CHP AL's, Cal's, Langlitz, Vanson Photo repository thread

[AeroFan_07]

Kicking off a new thread here for several reasons, in particular noted no specific place to input a vintage "Al's" Leather jacket, do a review and provide photo documentation. Also I have observed considerable interest in the California Highway Patrol style jacket over the past few years, so wanted to provide a place for folks to head to collect & share information about these great jackets. I have several jackets to add down the road and even a comparison or two between brands, sizes and styles of these jackets. I hope others will add in as well!

I have personally become quite devoted to this style of jacket, these just seem to fit and move with the wearer quite well. I have a theory on why, which I'll explain later in this review, but I do not (ever) claim to be an expert on form, fit & function of a jacket. I just know I really appreciate it when I do find a jacket that "disappears" on me, you could do most any project in these jackets, within reason and if it's a cool temperature outside. Also, these jackets are a little more subtle and less eye-catching than the Perfecto style, especially in straight zip form with brass hardware. Which brings me to the jacket I'll review below.

Al's Leather Straight Zip CHP "50"

I ran across this jacket on ebay very recently, thanks to @KBlake for listing it in the finds & Deals thread. At first, seeing the tag size of "50" I immediately thought "too big" and just tried to ignore it. However the more I got looking at the jacket in the ad, and observing how nice of condition it was in I finally took the risk and bought it. Very happy that I did.



These jackets have a very effective side lacing method, so while the loop & lace area is quite short (and not highly visible either) it really reigns in the side and overall circumference of the jacket, at the waist yes but also up the sides toward the armpit area as well. I believe this along with the way the waistband is setup with built in gaps, and just a large area of exterior leather that molds to the wearer (see marked photo below) is a large part of what makes this design rather comfortable to wear while also affording very solid protection to a motorcycle rider in the even of a fall. I would be interested to know how & when this style came into existence, I do know that Langlitz has built jacket this way since the late 1940's.

These gaps -

So onto this specific jacket. It's ~ 7.5 lbs of quite heavy and still somewhat stiff leather. There are a couple small tears in the lining, there is also a small heat mark outside where the police badge holder appears to have been removed. Also the belt loops the jacket was originally made with are all removed. Not an issue there. The Al's Leather tag, all pocket bags, and the rest of the lining are in great shape. There are snaps in place for fur collar, but it's not with the jacket. I may consider a nice brown fur collar at some point, as I really do love this jacket. The YKK-brand zippers all look original and work as intended. The inside pocket lining appears to be denim, a simple, cost effective way to have a durable inside pocket. This jacket has no odors, it is clean and appears to have been very well cared for overall.




As the photo above shows, the leather on this jacket, which is likely steerhide, is something to behold. It is quite thick, but not spongy and still has some breaking in left to do. There is serious graining going on with this jacket, however it is not printed grain.




I have conditioned the jacket since it arrived. Some of the "whitish" color you may see in the leather is from the Horseman's One Step, which is quite similar to Urad Tenderly. It is a highly hydrating conditioner. I then used simple Lexol 4-way care after this to restore some of the darker black leather appearance. I'll likely put a light application of White's Boot conditioner on this in a month of so, hopefully after I have been able to give it some wearing.

Overall - very happy with this Al's - thank you for reading, and even more to sharing your own CHP stories & photos

 

[Bennarion]

Nice jacket. It fits perfectly

 

[unhatted]

This seems like the right place to post some comparative shots of my 4 CHP cross zips. Like many of you here, I’ve found these somewhat moreish!

L-R (and in order of acquisition)
Fivestar, Als
(Als?) Leather Man, Cal

One of the interesting things about having too many of these has been the opportunity to compare various details. In doing so I’ve noticed a different between Cals and Als that I think may not have come up yet: pocket angle. Cal pockets appear to be at an approx 50° angle vs Also which are more like 70°. This gives the two jackets quite a different visual character, with the iconic centre pocket seam appearing higher up the torso on an Als jacket (about 45% from the bottom) compared to a Cal (about 40% from the bottom. Since this seam determines where the lapels can be folded, this might be part of the reasons Cal lapels tend to be bigger, extending further down the jacket.

Both repro and real Cals also have a more curved, and less pointed yoke, though I think I’ve seen Cals with a pointed yoke too.

The Als/LM have black rather than white pocket linings.

And finally, and this is hard to phrase, but the ratio of the bottom hem seams is different on the Cal and Als. The Cal has more even spacing between the seams whereas the Als/LM have a very narrow central ‘pipe’ if that makes sense?

Hope this helps add to the Als/Cal identification playbook!

 

[unhatted]

Anyway, here are the jackets:

Five Star 1960s Cal repro: Starting with the odd one out. This is a sized-down repro of Bahap100’s 1960s Cal in premium goat. I’m not sure if the pattern is graded exactly as Cal would have, but Five Star do a good job of reproducing details so I suspect this is still reasonably instructive in terms of the details of a 60s Cal.

Of note:
No shoulder gussets
Curved (not pointed) yoke
Double cuff stitching
Huge, pointed lapels
Beaver tail
50° Pocket angle
60/40 split above/below pocket seam
White pocket lining
Weight: 2kg/4.4lb

As this was custom sized it inevitably fits well and the mouton collar means it gets a lot of wear. Five Star actually do a pretty decent job with this repro though I note the collar snaps are attached directly to the lining and not reinforced with fabric backing.

 

[unhatted]

Als: No label but I guess this is an early 80s Als, with brass YKK (rather than plastic) hardware. This is by far the heaviest, in an incredibly thick, robust cowhide.

Of note:
Shoulder gussets
Pointed yoke
Single cuff stitching
Smaller lapels
Beaver tail
Dull brass YKK hardware
70° Pocket angle
55/45 split above/below pocket seam
Black pocket lining
Weight: 3.6kg 8lb

This is sadly too big for me!

 

[unhatted]

(Als?) Leather Man: Also unlabelled but this seems to match every Leather Man I’ve seen. Details are very much like my Als but with no beaver tail and rounded top lapels (with rounded stitching). No idea how to date these as I don’t think they ever got the plastic zips, but I guess 80s. The leather is much softer than my Als but noticeably thicker and heavier than the Cal below.

Of note:
Shoulder gussets
Pointed yoke
Single cuff stitching
Smaller lapels, rounded upper lapels
No beaver tail
Dull brass YKK hardware
70° Pocket angle
55/45 split above/below pocket seam
Black pocket lining
Weight: 2.5kg 5.5lb

Love the fit on this, though it’s SHORT, particularly with the straight back hem!

 

[unhatted]

Cal(?): Unlabelled, but pretty sure this is a cal, pretty sure it’s 70s from the zip pulls. This is the only one with ‘bright’ reddish gold colour hardware, which gives it a more obviously retro vibe. This has been said often about 1970s Cal cowhide quality, but I was surprised by how lightweight the hide is in comparison to the Als. The leather is nice, but it’s definitely a less heavyweight jacket.

Of note:
Shoulder gussets
Curved yoke
Double cuff stitching
Huge, pointed lapels (not quite as big as 5*)
Beaver tail
Bright brass Talon hardware
50° Pocket angle
60/40 split above/below pocket seam
White pocket lining (illegible size)
Weight: 2kg 4.5lb

Possibly slightly on the large side but it covers my belt, which is a plus!