I've never seen Kudu leather up close up but those jackets look fantastic. If you like the rugged worn-in vintage look, you can't go wrong. The hides look really abused by the animal's wild life in the bush, complete with bug bites, scratches and probably even the occasional lion claw mark.
Man, those jackets look amazing, if there was one in my size there's be a big red SOLD on it by now! Looks like there's a bit more natural pigment variation, almost like freckling over the front of the jacket. Here's hoping they add it to the list as an option in the future. I'd be interested to hear about the characteristics of the hide from anyone who's handled it, in terms of thickness, stiffness, durability also.
When I was at Aero last November, Wills's son showed me one great hides. And Van's buffalo got me really hankering for something off the beaten path. Luckily, the A-1 has given me that for now.
I'd say go for it. Since 2012 is the end of the world, go out in style! lol
I have kudu alden indys. I believe it is cowhide tanned at horweens. It is dyed darker and has a matte finish. It is slightly stiff with no noticable grain to the hide. this is for shoe leather which may be different from the jacket leather.
I was talking with Will at aero last year and he mentioned the stuff , I had never heard of it so asked him what it was like and as it was an antelope i asked him if it was like deer and he just laughed and said "hhmmm yeah a deer that has had a really hard life might not be a bad way to describe it"....like garzo guessed Will said it showed the signs of being an animal that had lived in the bush with lots of insect bites and trees with big thorns.
I asked. Aero says they won't be offering any more Kudu jackets in other sizes since they used all they had for those two jackets.
It's a real shame and I certainly hope they get more of that hide in the future, although I imagine it would be difficult to get a regular stock -- it's not like kudus are as abundant as cows and horses.
Good to know! I believe they have an annual Kudu cull so maybe they will try to get a stock of this hide, judging by how quickly they sold the samples I think there would be good sales on these, although it may be intermittent with hide supplies coinciding with the cull!
I saw a sample of Kudu today at Iron Heart headquarters in Gosport (Aero dealer), and I was disappointed to be honest. It's a nice leather to touch, quite soft and pliable but still quite tough, but it looked average. It was certainly an interesting piece of leather, and knowing it was kudu it would have a certain cool factor in a jacket, but it was so variable with full spectrum of brown to white and to the uninitiated it would look like a cheap jacket from the 80's I suspect. It kind of reminded me of stonewashed denim. It didn't look a lot like the jackets on the Aero website, so maybe the hides are pretty variable.
Sad but true. At least it will save me some money should Aero ever add it to their line-up.
With the continued popularity of our Alden Ultimate Indy Boots, we present to you our latest version, the Kudu Ultimate Indy. Horween’s kudu leather is essentially heavily oiled and hand treated calfskin, done in the same procedure as shell cordovan. Thicker and more dense than the norm, kudu is definitely a rugged and everlasting leather, perfect for our Ultimate Indy Boots.
Although you may think these are very similar to our standard Ultimate Indys, a closer look will reveal the oiled leather and a different shade of brown. Our Ultimate Indy Boots are made with Horween Brown Cromexcel leather, which has a slight mahogany tone versus these, which are a true dark brown.
maybe there are 2 kudus? who knows? The jacket on the aero site says antelope. Its a pretty roughed up looking leather with a varied uneven grain.
Last night, we were watching "Midnight In Paris" and there's a line that made me laugh. The Kathy Bates character says to "Gil" in regards to Hemingway:
"Adriana has left Pablo, and has flown to Africa with Hemingway.
I knew that I had an obsession with that bully!
We talked about all this!I'm sure that she'll come back very devoted.
Muy devoto. Oh, he took her hunting kudu, but she'll be back to him."
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.