ANJ4 jacket - Aero vs LW

[Aloysius]

And who makes B2 @Aloysius ? I couldn’t find much info online

Lost Worlds, Buzz Rickson’s (previous seasons), maybe Good Wear (John told me he has in the past but I don’t know if he still does). It’s an insanely over the top jacket.

Some others (Thedi and RRL I think) do a sort of B-3/B-2 hybrid which you might be able to find more easily but it is a standard shearling jacket with the B-2 pocket setup.

 

[mumpy]

I wonder if some of you have owned both LW and Aero ANJ4 - and if so what are your comments on build quality, thickness, weight and wearability?

Not asking about warmth as I’m sure either would be more than warm enough!

I hesitated a long time about a sheepskin jacket but in the end decided it’s not really suitable for UK mild winter - a HH jacket one size larger with a thick merino or alpaca cable weave jumper with rolled neck has been my perfect winter solution. If it gets really cold (kind of like 5 days per year in London at -10 or so), I’ll get my Canada Goose snow mantra on and within 15mins I’d be sweating!

Something about the ANJ4 mode I really like is the neatly tucked in sheepskin and the HH or goat reinforcements.

If someone can post pics side by side that’s be most appreciated!

I am able to wear my Irvin every day these days and live in the south of England. I don't think you need -10C to justify it.

 

[mumpy]

Today I wore a high loft fleece inside a Rab alpine down jacket to work, with hat on etc, and still felt a bit cold. Yes when I was on the train I felt like inside an oven and had to take off the down jacket, but once off the train and the cold wind blew, I felt I needed something heavier over the chest.

Hence renewed interest in a shearling jacket.

I personally like the near look of ANJ4 as don’t need to worry about getting the shearing dirty over cuff/hem as in B3. Think M445 is also an option? Is M445 significantly lighter weight VS ANJ4?

And who makes B2 @Aloysius ? I couldn’t find much info online

Today I had just a tshirt + cotton sweatshirt + Irvin BoB zipped up and was super toasty. I could even leave it unzipped for a 5 min walk and wouldn't sweat when zipped up. All good

 

[NamoAmituofo]

Lost Worlds, Buzz Rickson’s (previous seasons), maybe Good Wear (John told me he has in the past but I don’t know if he still does). It’s an insanely over the top jacket.

Some others (Thedi and RRL I think) do a sort of B-3/B-2 hybrid which you might be able to find more easily but it is a standard shearling jacket with the B-2 pocket setup.

Thanks saw the LW B2 but it has alpaca lining not sheepskin/shearling though.

So how does to differ functionally from say an aero jacket with alpaca lining and mouton collar? Is it B2 has sleeves lined with alpaca too? Hope it’s not a daft question!

 

[Hide'n'seek]

Today I wore a high loft fleece inside a Rab alpine down jacket to work, with hat on etc, and still felt a bit cold. Yes when I was on the train I felt like inside an oven and had to take off the down jacket, but once off the train and the cold wind blew, I felt I needed something heavier over the chest.

Hence renewed interest in a shearling jacket.

I personally like the near look of ANJ4 as don’t need to worry about getting the shearing dirty over cuff/hem as in B3. Think M445 is also an option? Is M445 significantly lighter weight VS ANJ4?

And who makes B2 @Aloysius ? I couldn’t find much info online

What about an ANJ4 but with 15mm fleece instead of 22mm , this could be done. 22mm could still be used for collar to keep the visual aspect.

 

[arahat]

I have the Aero ANJ4. The pattern is pretty special with excellent mobility despite it being a heavy jacket.

 

[NamoAmituofo]

Thank you @arahat and @Hide'n'seek

I actually saw on aero website there is an ANJ4 though the waist is too wide for me.

There is also a Geiger M445 in classifieds which should fit me.

Or B2…

Given this jacket will be worn very infrequently I can’t justified buying a new custom one. So will keep looking at classified and eBay.

For people who are familiar with Buzz Rickson’s B2 - what are your thoughts on this and if the price is fair for its condition - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15615112...dECUgLpTcK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It says fits small, but the measurements look like standard 40 to me. I’ve asked for sleeves length measurement too.

Thanks all

 

[Peter Mackin]

Thank you @arahat and @Hide'n'seek

I actually saw on aero website there is an ANJ4 though the waist is too wide for me.

There is also a Geiger M445 in classifieds which should fit me.

Or B2…

Given this jacket will be worn very infrequently I can’t justified buying a new custom one. So will keep looking at classified and eBay.

For people who are familiar with Buzz Rickson’s B2 - what are your thoughts on this and if the price is fair for its condition - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15615112...dECUgLpTcK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It says fits small, but the measurements look like standard 40 to me. I’ve asked for sleeves length measurement too.

Thanks all

Don't touch it with a barge pole.i sold my B2 buzz rickson here a couple of years ago.i was over the moon to get it sold for £750.Easily the worst horsehide i have ever seen or handled. Thin,vinyl like with a top coat that wears off leaving a grey like hide underneath. Useless pocket, only plus is it looks pretty good,from a distance. Ps the same jacket was back on sale here pretty quickly, this year I think, looking even worse, top coat a mess,especially as these jackets are not every day wearers,,it's not even good,fake patina.

 

[NamoAmituofo]

Don't touch it with a barge pole.i sold my B2 buzz rickson here a couple of years ago.i was over the moon to get it sold for £750.Easily the worst horsehide i have ever seen or handled. Thin,vinyl like with a top coat that wears off leaving a grey like hide underneath. Useless pocket, only plus is it looks pretty good,from a distance. Ps the same jacket was back on sale here pretty quickly, this year I think, looking even worse, top coat a mess,especially as these jackets are not every day wearers,,it's not even good,fake patina. View attachment 659810

Thank you very much for saving me £££ and also peace of mind!

This morning is warmer in London and I just had two fleeces on for school run (on foot) - after 20mins walking I had to open the outside fleece to cool down.

What did you think of Eastman ANJ4? It is the one in your photo above? It looks so nice on you. Can't believe you sold it and collecting more Vanson MC jackets instead!!

 

[Peter Mackin]

Hi the pic above is the Buzz rickson B2,,I actually quite liked the Eastman anj4,apart from the stupid broken grain,again that's just my opinion. I hate that with a passion. I actually ended up buying that jacket back 3times,but the broken grain eventually bugged the life out of me.

 

[MrProper]

Given this jacket will be worn very infrequently

You might be surprised. I would say that my shearlings are the most worn jackets. Simply because the season for them is the longest and they cover a wide temperature range in winter. If I was only travelling by car, it might be different. But shearling is simply perfect when I'm on foot a lot and waiting for trains.

 

[Aloysius]

Eh, I have to say the comments about the horsehide sound like very much a YMMV thing.

Lots of TFLers seem to expect CXL characteristics from every horsehide. If that's what you're after, other horsehides won't really provide it; CXL steer might though.

I've personally quite liked a lot of the TFL-hated horsehides like the Italian HH used by Schott and the HH used by Buzz.

 

[Peter Mackin]

I best leather I've seen or handled, is on my eastman air comfort,nothing comes close. If the B2 buzz rickson was made of this it would never have been moved on.its on a different level completely. Every cxl or fqhh jacket I've owned has been moved on,and I've owned a lot.my opinions have been formed after buying these jackets new,trying them out in all conditions. Very expensive mistakes made along the way.if I was ever going down the new sheepskin route again it would be with aero.

 

[Aloysius]

I best leather I've seen or handled, is on my eastman air comfort,nothing comes close. If the B2 buzz rickson was made of this it would never have been moved on.its on a different level completely. Every cxl or fqhh jacket I've owned has been moved on,and I've owned a lot.my opinions have been form after buying these jackets new,trying them out in all conditions. Very expensive mistakes made along the way.if I was ever going down the new sheepskin route again it would be with aero.

Eastman air comfort has always looked great to me.

 

[NamoAmituofo]

This is a great discussion. I’m not overly fussed with leather material but I do prefer it on the heavier side. One thing I want to ask is - how do jacket makers coat the suede side of sheepskin and why Eastman ANJ4 would appear ‘more cracked’ than say LW version? Is this something we can fix by adding a coating? I’d always thought sheepskin suede side cannot be conditioned or waxes - wrong?

 

[NamoAmituofo]

Eastman ‘crack’ appearance https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/33567194...dECUgLpTcK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Bfd70]

Lw anj appears extremely “cracked” on the back panel.
Similar to eastman roughwear

 

[PilotJens]

The finish is determined by a few factors.
There are shearlings that don't flake or have a cracked appearance because there is a product called plasticiser in leather finishing. It is basically something that binds the suede nap with a resin or rubbery product that can be shaped to a smooth surface.
If you use it then it can stiffen up the whole hide .


If you don't use a plasticiser then you can paint the suede fibres which creates a kind of "floating" paint surface.
It is more flexible and fragile an can create that broken grain finish which can also be enhanced by tumbling the hide which can separate the grain and suede side a bit for a soft touch finish.

I have completely removed the finish on a shearling jacket and redone it .
It is basically drowning the suede in paint and smoothing it out . After the first coat just use very fine sandpaper to remove excess fibres and paint again to create a even finish.After that use a top coat to your liking.
Acrylic doesn't look or feel that nice .
Nitro cellulose based finishes were used in WW2 .

I am not a expert in this field.
But you probably cannot remove the broken grain finish without a complete redo

 

[NamoAmituofo]

The finish is determined by a few factors.
There are shearlings that don't flake or have a cracked appearance because there is a product called plasticiser in leather finishing. It is basically something that binds the suede nap with a resin or rubbery product that can be shaped to a smooth surface.
If you use it then it can stiffen up the whole hide .


If you don't use a plasticiser then you can paint the suede fibres which creates a kind of "floating" paint surface.
It is more flexible and fragile an can create that broken grain finish which can also be enhanced by tumbling the hide which can separate the grain and suede side a bit for a soft touch finish.

I have completely removed the finish on a shearling jacket and redone it .
It is basically drowning the suede in paint and smoothing it out . After the first coat just use very fine sandpaper to remove excess fibres and paint again to create a even finish.After that use a top coat to your liking.
Acrylic doesn't look or feel that nice .
Nitro cellulose based finishes were used in WW2 .

I am not a expert in this field.
But you probably cannot remove the broken grain finish without a complete redo

Thank you very much this is fascinating new knowledge to me!