket highly insulating, easily holding up perfectly fine in the Japanese winters. I have tried this in the dead of winter in Japan and was kept perfectly warm, although I have not had the opportunity to wear this kind of lining in even colder temperatures. Either way, this should keep you nice and warm yet at the same time is nowhere near as bulky as a down jacket. Under arms are also intentionally unlined, allowing for heat regulation where you also do not run the risk of overheating so easily. The fleece lining is very comfortable, not itchy at all, and the aluminum film is in no way noticeable to wear.
Aside from the lining, the jacket incorporates storm cuffs to keep the cold weather out and provide further insulation. There are corozo buttons down the front with a storm flap, an interior zipper with a long fabric pull, cinches on the sides to adjust the fit to your preference, gusseted under arms, a throat latch allowing you to wear it with the collar turned up, a buttoned chest pocket and two side pockets.
This is one of those jackets that has been very well considered and is meant to cover all of your bases. It is built super tough, the sort of thing that will take a beating and only get better with wear. Design is timeless and the lining is definitely something special.
Size is labeled a large, fitting in between a standard medium and large in my opinion, like a somewhat loose medium or a somewhat slim large. I measure the chest at 21.5”, shoulders at 18”, length at 31” from the base of the neck, and sleeves at 25” from the shoulder. The jacket comes in lightly used shape, with just a small stain in white on the back. This is not especially visible in person, but noted in the interest of full disclosure. Otherwise no holes, tears or stains. Made in Japan.
Shipping from Japan to anywhere will be $36.