The vest is made of good quality materials and appears to be quite durable. The weight and feel of the vest is accurate. Rubber is used inside to simulate bladders. Attention to detail is apparent. Brass grommets and reinforcements are used wherever tubing passes through the fabric to the bladders just like the original. CO2 inflators as well as oral inflation tubes and fittings were nicely copied. Fabric color is good in my opinion.

I have just a few minor complaints.
1. The inspection and date stamps. The inspection stamp font is too modern. Most would have been stenciled “INSP”. Date stamp font and format is incorrect. It was dated 21-11-41. This format is incorrect for the era. Most originals that I have encountered or owned myself, have dates applied by stencil in the following formats. 4-12-43 or 4/12/43 . My suggestion to the manufacturer is to omit these markings in further batches. This will allow the buyer to apply dates that are appropriate for their impression. I used acetone and a rag to gently remove the markings from the leather patch. I applied my own markings with stencils made on a 1940’s era stencil press that I have access to.

2. Manufacturer's information stamp. The information is fine and the date of manufacture is left blank. Good. The manufacturer is listed as WPG INC. I’d personally prefer them to use the name of one of the original manufacturers, but I understand why they did it this way and it’s not really a big deal.

These reproductions are the best I’ve seen and I’m proud to own one. I changed the inspection markings and weathered the vest a bit to appear “broken-in”. I applaud WPG in their efforts and encourage others to consider purchasing a B-3 from them in the future.


Randy - CT, United States

Thank you for the high quality reproduction! It was perfect for my FAM uniform video

Stinson - US

Great product, looks conpletely genuine and whats more feels it too...great attention to detail.

Maher - IE