Eastman Brooklands 3/4 motoring coat query

[matei]

Hi all,

I recently took delivery of an amazing ELC Rough Wear A2, in horsehide. It fits like the proverbial glove and the horsehide is supple, figured and lightweight. The experience with ELC was so pleasant (ordering, chatting with Dave at ELC, the packaging and of course the finished product) that it got me thinking about another product of theirs, the Brooklands 3/4 motoring coat.

Can anyone who happens to have one comment on the hide used, as well as the cut/fit of the coat?

I own an Aero Barnstormer, made from front quarter Chromexcel horsehide. It is much thicker than the hide used by ELC on my A2 (perhaps it is from a different area of the horse, I'm not an expert). This does make wearing the coat a bit tiring.

The cut could be better on my Aero. I find the armholes quite low and this makes movement rather limited. There is also quite a lot of extra room at the back of the coat.

I think that the Brooklands coat is very similar to ELC's other 3/4 offering, the WWI German flying coat.

 

[El Marro]

If I’m not mistaken @willyto has one of these coats. He may be able to answer your questions.

 

[handymike]

On the site, the leather looks similat to the hide on their other jackets like the Californian. This would be appropriate and similar to my vintage 1930s version. I had one of the later 1950s French types and that leather is closer to Aero’s CXL in weight. That jacket was a beast, and got no wear in CA...It was great in Parisian and New York Winters though.

 

[ES335]

Not to step on your thread, I just want to second your experience with Eastman. Last Spring I bought an Ostmann from History Preservation Associates on this side of the pond with great assistance and service from Charles. I'll have that jacket for the rest of my days. Good luck!

 

[willyto]

I've got two. The Brooklands and the German 3/4 in black. The leather is not heavy at all. I live in Barcelona and I wore the Brooklands through the winter without any trouble. The wool liner keeps you warm enough but the leather isn't the one keeping you warm, just acts as windbreaker.

It starts a bit stiff but the leather is smooth as butter and very flexible

I haven't worn the black yet because it is a size bigger(still fits me fine, just a bit more roomy) but the leather is different on the German version compared to the Brooklands. It is more grainy, more soft and spongy.

On my brown one a leather button on the cuff fell out because the leather teared and on my black one a seam on the shoulder (I think the top stitching) broke and hopefully it doesn't affect wearability or integrity. I think that's one of the reasons I haven't worn it yet because I was afraid it would separate or something.

I have to mention that I got both for under 450€ each IIRC so in my opinion the full price is tough to justify as it stands right now. They are very great coats though.

 

[matei]

Super, thanks for the helpful replies.

That is just what I was hoping to hear re. the weight and type of hide. I don’t wear the Barnstormer as much as I would like because it is so stiff and heavy.

I wore it in an Oslo winter some years back, and it was so cold that the leather turned stiff as a board, was like wearing a suit of armour!