Fedora special! Horween X Vanson

[red devil]

I hope the title is fitting here

I just saw in the other thread that Vanson would be happy to work with leather supplied (not that surprising actually).

Since there seems to be quite an interest in this, we might as well create a thread to discuss this specifically.

So far what we know is that about 60 sq/ft is required to make a CHP, because of the panels. That sounds a lot for a single jacket, because to my knowledge a size 44 M/C jacket would take between 3 to 4 sq/m which is about 32 to 43 sq/m.
So is that 60 sq/ft specific for the CHP? We need to get more info.

I have ordered leather before, and obviously the bigger the amount the better the price. So it would be interesting to see what you guys are interested in.

For my part, I think I would go with a chopper, not sure which colour yet. Need to look into it.

What about you guys?

 

[jacketjunkie]

I would probably go for an Enfield in black clx steerhide or a Model J with side straps instead of half belt in brown clx.

 

[ton312]

For me the cost of the build will be the deciding factor. That amount of cxl will not be cheap by any means. If we are talking CPU cut pattern pieces the build burden on Vanson is all that's being paid for (not to discredit what's involved but...) I also assume they built some slop into the yardage in case of an "oh shit" moment. I'm okay with that but I don't fancy the idea of paying full price (or more) for a jacket I'm providing the hide for.

 

[Hh121]

You guys will soon found out why Aero is great.

 

[red devil]

For me the cost of the build will be the deciding factor. That amount of cxl will not be cheap by any means. If we are talking CPU cut pattern pieces the build burden on Vanson is all that's being paid for (not to discredit what's involved but...) I also assume they built some slop into the yardage in case of an "oh shit" moment. I'm okay with that but I don't fancy the idea of paying full price (or more) for a jacket I'm providing the hide for.

I wouldn't expect to pay full price, maybe 20% less than full price.

 

[Psant25]

Not sure the juice is worth the squeeze on this one. For me anyways

 

[El Marro]

I sourced CXL Steerhide from Horween for my first custom jacket which was made by Johnson Leathers. Alan indeed gave me a discount for providing my own leather, but as others have speculated it was not a significant discount since the leather he planned to use did not cost him as much as the CXL cost me. I provided him two “sides” which is approximately 40sq. feet of leather. I paid $575 to Horween including shipping.
Upon receipt of the jacket I noticed that one of the front panels had some pronounced stretch marks unlike any of the other leather on the jacket. As I wore the jacket and it began to break in these marks became even more pronounced. i was not happy with the jacket but since I had provided the leather myself I had no one to blame but myself. For this reason I would be very hesitant to go down this road again.

 

[ton312]

I sourced CXL Steerhide from Horween for my first custom jacket which was made by Johnson Leathers. Alan indeed gave me a discount for providing my own leather, but as others have speculated it was not a significant discount since the leather he planned to use did not cost him as much as the CXL cost me. I provided him two “sides” which is approximately 40sq. feet of leather. I paid $575 to Horween including shipping.
Upon receipt of the jacket I noticed that one of the front panels had some pronounced stretch marks unlike any of the other leather on the jacket. As I wore the jacket and it began to break in these marks became even more pronounced. i was not happy with the jacket but since I had provided the leather myself I had no one to blame but myself. For this reason I would be very hesitant to go down this road again.

That’s a really good point. Only have yourself to blame if a flaw in the hide becomes a problem and same could even be said for construction. I’d imagine if you use your own hide negates any sort of manufacturer warranty?

 

[jacketjunkie]

Considering a new Aero is like 1200 USD in the US, I'd gladly pay the same for a jacket made from Horween leather using Vansons patterns which I favor over Aero in range of motion and overall comfort.

Unfortunately as a European, going custom with Vanson is insanely expensive due to the 30% import fee and shipping that comes with it. At the end of the day i could pretty much get two Aeros for that money..

 

[ton312]

You guys will soon found out why Aero is great.

I already know they are but they don’t make the model E. Which is hands down my all time favorite jacket. Bar none.

 

[Carlos840]

You guys will soon found out why Aero is great.

None of my Vanson are perfect, but they are definitely on par with Aero construction wise and definitely a step above Schott...
I know you hate the new Comp weight leather, but from a purely technical point of view what makes you think Vanson isn't capable of building a jacket from CXL?

 

[Hh121]

I already know they are but they don’t make the model E. Which is hands down my all time favorite jacket. Bar none.

None of my Vanson are perfect, but they are definitely on par with Aero construction wise and definitely a step above Schott...
I know you hate the new Comp weight leather, but from a purely technical point of view what makes you think Vanson isn't capable of building a jacket from CXL?

Of course.

I should explain my point. What I am trying to say is that today's Vanson does not produce a quality product like they did in the past, not just leather, the construction, the attention to details etc. The thick leather they are choosing today proves they don’t want to work with heavy leather (for whatever the reason is), and I believe their machinist is trained for working on this specific thin leather, you don’t know what's gonna happen if you gave them a heavy horween leather.

Plus, what’s your expectation? After you spend nearly $1300? are you still have the same expectation where you spend $500?

There are few makers using Horween CXL for their jacket, I don’t think either one comes even close to Aero, it is not math like 1+1=2.

 

[Psant25]

I think I will stay with aero for my cxl hh and keep my vanson chp plan of comp weight. Will cross my fingers. I will try to just wear the heck out of it and see how ages. I had a JL jacket in the finished cow they use for their OPD jackets and i was really unimpressed when new. After some water soaking, sun, wear, good conditioner it really transformed into a great looking and feeling jacket. I sold it long ago lol

 

[Carlos840]

Could it just be that they are going through a bad batch of leather?
We have established that Vanson has changed tanneries a lot through the years, and that comp weight has changed a lot.
My latest vanson was made in 2017 (the Commando) and made just as well as my Aeros whilst being much more comfortable, the X150 leather is IMO just as thick as CXL and is very nice.
@El Marro just got a brand new Commando in X150 and he didn't have anything bad to say about the leather or the construction.

I agree with you that the current leather is very underwhelming, but i would not write Vanson off yet and say that "they do not produce a quality product like they did in the past".

 

[Monitor]

I can only repeat what I said so many times before - Leather aside, Vanson makes professional motorcycle gear. End of discussion.

I'd trust them on a motorcycle sooner than any other maker. Their racing jackets, Manx, Hurricane, Sportrider, etc. are definite proof that in reality, they operate on a whole different level than any other repro maker we discuss here.

I mean...

Having said that, I've absolutely no doubt that any Vanson pattern in Horween HH would annihilate ANYTHING else on the market - the same way their jackets do in functionality, protection, etc.

 

[Guppy]

Could it just be that they are going through a bad batch of leather?
We have established that Vanson has changed tanneries a lot through the years, and that comp weight has changed a lot.
My latest vanson was made in 2017 (the Commando) and made just as well as my Aeros whilst being much more comfortable, the X150 leather is IMO just as thick as CXL and is very nice.
@El Marro just got a brand new Commando in X150 and he didn't have anything bad to say about the leather or the construction.

I agree with you that the current leather is very underwhelming, but i would not write Vanson off yet and say that "they do not produce a quality product like they did in the past".

I would, but I would qualify that in terms of materials, not worksmanship. The current "comp weight" is not as thick as it used to be, and it is obvious.

And as we're talking about it, they are surely listening, and will react to feedback.

 

[Monitor]

...and if this really can happen, I'd have to think hard what to go with. Literally every Vanson MC jacket I had so far was perfect. Like, I actually couldn't find a single flaw with Model A, Model B, Model E or the trucker jackets. Not a single thing I wanted to change! So which one to get???

 

[hondurasdave47]

Just thought I’d jump in to say that Vanson has worked with Horween CXL FQHH before. So someone there knows how to work with that hide.

https://leftfieldnyc.com/products/gold-standard-commando


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carlos840]

I would, but I would qualify that in terms of materials, not worksmanship. The current "comp weight" is not as thick as it used to be, and it is obvious.

And as we're talking about it, they are surely listening, and will react to feedback.

But its not like Comp weight had a constant thickness to start with!
I have a 08 comp weight CHP2 jacket that is much much thinner than my 2016 comp weight Chopper, the CHP2 is also thinner than my 94 Scout, which is itself made from "light chap leather".
That "light" leather is the same thickness as my Chopper.
I have also read many times that the older 80s comp weight was much thinner than modern one.

All i am trying to say is that the thickness of comp weight has been seesawing probably since the early days of the brand. And although i completely understand that ordering right now is scary as i would really not want a jacket made from the leather that have been posted by @Hh121, i think that if the past has shown us anything it is that it might just be a bad period and better leather might be just around the corner.

 

[Hh121]

But its not like Comp weight had a constant thickness to start with!
I have a 08 comp weight CHP2 jacket that is much much thinner than my 2016 comp weight Chopper, the CHP2 is also thinner than my 94 Scout, which is itself made from "light chap leather".
That "light" leather is the same thickness as my Chopper.
I have also read many times that the older 80s comp weight was much thinner than modern one.

All i am trying to say is that the thickness of comp weight has been seesawing probably since the early days of the brand. And although i completely understand that ordering right now is scary as i would really not want a jacket made from the leather that have been posted by @Hh121, i think that if the past has shown us anything it is that it might just be a bad period and better leather might be just around the corner.

I genuinely hope I am wrong, hopefully we can see more and more recent product from Vanson in TFL.