Goatskin vs horsehide

[Sockeye]

As a newbie to the world of leathers, I'm am enamored by Aeros FQHH and have been looking to pull the trigger on a lighter goatskin jacket. I haven't had th opportunity to see a goat in person, on paper it seems to check the boxes of durability, weatherproof and ease of wear. Swatches I have received however just seem to have a shiny almost synthetic feel to it, compared to horse or steer.

Anyone with good photos of a black goatskin jacket?

Thanks!

 

[Plumbline]

not a black goatskin .. but a seal brown one ( as most of the USN jackets were ... ) I'm sure there will be many who have / will post their own ( both military and non) :

BK Wills & Geiger M422a



Aero AN6552

 

[Big J]

I got an Aero seal brown goat M422a. It's great. The best grain of any I've ever seen.

 

[Seb Lucas]

As a newbie to the world of leathers, I'm am enamored by Aeros FQHH and have been looking to pull the trigger on a lighter goatskin jacket. I haven't had th opportunity to see a goat in person, on paper it seems to check the boxes of durability, weatherproof and ease of wear. Swatches I have received however just seem to have a shiny almost synthetic feel to it, compared to horse or steer.

Anyone with good photos of a black goatskin jacket?

Thanks!

Goat is acknowledged as one of the most abrasion and water resistant leathers available. It's fairly light and is easy to wear. I prefer it greatly to FQHH. But down here a heavy leather is annoying and sweaty. I've had goat, kangaroo, horse, cow, steer and lamb jackets in many grades of thickness. I prefer lighter hides - 2-2.5oz are best for me. I run hot anyway and when it gets cold I usually choose wool layers over leather.

It's hard to wear out goat, but you can get a patina and aged look from goat despite what some say. The key is in how the goat was tanned and treated. Veg tanned goat and combination veg and chrome tanned will fade and grain up wonderfully. And you can also get thick heavy goat, if that is what you want.

 

[Sloan1874]

Loved the pebbling of Aero's black and seal goat. The jackets I've seen made of it look something special ie Rudie's Rockafella, but the russet goat Bootlegger that appeared a few weeks back was very cool too.

 

[Edward]

I'm very fond of my Aero goat. I've had two - an AN6552 and an A2, though both were the older goat. The seal at points of wear over time develops a lighter, reddish tinge which looks great to me. I've not owned aj acket made from the newer goathide yet, though I handled it at the factory when I visited last July, and it is lovely stuff. I'm curious as to how the black in that ages, as I have my eye on a Rockefeller in that. some time down the track.

 

[Fanch]

I would second what Sloan had to say about Aero's veg tanned goatskin as my Aero Pioneer (seal goat) and Aero Maxwell (black goat) both have fantastic grain, texture, feel, flexibility, and thickness to the hides. I would also add Gibson & Barnes "historic" A-2 Model 31 in russet goatskin that seems identical to what Aero is using. I also have a Cooper G-1 (company now out of business) and a G&B Expedition (Indy) both made from chrome tanned goatskin that is smoother and thinner that some might say has the more "shiny almost synthetic feel" to which you allude. However, I am of the strong opinion that ALL of the goat is resilient to the elements and tough as nails. Perhaps the chrome tanned goatskin has greater water resistance. [huh]

 

[bn1966]

I'm a big Goat fan...light and with good water resistance qualities in my experience. I have an ELC A2 in HH and to be honest if I ordered another it would be goat all the way...but that's just me.....the HH got too much patina too quickly for my personal liking.

 

[Sockeye]

Any experience with Alexander Leathers black goat out there?

Thanks to all for the comments and photos.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I'll give an opposing view. I'm not a huge fan of the pebbled surface of goat. I only have experience of 1 goat jacket. It was much lighter, which was good if you want that but I definitely prefer the feel of steer and horse.

 

[Jägernaut]

I'll give an opposing view. I'm not a huge fan of the pebbled surface of goat. I only have experience of 1 goat jacket. It was much lighter, which was good if you want that but I definitely prefer the feel of steer and horse.

I have to agree with this. Goat is very uniform throughout. I love the random shiny graining in steer and the Vicenza hh.

 

[Sockeye]

Thanks for that perspective protein. I'm finding myself with similar preferences I think. That being said, what is your personal one go-to jacket in such a hide?

 

[jpk_NJ]

Any experience with Alexander Leathers black goat out there?

Thanks to all for the comments and photos.

I have a sample of the AL black goat and it's a really nice thick hide. Some of the thickest goat I've seen. Very tough top coat as well and didn't seem to scratch easily. If I didn't already have 3 black jackets, I would definitely order one up myself! I went with the Black horween cxl Bison from AL last time but it's no light weight coat!

 

[ProteinNerd]

Thanks for that perspective protein. I'm finding myself with similar preferences I think. That being said, what is your personal one go-to jacket in such a hide?

That's hard for me to do, I've swapped out and purchased a lot of new jackets in the past 2-3 months and it's definitely not jacket weather here atm (way too hot) so I haven't had the chance to decide on a new go to jacket.

It was probably my Buco J100 in a mid weight Horse, but I'm thinking it might be the new Board Racer in steer when the weather gets a little cooler. I also have a modified premium half belt in Vicenza horse on order, looking forward to that as well.....

 

[Sockeye]

By all means post photos of the new jackets when you get them! I was a little scared off a bit from the Vincenza as the samples seemed to soak through with water in a couple of minutes, but they see also uniquely nice.

 

[trapp]

Langlitz deserves a mention in any general conversation involving goat and jackets. I've handled two goatskin Langlitz jackets (one being a tiny cascade that fits my 4 yr old) and those jackets changed my mind about goatskin. Meaning, I went from 'probably not for me' to 'I need to get me a goatskin jacket fast.' It's its own thing, much different than horse or cow.

 

[53Effie]

I agree with Trapp. I have a goatskin Cascade that I've had for a couple of years now. The leather is thick and supple and has developed nice patina. It is for the most part my primary riding jacket...very comfortable. I have a Columbia in mid-weight cowhide and although it too is a great jacket for riding, I kinda wish I'd had it done in goatskin as well.

 

[Edward]

As a general rule, I wouldn't pick one over the other. I do, however, find my goat jackets to be better than my fqhh for warmer weather (at least until it's too hot to wear any leather, other than round my wasit and on my feet, of course). When it comes to A2s, I have a definite preference for goat. I have two A2s: an ELC Roughwear in mid-weight horse, and an Aero goatskin. The Aero I just found myself reaching for as a go-to; when I rationalise this, I think the key reason is that I just find the look of it sharper, as it stays broken in but "tidy" looking, much more so than the horse which develops a more obvious patina much more quickly. The Goat is much more subtle when it comes to aging, and for me that makes it preferabled to wear out with a collar and tie. Horses for courses, mind - it's all personal preference, I wouldn't claim either to be objectively superior.

My A2 is Aero's old goat, so I have no direct experience of how their new stuff ages (Rudi would be the one to ask). I have handled examples of both the brown and the black in the new at the factory, and I do hope in the future to order a jacket in the black, as it seems to be lovely stuff.

 

[Sheepdog149]

I have both and love each one... The GS is definitely more supple "out the box." My seal colored GS "LW Raider" is a fantastic jacket... I can sleep in it quite comfortably.

 

[thor]

I have both and love each one... The GS is definitely more supple "out the box." My seal colored GS "LW Raider" is a fantastic jacket... I can sleep in it quite comfortably.

I really like the LW Raider. Any pics Sheepdog?