Did anyone ever get the official Warrior Jacket?

I may be dating myself but here goes. I remember ads in the back pages of Starlog magazine hawking "The Warrior's Battlejacket." The ads ran for awhile in the 1979/1981 time period. I aways wanted to know what these jackets were like. I had some trouble getting my Dad to pony up the $31.99 so I never got my hands on one. I found one of my old Starlogs (#28) and here is the ad copy:

"Available in sizes for the entire family to enjoy!

At last, you can dress in futuristic, military style with the high quality Warrior's Battlejacket. Made of rugged 100% cotton denim, the Warrior's Battlejacket is light olive brown in color and comes complete with all the trimmings: Decorative emblem, realistic insignia pins and locking metal clasps. It's made to be machine washed and dried. Whether wearing your Warrior's Battlejacket to school or bringing it along on rocketship rides to far away places, it's fun to dress in space fashion. The whole family can dress in Warrior Battlejackets, choose from a variety of sizes on the order form below. Suitable for most any occasion: day to day recreational use, disco wear, Halloween. Makes a great Christmas gift!"

The jackets came in children's, big boy's, women's and men's sizes. At the top of the add they have artwork of a family of four: Mom, Dad, Sister and Brother all wearing their Warrior's Battle Jackets! In the background, Vipers streak trough the air. Who wouldn't want to own one of these babies?

One thing that I find interesting is that they do not mention Battlestar Galactica at all. It is clearly the warrior jacket from the show but they do not point this out. Strange. Well, in any event, I always wondered what the actual "Warrior Battlejacket" looked like. How close was it to the real deal? What was it like when it arrived in the mail. Was it great or a disappointment? Did everyone at the schoolyard or the disco envy you?

[Charybdis]

I just happened to get one of those jackets in size 14 youth back in 1979. I must say, it was neat to get it, but the color was all wrong. It came in a soft brushed olive brown denim which is way too light. The shoulders were pretty decent in correct dark brown color. They had the correct buckles as well.

Overall, it was pretty much worth about $31.99 but that's about it. I still have it hanging in my closet today!!!

You sometimes can pick one up on ebay in larger sizes.

If you want a real correct one, though, you'd better go through other current dealers who have those jackets. It's a bit more expensive, but well worth it!

[shiningstar]

I was working as even though I was living at home I
had to pay RENT. SO even though I wanted the jacket,
I didn't get it as I had to pay rent, and was saving for
college. And now my hubby's working to pay off my
children's college LOL .......... times may change but
SOMETHINGS stay the SAME lol.

Bills and other responcibilities do tend to get in the way of fun stuff. I always wondered what the Starlog jacket looked like. The fact that it was made of denim and was machine washable sets off an alarm bell though. I don't think the genuine articles were made out of this material and they were certainly dry clean only. I do know that the shoulders of original jackets were made out of a leather called "split calf."
It is nice to learn that the buckles on the Starlog jacket looked authentic. I don't think any warriors on the show ever buckled them. Were they magnetic?
Ah, well. If I ever hit the lottery, and after I pay my bills and responcibilities, I will indulge myself and get the authentic production quality Colonial Warrior outfit. I hear they are very comfortable and stylish.

I sent for one, i had to dye it brown! it was fun being the only guy in town with a Warrior Jacket. a couple of years ago i sold it, now i have one that looks closer to what they wear on the show.

[Charybdis]

The buckles are luggage clasps!!! The part you insert has a big circular spring loaded 'button' on it that snaps into the hole on the receiver part of the buckle. That's how it stays put. When you want to unbuckle it, you push the button in the center down and it unlatches...very clever...

The buckle mystery is solved! I always wondered how those things worked.