Aero Fontana CR Black steer CXL v. 1.0

[ton312]

The 78 Trans Am of leather jackets as promised. I dig it!

Black and gold man!! Black and gold!

 

[handymike]

 

[Guppy]

Ain't that the truth. This is my fourth attempt!
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None of them looked bad!

 

[ton312]

None of them looked bad!

Well you were the beneficiary of one I do believe
I do wish I kept the aged tan. That leather won't ever likely come back. Wonderful hide.

 

[Guppy]

Well you were the beneficiary of one I do believe
I do wish I kept the aged tan. That leather won't ever likely come back. Wonderful hide.

What was the problem with the tan one? Too tight?

Your black Sonoma CR is a great jacket, like a second skin on me.

 

[ton312]

What was the problem with the tan one? Too tight?

Your black Sonoma CR is a great jacket, like a second skin on me.

Can't tell from the pics but the sleeve and body were pretty darn short.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Ain't that the truth. This is my fourth attempt!
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I swear my best jackets don’t look as good on me as these you deemed not worthy to keep....

 

[technovox]

Beautiful jacket and a superb fit! In particular, I'm really liking the single point back yoke, and the slanted pockets combo with regards to the old Bates racing jackets from the 60's. Drawing from classics like those old Bates was a well chosen inspiration that looks good on you! Looks like a beast to wear, but probably the ideal weight for riding in the chilly Chicago weather. Congratulations!

 

[ton312]

I swear my best jackets don’t look as good on me as these you deemed not worthy to keep....

LOL. Now I know that's not true!

 

[Monitor]

It is. I don't even know what to add to what hasn't been said already. Perfect in every possible and conceivable way, man!

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Good Gawd! Looks so awesome. I have a Fontana too, in brown fqhh. Like others said before, your jacket pics all look superb. As for those chest zipper leather pulls, I kinda like them, and plan on including those on the next Aero jacket I order, whenever that happens.

 

[ton312]

Good Gawd! Looks so awesome. I have a Fontana too, in brown fqhh. Like others said before, your jacket pics all look superb. As for those chest zipper leather pulls, I kinda like them, and plan on including those on the next Aero jacket I order, whenever that happens.

Yeah. I haven't taken them off. They are growing on me. I figure when they soften up they'll lay a bit flatter. After breaking literally every other pull style on my j106 I knew I wanted these pulls all around.

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Yeah. I haven't taken them off. They are growing on me. I figure when they soften up they'll lay a bit flatter. After breaking literally every other pull style on my j106 I knew I wanted these pulls all around.

I hear ya, I had those nice (but less sturdy - Carrie at Thurston did mention this during my order) diamond pulls, one broke. Down the road I mentioned it in passing on a thread here, next thing someone from Aero contacted me offering to send a replacement for free. Within a week or two they had shipped several replacement pulls halfway round the world to me - impressed!

 

[Fanch]

Your newest and greatest slipped under my radar last week. The 27" back works great for you as you appear to have a relatively long torso in relation to your height. 27" is my sweet spot too. Although I am 6'2" tall, I am high waisted with a relatively short torso. Great overall look and fit. Well done!

 

[Leither]

Man alive! The good folks at Aero have once again brought a huge smile to my face with another absolute masterpiece of design and craftsmanship! I realize a dedicated thread on this jacket probably isn't necessary ( there's an abundance of Aero CR threads) but I really want to publicly thank Aero and specifically Julie Leitch for her unparalleled skill. And I can't forget to thank Carrie for her first class professionalism and top tier customer service. As usual she was an absolute delight to do business with and I can't recommend her service enough.

This jacket is a Fontana cafe racer ( a Thurston Bros. design) with the zippered cuffs moved to the outside of the cuff. Unlike the more popular Buco j-100 repops, this jacket is very reminisciant of a vintage Bates. I love the board racer and Buco patterns but fear they wouldn't be ideal for my shape. My hope was to take those jackets lovely design elements and move them to the standard CR pattern so it looked like those iconic old Bates CR's. The back of the jacket with a single point yoke really brings that together. A center seam, in retrospect would've been perfect.

Made from requested heaviest available CXL steerhide this sucker is stiff as a board. Not overly heavy, right around 7lbs. Lined in OD drill and contrast OD stitching, two pocket only config. The back has a single point western yoke and gussets at the shoulder. Sz. 42" w/27" sleeve and back length.

I requested the chest zips be set as a slight angle, ala a board racer/ vintage Bates and like @Monitor 's CR, all the jackets zips are the bell pull talon #5's (not sure if I'll keep the nipple tasseles on the chest zips yet). It's a very simple and sleek jacket, one that I believe I'll get plenty of versatile use from.
I've long been hunting for a proper fitting CR and I do believe I've found it. Thanks again to Aero, Julie in particular and Carrie for making my second and final jacket purchase* this year a reality!
* = subject to change.

My pics, as usual, are underwhelming but you get the idea.
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That is beautiful. Great taste.

 

[sweetfights]

That is beautiful. Great taste.

Ton.
I am finalizing my Steer CXL Half Belt. How heavy is the heaviest Steer available from Aero???

 

[ton312]

Ton.
I am finalizing my Steer CXL Half Belt. How heavy is the heaviest Steer available from Aero???

It's interesting. The BL ordered in September (which I made no spec on hide weight) is heavier than the CR which I spec'd heaviest possible. I know the BL is just more jacket overall but the hide itself is in fact heavier. When I emailed Denny about the CR order and the hides available he said 3.5oz was what I could expect. I suspect my CR to be that but I will say it's the stiffest CXL I've encountered and feels like a beefy version of Vansons Z150.

 

[sweetfights]

It's interesting. The BL ordered in September (which I made no spec on hide weight) is heavier than the CR which I spec'd heaviest possible. I know the BL is just more jacket overall but the hide itself is in fact heavier. When I emailed Denny about the CR order and the hides available he said 3.5oz was what I could expect. I suspect my CR to be that but I will say it's the stiffest CXL I've encountered and feels like a beefy version of Vansons Z150.

I just might stick with the requested heaviest steer hide then.
Thanks Ton.

 

[Leither]

It's interesting. The BL ordered in September (which I made no spec on hide weight) is heavier than the CR which I spec'd heaviest possible. I know the BL is just more jacket overall but the hide itself is in fact heavier. When I emailed Denny about the CR order and the hides available he said 3.5oz was what I could expect. I suspect my CR to be that but I will say it's the stiffest CXL I've encountered and feels like a beefy version of Vansons Z150.

I have a Julie L masterpiece black CXLFQHH J100 repro Board racer with olive drab stitching and OD lining. It is such a perfect combination. Simplicy. Perfect with a tee shirt and a pale ale in the Edinburgh spring. Your CR is superb, Tony. Enjoy it. Sláinte!

 

[ton312]

I have a Julie L masterpiece black CXLFQHH J100 repro Board racer with olive drab stitching and OD lining. It is such a perfect combination. Simplicy. Perfect with a tee shirt and a pale ale in the Edinburgh spring. Your CR is superb, Tony. Enjoy it. Sláinte!

Thanks man!! I agree the OD and black is such a great combo. I'm super glad I went with OD stitching too! It's subtle but it's there. A pale ale in Edinburgh sounds damn tasty!!