Aero leather choices/options (End of 2022)

[Salmosalar]

Also maybe someone would like to comment on jacket torso shapes? The way I have it in my head is that you have mainly these options:
[] - boxy
() - extra space at the gut
)( - tapers in at the waist, tapers out at the hem
\/ - tapers gradually from chest to hem
Y - tapers from chest to waist and then goes straight down to the hem.

I feel like the optimal option for me is the Y with waist adjusters (half-belt). That way I can avoid the hem flare out if the adjusters are loose and taper in even more with the adjusters if needed.

Maybe try Aero's 1920s Premier Work Coat? Seems to tick the boxes wrt buttons, fit and length - though not a crosszip?

 

[TartuWolf]

@Salmosalar
Thanks for the suggestion, but I want a belt level jacket first. Discarding the Teamster for the same reason.

 

[Tweedboy]

Really appreciate the information on this thread, it has helped me a lot. After a good read I made a trip to Aero yesterday and ordered a HWM in black over brown Vicenza. This was my try on jacket. Great service .

 

[TartuWolf]

Damn that looks nice on you @Tweedboy .
I would love to visit the Aero factory as well, but that would set me back ~200eu including travel expenses and accommodation.
Please post a review once you get your jacket.
What made you pick the black over brown Vicenza?

 

[Tweedboy]

Damn that looks nice on you @Tweedboy .
I would love to visit the Aero factory as well, but that would set me back ~200eu including travel expenses and accommodation.
Please post a review once you get your jacket.
What made you pick the black over brown Vicenza?

The service was great. For my actual jacket they will make the shoulders narrower and the sleeves shorter. Being able to try on jackets sorted my doubts out very quickly. I didn’t want a really heavy weight jacket as my experience is that I tend to leave my other (non leather) heavy jackets in the wardrobe and wear other things. The two guys I dealt with really liked the black over brown Vicenza and one of them had bought his own jacket in it. I like that I will get a bit more patina Than I would with plain black. I will certainly post my jacket when I get it.

I really think a trip is worth it, even at €200

 

[Pandemic]

The service was great. For my actual jacket they will make the shoulders narrower and the sleeves shorter. Being able to try on jackets sorted my doubts out very quickly. I didn’t want a really heavy weight jacket as my experience is that I tend to leave my other (non leather) heavy jackets in the wardrobe and wear other things. The two guys I dealt with really liked the black over brown Vicenza and one of them had bought his own jacket in it. I like that I will get a bit more patina Than I would with plain black. I will certainly post my jacket when I get it.

I really think a trip is worth it, even at €200

I have two BB Vic jackets and am a big fan of the that hide, but I’ll add that the current batch is the best I’ve seen - wonderful thickness, grain and perfect degree of brown ready to poke through.

 

[Tweedboy]

I have two BB Vic jackets and am a big fan of the that hide, but I’ll add that the current batch is the best I’ve seen - wonderful thickness, grain and perfect degree of brown ready to poke through.

Yeah I saw a sample skin while I was there and it looked amazing

 

[Tweedboy]

As promised here is my HWM in black/brown Vicenza. Flawless leather and beautiful weight.

 

[DamonCyclee]

thanks for the great info, any information on which tannery some of the kelpie and other hides are from?

obviously we know cxl and badlassi stuff is coming from, but the other lesser known hides are intriguing

 

[MrProper]

thanks for the great info, any information on which tannery some of the kelpie and other hides are from?

obviously we know cxl and badlassi stuff is coming from, but the other lesser known hides are intriguing

Unfinished HH is from https://www.comipel.it/en/

 

[hughesovka]

Has anyone had any experience with Aero's corduroy lining, specifically its warmth? I always need my jackets to perform in a cold winter, so lining is a concern

 

[Aloysius]

Has anyone had any experience with Aero's corduroy lining, specifically its warmth? I always need my jackets to perform in a cold winter, so lining is a concern

I wouldn’t really count on corduroy for warmth. It’s more something to block the wind/provide a pathway for water to drip off of you, both of which are pretty redundant with these kinds of jackets.

If you want a low bulk but warm insulation option from Aero, get their quilted wool lining, which has a corduroy inner hem and inner collar, which help keep the jacket in place on you.

 

[El Marro]

Has anyone had any experience with Aero's corduroy lining, specifically its warmth? I always need my jackets to perform in a cold winter, so lining is a concern

@ton312 this one is for you.
I know that he has had several Aero jackets lined fully in corduroy.

 

[ton312]

Has anyone had any experience with Aero's corduroy lining, specifically its warmth? I always need my jackets to perform in a cold winter, so lining is a concern

I love the corduroy Aero uses as a liner. It’s super thick, tough and it does a superb job of providing what I’d call “versatile warmth”.

Not as warm or itchy as the wool choices, not as warm as quilted nylon but right on par with and maybe warmer that moleskin. The weight of the corduroy is the same you find in US navy peacoats. If you have any intention of wearing the jacket in late spring or summer, forget it. It will absolutely be too warm for that.

 

[Aloysius]

not as warm as quilted nylon

Earlier Aero quilted linings seem to be nylon like I have in a lot of other jackets, but the current one is a wool backed rayon or cotton (your choice) so it ends up wearing very comfortably in a range of temperatures.

 

[hughesovka]

I love the corduroy Aero uses as a liner. It’s super thick, tough and it does a superb job of providing what I’d call “versatile warmth”.

Not as warm or itchy as the wool choices, not as warm as quilted nylon but right on par with and maybe warmer that moleskin. The weight of the corduroy is the same you find in US navy peacoats. If you have any intention of wearing the jacket in late spring or summer, forget it. It will absolutely be too warm for that.

I had the wool in my aero grizzly and it really did the trick, but i want to try something different. I think you sold me on the corduroy. I pretty much cease jacket wearing from Spring until Autumn so that's no problem

 

[TartuWolf]

Hey folks, small update.

Around 2 months after ordering my samples from Aero they finally came.
Here are some pictures.

Would be very hard to make a choice by only looking at the samples as they are hardly representative of how the jacket would look.

As it's my first Aero I think I'm gonna go with the classic CXL brown FQHH but ask to use a thin batch (1-1.1mm) rather than the normal weight. My second choice would probably be Kelpie, but I'll save that for the future.

Did a bit of scratching and the water test. CXL and Kelpie repelled the water completely. Only badalassi was left with slight mark after 1min of water droplet.

Crazy how smooth and matte the non-tumbled CXL is. While kelpie has surface of tiny tiny pebbled that I personally associate with HH.

I'm also waiting for my second set of samples from SB, will add those later here as well.
Enjoy!

 

[semolina_pilchard]

I was told by Aero late last year that the thinner CXL HH was a case of just a few batches being available, and they had been used up by the time I asked. Do you know if it is going to be a regular offering?

 

[TartuWolf]

No idea, but I hope it will be a regular thing. Will ask about it once Aero starts responding more regularly (currently they are dealing with a family emergency). I would not go for the regular thickness one. Had a jacket in that leather temporarily and as amazing as it was, it was too hardcore for me. In my mind it has a little bit to do with the weight proportions between the jacket and the wearer. Larger/huskier wearers have less chance to be crushed by the full weight CXL FQHH (or steerhide) than tiny <60kg folks like me.

 

[Edward]

I was told by Aero late last year that the thinner CXL HH was a case of just a few batches being available, and they had been used up by the time I asked. Do you know if it is going to be a regular offering?

AFAIK, this is one of those things that is luck of the draw. Highly processed leather can be shaved down to a desired thickness of course, but by and large fullgrain leather's thickness will vary from batch to batch. It is, after all, an organic material, and can vary even from one animal to the next - grain and thickness both. The thickness of a single hide from a single animal can also vary. Thickness estimates / weight estimates are just that - averages based on experience, but unless you are looking at hides they have in hand, there's no way of guaranteeing properties of hides coming in the next batch at the level of minutiae we think about here.