BK Durable "The Wild One" One Star Double Rider

[JMax]

So very true. Every brand has slight differences. Different angle on the stars. Longer belt. Different epaulets. Brass or nickel hardware etc...or in the case of Durable the zips on the top of the sleeve. But there was never anything so incredible about Durables to make them so collectible. Nothing so beautiful about them to separate them from the 50 other companies making perfecto styles. Would I love to own one? Sure! Would I pay more than what the going rate for any other perfecto style of that era? Nope.

Many early Windwards have the longer sleeve zips positioned on top too. I don’t think Durable-long though.

 

[dannyk]

Many early Windwards have the longer sleeve zips positioned on top too. I don’t think Durable-long though.

I have seen those. My comment wasn’t meant to be gospel. Just generic comments. They all shared the basic outline with some differences here and there whatever they may be. I like the top sleeve zips. And the durable long ones. Too bad that seems to really have somehow only really be found on women’s jackets these days. And even then not common. I suppose it was never super common to begin with. Oh well when I win the lottery I’ll add it to my list of specifications for that custom dream jacket .

 

[JMax]

I have seen those. My comment wasn’t meant to be gospel. Just generic comments. They all shared the basic outline with some differences here and there whatever they may be. I like the top sleeve zips. And the durable long ones. Too bad that seems to really have somehow only really be found on women’s jackets these days. And even then not common. I suppose it was never super common to begin with. Oh well when I win the lottery I’ll add it to my list of specifications for that custom dream jacket .

I was just adding it to the discussion. Did not intend to imply that you have not seen them. If someone really likes the top zips, there are vintage options other than Durable. If you win the lotto don’t forget your buddy in Florida. One Indian Ranger or Buco 82 will do lol.

 

[dannyk]

I was just adding it to the discussion. Did not intend to imply that you have not seen them. If someone really likes the top zips, there are vintage options other than Durable. If you win the lotto don’t forget your buddy in Florida. One Indian Ranger or Buco 82 will do lol.

Oh I know. I wasn’t angry; sorry if if it came off that! I was trying to add as well. Just saying I’ve seen them too ha.

 

[dmoser1978]

BK has doubled the price of its One Star jacket in response to the Toys Mccoy jacket.

https://billkelsomfg.com/shop/product/durable-one-star/

 

[Justhandguns]

BK has doubled the price of its One Star jacket in response to the Toys Mccoy jacket.
https://billkelsomfg.com/shop/product/durable-one-star/

You just wonder...... What are they thinking of?

 

[nick123]

BK has doubled the price of its One Star jacket in response to the Toys Mccoy jacket.

https://billkelsomfg.com/shop/product/durable-one-star/

Jeez almighty. Take an Aero, red cotton drill, and run. It’s getting out of hand.

 

[Monitor]

And it's not even the most screen accurate repro out there! Not that it matters much of course but for that kinda money, there's a reason why you'd want your jacket to be as perfect as possible 'cause otherwise any ol' $50 Excelled will do just fine.

 

[marker2037]

High price and I can't see how that was warranted, but I do love the look of the jacket....Just not enough to shell out that money when my $350-450 used Schotts can fill that niche.

 

[Monitor]

High price and I can't see how that was warranted, but I do love the look of the jacket....Just not enough to shell out that money when my $350-450 used Schotts can fill that niche.

Plus you can find some very similar looking, true 50's cross zips for way less. By similar I mean with all the correct details, like top sleeve zips and so forth.
But yeah, BK's version looks nice. If you've got the money... Why not.

 

[jacketjunkie]

2100 GBP is close to 3000 USD? Good thing it is strictly limited though. Totally necessary seeing how they probably have not sold more than one or two of these since the launch of the style.

 

[Monitor]

Speaking of cheaper, vtg alternatives...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/940721132/vintage-horsehide-sportclad-motorcycle?ref=sold_out-1&cns=1

 

[jonbuilder]

Ok, here are pictures comparing the BK and the Durable. Things that stand out are the sleeve openings on the BK are slightly larger, the underarm gussets are 2 piece instead of one, and the belt is 18"s on the BK vs 11" on the Durable. The BK is a nice jacket, but could use a little polishing.

Hard to match that well earned worn in look of the durable

 

[Edward]

I have seen those. My comment wasn’t meant to be gospel. Just generic comments. They all shared the basic outline with some differences here and there whatever they may be. I like the top sleeve zips. And the durable long ones. Too bad that seems to really have somehow only really be found on women’s jackets these days. And even then not common. I suppose it was never super common to begin with. Oh well when I win the lottery I’ll add it to my list of specifications for that custom dream jacket .

I hear you on that! I have my eye one day on picking up another one of the Aero MC jackets and matching it to the broad spec. TBH, I'd be happy with their standard version plus the long sleeve zips and the shoulder-stars... To me, those are what really make the Brando jacket distinct. I do have a cheap Perfectoalike I had the BMRC colours painted on about ten years ago, but unless money truly was no object, it is a bit limiting on a pricey jacket. Would be very careful where I wore it - in costume it's probably fine for an event, but as others have commented over the years there's just a small danger in the wrong circles any Outlaws might get funny about it (even if, ironically, the Outlaws MC colours were originally inspired by Brando's afaik).

BK has doubled the price of its One Star jacket in response to the Toys Mccoy jacket.

https://billkelsomfg.com/shop/product/durable-one-star/

That's a bold move, though not a surprise. BK's marketing has always been very forceful about making clear they rate their product more than the equal of anything else out there, so I guess they don't want to look like "the cheap option". I seem to recall they hiked all their prices up significantly after the apparent change in ownership (did they ever make that big announcement that was supposed to happen in 2012 about the identity of the new, mystery owner, or was it American Classics?). I certainly found what I handled of their product very nice, though the price felt a bit steep for my personal tastes.

Jeez almighty. Take an Aero, red cotton drill, and run. It’s getting out of hand.

I'm not sure the lining is even all that relevant in terms of being the 'Brando' - I'm sure I've seen it mentioned that Brando's Wild One jacket had had the lining removed! (Incidentally, good candidate for an unlined jacket, the Perfecto, imo - all those exterior pockets surely obviate any need for inner pockets? Guess they'd have to find something practical inside to stop the pocket backs getting all caught up, though...

And it's not even the most screen accurate repro out there! Not that it matters much of course but for that kinda money, there's a reason why you'd want your jacket to be as perfect as possible 'cause otherwise any ol' $50 Excelled will do just fine.

This does of course come back to the notion of what you're paying for - if it is full on screen accuracy, that would be reasonable to expect to be untouchable at this kind of price, imo.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Golly! Everything else on that page is EU850 or less. What makes this one so special?

 

[Monitor]

Golly! Everything else on that page is EU850 or less. What makes this one so special?

It's the jacket that started it all.

Well, kind of. Repro of the jacket that started it all. At least that's what they're counting on.

Same story with the Terminator 2 jacket, made by Bates. They're now asking $2750 for it while their next priciest jacket is like $700 or something like that. And I honestly doubt it they sold a single piece! It's ridiculous because nobody even knows they made it. If you Google "Terminator 2 leather jacket", Bates will come up 8th.
Bill Kelso won't even turn up if you look for "The Wild One leather jacket" so I don't know the heck are they thinking. Especially Bates, since you don't even have a clue what you're gettin'. They should've left the price where it was coupla years ago. . .

 

[Blackadder]

Golly! Everything else on that page is EU850 or less. What makes this one so special?

The price is no longer in euros, not for some years. The newly available shiniki leather option on some of their jackets seems to be more expensive than the regular Liberty HH. It seems all shiniki jackets cost over 1100 quid. For example, the Wild Boy in shiniki is 1175 quid.
Yet it seems to difficult for customers to reconcile the difference when a shiniki Durable costs the same as one in Liberty teacore but the Wild boy in Liberty teacore is 300 less than the shiniki one. I am sure the seller have ample reasons for that though we may not buy into them.
One of the reasons I see why they would and could price the Durable as it is is that there are no competition. The Toys is a limited release and there is a high change that they would not make them again in the next few years.
Incidentally, my friends finally got their Toys Durable after over three months wait.

 

[Carlos840]

Golly! Everything else on that page is EU850 or less. What makes this one so special?

Agreed, the price difference makes it look like a cash grab banking on the Wild one effect to overcharge.

 

[Monitor]

One of the reasons I see why they would and could price the Durable as it is is that there are no competition.

Except that this being the most copied, most basic leather jacket style in the whole wide world, the competition is literally every cheap-ass cross zip out there.

Yeah, I know, screen accuracy, Durable, reasons, etc. - But instead of having a realistically high price of around $1000 or something that'd have people at least consider it, all they're doing with this idiotic price tag is making people say in disgust "Oh man, screw this, I'll just get one off eBay".

They're relying on a business model that depends upon customers having to deliberately & constantly fool themselves into believing they bought something special when in fact all they did was pay three thousand dollars for Perfecto.

I was there.

I'm not saying you ought not pay for quality but even if it's all about flexing & you got tons of money, why do it thru this mega-basic design that in no significant way, shape or form stands out?

It does to some of us here but I'm fairly certain that anyone who's gotten to the point of truly seeing what makes this jacket special, would definitely only care to acquire the original.

To make it worse, both Toys and BK copied the wrong jacket with BK doing a relatively half-assed job of it. Neither is even screen accurate.

I don't want to sound overly negative over this but please, people, don't get scammed.

 

[Edward]

The psychology of retail pricing is fascinating. I remember years ago working in my student job when a new DIY widget of some sort came in. The sort of thing where it's inherently cheap because it's a low cost item, not because they're low quality. Anyhow, normal retail across the board on this sort of item was about a pound. The boss I remember remarking when a new batch came in as a new line of this particular widget that he couldn't see how they could do it so cheap. In the end he had to decide to keep the retail price stable because even though he felt it was a crazy mark-up from cost, if he'd suddenly started charging less than a pound, nobody would have bought it - "seems to cheap to be any good." At a much higher price, there was a time not so many decades ago when Gibson couldn't sell Les Pauls beyond a hardcore market for love nor money. A new management team came in, doubled the price. Result? They couldn't make 'em fast enough. Same thing has happened in many markets (including one of the software firms my brother worked for over the years). Perceived market value is definitely a thing. If another company is charging that much more, maybe they didn't want to look like the cheap option. Perceived exclusivity - if they charge that, it must be worth that.

On the other hand.... I know a costumier who was making high-end, perfect copies of stage costumes back before anyone had even heard of "cosplay". She specialised particularly in making corsets. Thing she hated, though, was doing the full sequinning of a corset, so she had one price for plain, then a whacked up price for the full hand sequinning. That way, most orders, people would DIY it, rather than ask her to do a time consuming job she hated, but on the other hand on the rare occasion when someone came to her that was prepared to pay what she charged, it was an earner which sweetened the deal. It wouldn't surprise me entirely if they're simply not that worried about selling this jacket for whatever reason, but they're not going to refuse of someone comes along who is prepared to pay the big money.

Of course, I also remember when the BK range shot up hugely in retail price, but they were doing regular 'half price' or 'buy one get one half price' deals, so it could be preparing for a bit of market psychology that way as well.