Aero's Horween Heavy Steer.

[Capesofwrath]

Has anyone any experience of Horween's 4oz steer? How stiff, or not, it is when new, and how quickly it softens and ages?

I've got a new jacket on order and I'm thinking of having this instead of FQHH. So any experience of it at all. Even if you had a jacket made in it instead of the heavy horse you thought you'd bought...

Not quite sure how I got a smiley on the heading. I can't get rid of it anyway.

 

[Mark]

Hi capesofwrath
I don't have a steerhide jacket but i do have an A2 made from cow (similar to Steer i suspect) and a Highwayman in FQHH. They are both very different in respect of how the hides develop and change. My A2 is far more "wrinkly" and has less of a shine to it than the FQHH but is more consistent. The Highwayman has so much more character, patina and simply gets better and better with age and wear. Both are beautiful in their own way but if i had to choose hides....FQHH no contest really.
Of course thats just my opinion for what its worth!

 

[Capesofwrath]

Thanks Mark. I am interested in this particular leather though. I've got a FQHH now and a mid weight HH and have had a few cow and steer jackets too. But I'd really like to know how the Horween 4oz wears if anyone has had a jacket made in it.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

My jackets aren't from Aero, but they do use the same Horween Chromexcel leather - one in front quarter horsehide and the other in heavy steer. I should point out that the steerhide on my jacket is 3.75 oz. instead of 4 oz. To be honest, I think I might actually prefer the steerhide to the horsehide, but I would have a hard time imagining going up any more in thickness than what I currently have. If you feel that the 4 oz. would work for you then I wouldn't discourage you from exploring that option. The main reason that I went with horsehide on my second jacket is because the horsehide is cheaper than the steerhide when ordering directly from Horween. While being thicker and feeling just as dense, right out of the box the steerhide is more supple than the horsehide. On the flip side, the horsehide has developed far more grain and "marbling" as I've learned it's called in just a couple of weeks than the steerhide has in over a year. So if that's your thing then the horsehide might be the way to go. Either option is pretty spiffy.

 

[Radu]

Hi, my Aero heavy steerhide HWM was so heavy and stiff that I had to sold it. I can't wear it. It was so stiff that even after 2 month of daily wear when I was talking on the phone my arm hurt me because it was very difficult to bend my arm. Around the neck was also very uncomfortable. I felt it as if I had worn a yoke. OK, I am a skinny guy, maybe that explain these, but... . My opinion is that Aero's heavy steer hide is perfect for motorcycle ride not for all day jacket. My 38 FQHH HWM weighed 2.5 kg and my 36 heavy steerhide weighed 3.6 kg. And it wasn't 4 oz, it was most like 4+oz .

 

[Davy Crockett]

Hi Capesofwrath,
Although I don't have an Aero Horween Steerhide jacket I did visit the factory recently and was shown the steerhide, it really is beautiful leather I personally liked the Cordovan and Brown, it is very thick and heavy (more so than my horsehide jackets!) and looks very characterful, the colours look deeper than the horsehide, I'm definitely going for it for my next jacket, it may be difficult to break in but I may be strange in that I actually enjoy the break in process.

D

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

I also had a heavy steer Highwayman and it was like wearing a saddle.

It was very cool, but it doesnt work as your only jacket, perhaps the third one to have and tame as a hobby.

 

[Dav]

I've got a Aero in heavy Steerhide, not sure if it's the 4oz but it's definitely heavier than their FQHH. It seemed to me to be much harder to break in than the FQHH, I've had it for three winters and it's only been recently that I've started to think that it has softened up nicely. I do love it, even though it was a beast to tame!

 

[Capesofwrath]

Thanks for the replies. There is a bit of a split about just how stiff it is though.

ForestForTheTrees.

I should imagine the Chromexcel is nominally 4oz, but like all leathers varies a bit; and you have some lighter hide while Radu further down the page got some at the higher end. I do love the colour of brown FQ which is like a well polished Victorian mahogany chest of drawers. I have one of those too and love the look of it but wouldn't want to wear it...

Unlike you though I'm not sure I'm a fan of the way it 'marbles.' That seems to me to be mainly because the leather is so stiff that if starts to crease and make islands of stiffer leather surrounded by creases. But after a lot of use it all breaks down into joined up creases and is very like broken in steer then. I have some pictures of my Barnstormer where in parts it looks like carved mahogany, and in others showing the creasing or marbling effect. I have no way of putting them on here unfortunately.

But the last two comments cause me some concern. I can take heavy. After all anyone who has ever hiked with a pack knows that as long as you don't load yourself up like a donkey you soon get used to it; and a backpack is a lot heavier than even a Barnstormer. But I hoped it would be less stiff out of the box, and not need too much breaking in to allow free movement.

There is a bit of a difference of opinion, or experience on this. But possibly Aero has the very thickest Chromexcel and that little extra thickness makes a big difference?

GrifDeLaGriff could you expand on the saddle analogy please. Was it really stiffer than Aero's FQHH?

Dav I see you also experienced it as hard to break in and stiff. Since the main point was to avoid very stiff leather perhaps this is not for me after all... Do you think it is stiffer and harder to tame than FQ?

 

[Dav]

Of the two yes, I found the Steerhide Cheyenne was much harder to break in than the FQHH Highwayman. Of course this is just my experience, others may have differing opinions.

 

[Capesofwrath]

Of the two yes, I found the Steerhide Cheyenne was much harder to break in than the FQHH Highwayman. Of course this is just my experience, others may have differing opinions.

Thanks Dav. Not supple out of the box at all then? Or supple but just so damned thick it was like wearing a heavy soft leather suitcase? I find the Aero FQHH is mainly just too stiff, but fairly easy to break in initially by driving. Or if you can't drive enough just sitting on it. But it never seems to get soft all over like steer does. Or if it does it must take a really long time.

So does the Chromexcel wear like that? Or is it more like other heavy steer I've had, not so stiff as FQ overall but uniformly unsupple so to speak, and not going into softer wear creasing at areas of movement like FQ. Giving it an overall feeling of constriction rather than the board like effect of new FQ?

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

Mine was just as I said: imagine that a saddle was a jacket and you would try to put it on. It doesnt feel like a jacket and it doesnt behave like a jacket - it behaves like its as stiff and uncomfortable as a saddle but it looks like a jacket.

I did ask for as smooth as possible hide and I might have gotten the thickest hide they had I dont know. I also have no idea how their current steer is.

But the jacket didnt fit and for my remake I asked for FQHH and it was like night and day. The FQHH was flimsy in comparison. It is hard and stiff but it behaves moe like you would expect, like it actually bends if you sit down. The steer was like wearing a plate of steel that didnt care what you did, it hold its shape.

Not I might have gotten the heaviest steer they ever had, and then the thinnest FQHH they ever had, i dont know. My other Aeros are all from diferent hides so I have no comparison.

I would simply ask Aero how much difference there is in the 2 hides they have right now, and if they answer that there isnt that much difference, then it doesnt matter what you choose and they have hides that are more similar now. If they on the other hand say that the steer is alot harder to wear, then I would think twice.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

You're probably best off giving more weight (no pun intended) to the other experiences shared here as theirs were with jackets actually made by Aero and it sounds like quite a contrast with my experience. As is often suggested, acquiring swatches of the hides used is going to give you a better feel for things. The small swatch that I received felt so good that I completely changed my plans just to have a jacket made from it. One of the things that I liked the best about it was that it would very much hold the shape if I twisted it or folded it over my fingers for example. It was definitely supple, which amazed me for such a thick leather and I could tell right off, even from a small sized swatch of the hide. The leather is definitely heavy and my jacket weighs in right around 3 kg. As I mentioned in my first post, I would have a hard time imagining going with a hide any thicker than what I chose, but I was more concerned about the resulting weight rather than the stiffness. When I received my jacket it certainly could stand on it's own as is often seen here with many of the jackets that people receive. When I first started wearing it, it felt as if any restriction of movement came more from the thickness and weight of the hide as opposed to how stiff the jacket was, if that makes sense.

Again, I'd recommend obtaining swatches, but do believe the experiences of others are going to be more valid in this situation.

 

[Capesofwrath]

Thanks to everyone. FFTTs I am getting some samples so I can see what they have now. Whether it will be the same as they have in six months though who knows?

What you said about the restriction of movement being due to the thickness of the leather rather than its stiffness does make sense, and is what what I was trying to find out.

I expect I'll end up with the FQ again. Though the sample I just got for that is not really the way it looked a couple of years ago either. But better the devil you know I suppose...

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

What you said about the restriction of movement being due to the thickness of the leather rather than its stiffness does make sense, and is what what I was trying to find out.

Yes, it's hard to think of a better way to describe it. Although a year later the jacket is still just as thick, yet it certainly feels broken in and allows me to move around easily.

 

[jack miranda]

My experience was that of Radu and Griff:

too stiff; too heavy. I sold the jacket. A bootlegger, a model I'm fond of, but, for me unwearable in the heavy steer. My FQHH Hercules is heavy, but, definitely wearable.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

too stiff; too heavy. I sold the jacket. A bootlegger, a model I'm fond of, but, for me unwearable in the heavy steer. My FQHH Hercules is heavy, but, definitely wearable.

When this thread came up...you were the first person I thought of. What a great looking Bootlegger..and fit it was!...but what a bear to wear.
That jacket inspired me(convinced me) to order a Bootlegger..but in FQHH..ha!
HD

 

[Swoosed]

My jackets aren't from Aero, but they do use the same Horween Chromexcel leather - one in front quarter horsehide and the other in heavy steer. I should point out that the steerhide on my jacket is 3.75 oz. instead of 4 oz. To be honest, I think I might actually prefer the steerhide to the horsehide, but I would have a hard time imagining going up any more in thickness than what I currently have. If you feel that the 4 oz. would work for you then I wouldn't discourage you from exploring that option. The main reason that I went with horsehide on my second jacket is because the horsehide is cheaper than the steerhide when ordering directly from Horween. While being thicker and feeling just as dense, right out of the box the steerhide is more supple than the horsehide. On the flip side, the horsehide has developed far more grain and "marbling" as I've learned it's called in just a couple of weeks than the steerhide has in over a year. So if that's your thing then the horsehide might be the way to go. Either option is pretty spiffy.

who makes the jackets you have in the horween hide? i dont care for the aero fit that much and living in the US, dealing with scotland is a hasle some times as well as the exchange rate sucks, but i do love the horween hides.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

who makes the jackets you have in the horween hide? i dont care for the aero fit that much and living in the US, dealing with scotland is a hasle some times as well as the exchange rate sucks, but i do love the horween hides.

Mine were made by Johnson Leathers out of San Francisco. You can find the details here:
Black Steerhide
Brown Horsehide