Great jacket, with one suggestion
I love Tom Beckbe.
The quality is always very good And they look very nice and garner many compliments.
However, with this jacket, there is one major drawback for me that was a little surprising.
On the corduroy collar, there’s a storm cuff that folds back under it and snaps back to tuck it away. There is also a button on the other side of the collar for when you need to use it to cover the neck.
This storm flap, or cuff, is attached by being sewn into the underside of the collar.
For some reason, they have the stitching pass through both the outer shell and then through to the corduroy side of the collar.
Because of This, the stitching is always visible and kind of an eye sore in my opinion. The stitching is also, at least from my jacket, inconsistent.
The thread is a brighter orange color, but also since the outer shell is that olive green color, you can see some of those darker threads pass through to the corduroy.
So, you can see the stitching sitting on top Of the top collar. A dotted line shaped like a rectangle of light orange and dark green stitching.
The stitching on mine has a little fraying too with both the dark green and orange thread. I have been in contact with customer service and they have been nice and helpful. I’m still waiting on a solution.
At first, I thought that maybe I just got one of their jackets that perhaps wasn’t stitched properly. But this is an intentional stitching designfor this particular jacket. But, It’s also possible my jacket stitching may not have been executed as clean as they would like. I sent them photos and they are reviewing.
With all that said, I really do hope that the future iterations they talk to the manufacturers or whoever is doing the stitching, and have them change this and not have it visibly passed through the corduroy collar.
But I’m not a garment maker, so I don’t know if there’s an actual necessary reason for why it’s done this way.
Maybe it adds more rigidity to the connected fabrics? Perhaps it keeps everything a little bit more tightly secured?
It’s really an attractive jacket but I don’t think this stitching benefits the look.
It is possible to see it on the website with the model photos and it may not look very prominent there. I certainly didn’t notice it when I purchased the jacket online. But as soon as I put it on, I saw it immediately. It’s one of those things that once you see it you always see it.
Some may not think this is a big deal. But I think at this price point and how lovely the jacket looks overall, it’s something that should be considered.
Concerning the fit and feel of the jacket:
The midsection is a little boxy.
I’m 5’9” 175 pounds. And the medium I ordered seems like the right size but I may like to take this in to get it tailored slightly. Not 100% sure yet on that. The sizing will always be a personal preference. Keep in mind, either way it still looks nice.
Some of their fits are a little more boxy or roomy for layering and that’s intentional. I’ve bought 3 garments here and I actually tailored my Tensaw jacket to taper in a little bit around my midsection.
It fits and looks now even better in my opinion. But that’s just my personal taste.
Although,There is a trade off for tailoring as I can’t put a big bulky sweater underneath it without feeling overly stuffed. So if you do decide to go down this path, keep that in mind.
The Look and Feel:
The outer shell color is awesome, that has that amazing wax/oiled quality that creates a little bit of distressed look, but it’s still looks sharp. If you’re familiar with waxed or oil jackets, you must be aware that they look even nicer as they age. Getting little light scuffs and distressed marks in certain where areas that really add to the look.
That’s when the compliments start rolling in every time you put it on.
It’s really quite amazing to see it transform. It looks great out of the box, and as you build a bond and relationship with the jacket, it looks even better.
I also recommend re-waxing and oiling your jacket whenever you think it needs it. It really makes it feel like it has its own character and personality.
The jacket feels nice. Kind of like you have an armored shell on but without being too rigid and too bulky.
I think they provided the perfect amount of material to the outer shell. The inner lining has that red clay color that is proprietary to Tom BeckBe.
Their Alabama red clay color is something I’ve come to really enjoy. It’s really gives the company a personality.
The pockets:
The two outer pockets are huge and can hold quite a lot. The hand warmers pockets are lined for extra warmth and can also be used as a quick easy access pocket. There are also two internal open stitched lower pockets and one upper left side zipper pocket.
I was really happy to see that they provided both a left and right side internal pocket. That’s great.
All things considered, this jacket is pretty awesome! I’ve been looking at it for quite a while before I purchased it.
I’m not sure if I can update this review once I get a reply on that storm cuff stitching through the collar.
But I will try if I get an answer or a solution.
