Freewheelers Journeyman (Deer)

[singer]

I'm seriously beginning to love this jacket.

As promised, here are some fit pics. Just phone pics--not high quality like the Old Goat photos.

- It is a longer length style of work coat, longer than a Himel Canuck or Freewheelers Dust Bowl.
- The style is a bit different with very large panels. 2 large front panels w/no upper chest seam & 2 large back panels.
- This is 15 of 15 made for Old Goat's 10th Anniversary in Tatanka Brown Shinki HH

Some details I didn't even notice when I bought the jacket:

- The front opening is not straight! It's wavy like an "S". Especially noticeable in photo 4, buttoned. The bottom curves out, giving some room at the hips. FW does this on some jackets, like the Four Corners.
- The pocket welts are also "S" shaped to keep a puckered open look. The top welt on the chest & both flap pockets are like a sideways "S"
- The lining is a heavy weight olive Flannel. Gorgeous, with a cushy hand. The stitching is very tight and in a matching olive color. Very subtle detail only noticeable up close.
- The pockets are tuck-able. Not quite as covert as @hollows' Whitefeather car coat, but I tuck one ("wink mode") or both from time to time for easy access.

 

[handymike]

Wow, that's really nice!
Congratulations.

 

[Superfluous]

That is a tremendous jacket Singer -- congrats!

 

[Superfluous]

I'm seriously beginning to love this jacket.

 

[Pdawg]

As promised, here are some fit pics. Just phone pics--not high quality like the Old Goat photos.

- It is a longer length style of work coat, longer than a Himel Canuck or Freewheelers Dust Bowl.
- The style is a bit different with very large panels. 2 large front panels w/no upper chest seam & 2 large back panels.
- This is 15 of 15 made for Old Goat's 10th Anniversary in Tatanka Brown Shinki HH

Some details I didn't even notice when I bought the jacket:

- The front opening is not straight! It's wavy like an "S". Especially noticeable in photo 4, buttoned. The bottom curves out, giving some room at the hips. FW does this on some jackets, like the Four Corners.
- The pocket welts are also "S" shaped to keep a puckered open look. The top welt on the chest & both flap pockets are like a sideways "S"
- The lining is a heavy weight olive Flannel. Gorgeous, with a cushy hand. The stitching is very tight and in a matching olive color. Very subtle detail only noticeable up close.
- The pockets are tuck-able. Not quite as covert as @hollows' Whitefeather car coat, but I tuck one ("wink mode") or both from time to time for easy access.

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The back length is 26.77" if I look on ratuken. Do you find their measurements are accurate? I have a RMC car coat and the measurements are a little off if I measure.

The coat is spectacular btw!

 

[Pdawg]

The back length is 26.77" if I look on ratuken. Do you find their measurements are accurate? I have a RMC car coat and the measurements are a little off if I measure.

The coat is spectacular btw!

How does the leather compare with the himel's shinki?

 

[Edward]

Nice jacket. I've never been super into this length in a leather, but increasingly intrigued by the idea of a mid-length leather as an alternative to a blazer in Autumn/Spring...

 

[Monitor]

It's awesome, Singer! Truly awesome. I've always really loved Freewheelers designs. Haven't seen a jacket of theirs I wouldn't want to own. I'd probably have their entire range if the money allowed it. Starting with this.

 

[ton312]

As promised, here are some fit pics. Just phone pics--not high quality like the Old Goat photos.

- It is a longer length style of work coat, longer than a Himel Canuck or Freewheelers Dust Bowl.
- The style is a bit different with very large panels. 2 large front panels w/no upper chest seam & 2 large back panels.
- This is 15 of 15 made for Old Goat's 10th Anniversary in Tatanka Brown Shinki HH

Some details I didn't even notice when I bought the jacket:

- The front opening is not straight! It's wavy like an "S". Especially noticeable in photo 4, buttoned. The bottom curves out, giving some room at the hips. FW does this on some jackets, like the Four Corners.
- The pocket welts are also "S" shaped to keep a puckered open look. The top welt on the chest & both flap pockets are like a sideways "S"
- The lining is a heavy weight olive Flannel. Gorgeous, with a cushy hand. The stitching is very tight and in a matching olive color. Very subtle detail only noticeable up close.
- The pockets are tuck-able. Not quite as covert as @hollows' Whitefeather car coat, but I tuck one ("wink mode") or both from time to time for easy access.

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Very cool jacket, perfect fit. Interesting design take with the wavy front closure. Flap pockets look better tucked in IMHO

 

[singer]

The back length is 26.77" if I look on ratuken. Do you find their measurements are accurate? I have a RMC car coat and the measurements are a little off if I measure.

I found the measurements to be pretty accurate for all dimensions. If I measure the back from the collar seam to hem I get ~26.5" or ~67cm. Small variations within each size I'm sure.

How does the leather compare with the himel's shinki?

The finish is quite different. I have Shinki in 2 finishes:

- Mid brown aniline dye, wax pull up. Will darken with water/sun, etc. A good finish if you like to see patina/evolution.
- Tatanka brown, probably pigment dye, not a pullup leather. Seems impervious to water spotting and will probably remain the same color. BUT, similar to the black "tea core" Shinki, it is a bit lighter color below the surface. There are a couple of little nicks that are a bit lighter. Will probably age nicely as it wears along seams and other wear points.

The leather itself feels the same: that firm Shinki hand (not spongy), similar light/mid weight. (I tried a Flat Head Shinki jacket and they use heavier weight Shinki--a bit heavy for my taste). Good grain on both out of the box, which I expect to improve with wear.

 

[Edgar Laurel]

Are you saying I am not young. Guilty.

Do not worry, if time is relative so is age.

 

[Edgar Laurel]

Most people identify this kind of clothes with old people in a bad sense. Let them do that, more power to us.

More mature guys usually don't go for this kind of jacket. I would say 50 somethings, 60 somethings or plus (aside from bikers) are more into military styles like the A2. That is what I see more around here for example.

 

[nabottle]

As promised, here are some fit pics. Just phone pics--not high quality like the Old Goat photos.

- It is a longer length style of work coat, longer than a Himel Canuck or Freewheelers Dust Bowl.
- The style is a bit different with very large panels. 2 large front panels w/no upper chest seam & 2 large back panels.
- This is 15 of 15 made for Old Goat's 10th Anniversary in Tatanka Brown Shinki HH

Some details I didn't even notice when I bought the jacket:

- The front opening is not straight! It's wavy like an "S". Especially noticeable in photo 4, buttoned. The bottom curves out, giving some room at the hips. FW does this on some jackets, like the Four Corners.
- The pocket welts are also "S" shaped to keep a puckered open look. The top welt on the chest & both flap pockets are like a sideways "S"
- The lining is a heavy weight olive Flannel. Gorgeous, with a cushy hand. The stitching is very tight and in a matching olive color. Very subtle detail only noticeable up close.
- The pockets are tuck-able. Not quite as covert as @hollows' Whitefeather car coat, but I tuck one ("wink mode") or both from time to time for easy access.

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Man...this is SWEEEEEEEEEET!

 

[Edgar Laurel]

It's awesome, Singer! Truly awesome. I've always really loved Freewheelers designs. Haven't seen a jacket of theirs I wouldn't want to own. I'd probably have their entire range if the money allowed it. Starting with this.

Fabulous.
I'm a sucker for this style of jacket.

 

[Pdawg]

Fabulous.
I'm a sucker for this style of jacket.

This jacket is cool as f##k

 

[singer]

Yeah, I'd love to try on the FW Speedmaster or Twin Peaks! Sadly, I haven't been able to find many great fit pics with people that seem to have a similar build.

Seeing the Old Goat fit photos really helped me decide to buy the jacket. The FW guys also do great photos--but they are missing fit pics for the cafe racers it seems.

I still have yet to add a cafe racer to my little collection!

It's awesome, Singer! Truly awesome. I've always really loved Freewheelers designs. Haven't seen a jacket of theirs I wouldn't want to own. I'd probably have their entire range if the money allowed it. Starting with this.

 

[Superfluous]

My favorite FW leather jacket remains the Brakeman, followed closely by the Journeyman. I have repeatedly balked at the Brakeman given the obvious overlap with my existing Canucks. I am also concerned about the fit -- the posted measurements for the Brakeman suggest that the shoulders may be a tad too wide, and the sleeves a tad too short, for my personal preferences. Additionally, the heavy lining on both the Brakeman and Journeyman is not ideal for my local climate (much better suited for Nor Cal).

As someone else mentioned, I find many of FW's moto/half belt/civilian leather jackets a bit too complicated. Here, I much prefer RMC's simpler designs. The one exception is FW's Caboose leather jacket. Unfortunately, it is too short for me.

 

[singer]

My favorite FW leather jacket remains the Brakeman, followed closely by the Journeyman. I have repeatedly balked at the Brakeman given the obvious overlap with my existing Canucks.

Makes sense, since they are almost exactly the same pattern, but the journeyman has pocket flaps (and deer for the regular version). There was one review (in Japanese) that said that the Shinki Journeyman is a bit slimmer than the Brakeman.

I can easily justify also getting a Canuck and/or Dust Bowl though

- Canuck is shorter. I would get it a custom length to make sure it was short enougth to easly access my jeans pockets, like Himel's fit model below and the dust bowl below. Theys guys can easily access their pants pockets.
- Canuck is the more traditional work coat pattern with the flat seams on the front and back. I love that look. (And oh, the horror, that type of seem is not nearly as strong as the folded & top-stitched one!)
- I can get the Canuck in a lighter weight lining.

Really very different coats

I think the dust bowl looks awesome as well, but with a knit collar twist. Looks awesome on the FW guys, but not as awesome on some other shop photos I've seen.

As someone else mentioned, I find many of FW's moto/half belt/civilian leather jackets a bit too complicated. Here, I much prefer RMC's simpler designs. The one exception is FW's Caboose leather jacket. Unfortunately, it is too short for me.

Agree--for me I'm just less sure some of those will look good on me, and feel like I have to try them on first. I can visualize the simpler designs in my head more easily, and there are ample fit pics.

 

[handymike]

That Canuck is insanely cool!
The Dustbowl ia a great length on the back shot though. I'm not sure about the knit collar.

 

[Monitor]

Brakeman and Journeyman are awesome. It's a rare instance when I saw the jacket and immediately fell in love with it. And I don't even have a clue what is it that I like about this style, is it the cut or what. But it's just so cool. I've also noticed that it looks equally good when worn either fitted or larger! You can tell right away just from the photos that compared to most other makers, FW really upped this entire jacket game significantly. I believe you're really getting something else for all the $ with them.