New forum member brand (Rugged West)

[JMax]

Looks great!

I would take the stiff leather as a benefit in terms of longevity (and the patina-potential going with it).
For manual break-in just roll the whole jacket up repeatedly or bunch it up at will.

As to the buttons: stiff/thick leather and buttons are really a match made in hell. No solution other than just easing up the wholes by usage (you can try to gently stretch by putting a bottleneck in them, but I’d be wary to overdoe it and end up with a disfunctionally large hole).

I use a screwdriver or similar tool to break in the hide around the holes. Manually roll around the button hole. Leave them safely hanging within the holes sometimes. Less concern with overdoing it, which is always a concern for me. Doesn’t take too long.