What is the Carhartt Active Jac?
The Active Jac is Carhartt's hooded work jacket: a zip-front duck jacket with an attached three-piece hood, rib-knit cuffs and waistband, two front pockets and a quilted flannel lining. It is the hooded counterpart to the Detroit and the most common vintage Carhartt jacket by volume.
What is the J130?
The J130 is the Sandstone Duck Active Jac — made from Carhartt's pre-washed 12 oz sandstone duck with a quilted flannel lining in the body and quilted nylon in the sleeves. It is softer from new and fades to a lighter, more even tone. It is the version most often seen in Carhartt brown and black.
What is the J140?
The J140 is the Firm Duck Active Jac — the same cut and lining in unwashed firm duck. It is stiffer, heavier in hand, and breaks in slowly, developing sharper creasing and higher-contrast fade at the seams and pocket edges. Collectors who want the classic rigid Carhartt feel look for J140.
Are there other Active Jac codes?
Yes. J131 is the thermal-lined Active Jac with a waffle thermal lining instead of quilted flannel, and there are later variants in different fabrics. For vintage buying, J130 and J140 cover the large majority of what you will see, and the code is printed on the neck label.
Which one is warmer?
They are equivalent — the lining is the same. The firm duck of the J140 is marginally more windproof when new because the weave has not been relaxed by washing, but after years of wear the difference disappears.
Which one should I buy?
If you want softness and an even fade from day one, J130. If you want stiffness, structure and the high-contrast creasing that firm duck develops, J140. For reworking we treat them the same; the choice is about how you want the fabric to feel.
How does the Active Jac fit compared with the Detroit?
Longer and slightly roomier, with rib-knit cuffs and waistband that pull the silhouette in at the bottom. The hood adds volume at the back. Most buyers size down one from their usual jacket size. Our cropped Active Jac reworks shorten the body and re-set the rib waistband so the proportion stays correct.
Every piece we sell is reworked by these standards
Everything written here comes from grading and reworking Carhartt every day. Browse what's in now, or message us and we'll send photos and measurements of anything.