GREAT AERO half belt thread.

[Spitfire]

"Now all I have to do is explain spending almost 900 bucks on another jacket to my wife."

Use the old one:
"Darling, as long as you have more shoes than I have leather jackets, I see no problem"

 

[nerdator]

I ordered my Half Belt this year in the early spring, so I had a few cold weeks to enjoy it ... of course I told my wife about the price, no chance of concealing it ... since that she has given up any complaining...

 

[LocktownDog]

... since that she has given up any complaining...

That's because she's plotting revenge. Keep an eye on your credit card.

Richard

 

[DJS Press]

Aero Long Half Belt Has Arrived

It ended up taking about 2 months total, including shipping time, to get my new LHB. Once again, it's a stunning example of what a true leather artisan can do.

Here's a quick rundown of the specs....

• 
  Brown FQHH
  Size 46 with 2" added to body and arms
  Reiver Grant tartan lining (What a great choice.)

I actually received it a couple of weeks ago, so you can see that there has been some break-in. Grain is starting to show up nicely in some areas, the arms have loosened-up considerably, and it won't quite stand up under it's own power. Now one of my biggest problems is going to be trying to decide whether to wear this or my almost year-old Highwayman.

This Long Half Belt gets a lot of questions and compliments, even after just a short time owning it.

Mark Moye from Aero USA did a great job working with me on this jacket. I highly recommend that anybody looking at an Aero get in touch with him.

Here's some links to a few photos....

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb2.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb3.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb5.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb4.jpg

 

[John Lever]

Beautiful leather. I am surprised it took so long as it's a fairly standard jacket.

 

[tonypaj]

Friend of mine had the same jacket in cordovan, but left the country before I could convince him to sell it to me. Bummer... Excellent jacket, I like it a lot...

tonypaj

 

[carter]

Beautiful Jacket! When will we see it in action? :eusa_clap

 

[Rufus]

Fantastic Jacket..Love the half belts Aero do! Just in time for winter too!

Do you have any problem with Colour Transfer?
As my Aero, a Cordovan coloured bootlegger model, transfers colour onto bags, paper..almost anything.. very annoying!

Rufus

 

[DJS Press]

Fantastic Jacket..Love the half belts Aero do! Just in time for winter too!

Do you have any problem with Colour Transfer?
As my Aero, a Cordovan coloured bootlegger model, transfers colour onto bags, paper..almost anything.. very annoying!

Rufus

Rufus, I haven't noticed any tendency for color to rub off, but I've been wearing it with darker-colored clothing, and my vehicles have grey upholstery. My black Highwayman has, however, transferred color to the front of a white shirt. (From the inside lapels of the jacket.) But, it came out in the wash.

I guess that's why they sew that label in the lining that says it can happen. Maybe the cordovan is more susceptible than other colors? I think I've seen other posts here talking about it.

 

[Fanch]

Your Half Belt looks great, which I also considered but ordered a Highwayman instead, also size 46 with two inches added to the sleeves but only one inch added to the body. I imagine that my Highwayman will arrive sometime in the next 2-4 weeks. Like you, I ordered my jacket through Mark Moye who is simply the best!

 

[DJS Press]

Your Half Belt looks great, which I also considered but ordered a Highwayman instead, also size 46 with two inches added to the sleeves but only one inch added to the body. I imagine that my Highwayman will arrive sometime in the next 2-4 weeks. Like you, I ordered my jacket through Mark Moye who is simply the best!

Fanch, what did you get for lining in your Highwayman? And what color? I went with black FQHH and black cotton drill, which seems like it will last a l-o-n-g time.

A funny thing is that Mark Moye says that he rarely visits forums like this because he was tired of being accused of shilling for Aero, but I've never read anything but good things about him.

 

[Fanch]

I ordered the cotton drill lining since I live in Dallas, Texas rather than Fargo, North Dakota, in which case I probably would have gone with alpaca wool. I decided not to go with the FQHH but with the goatskin in the dark seal brown. The goatskin is about the same weight and thickness as the mid-weight HH, at least based on the samples that Mark sent. I also have an Aero Bronco A-2 in russet brown, and the goat on the Aero Bronco is much thicker than on a couple of Coopers that I own. I suspect that the Aero goat will be a tougher, more long lasting leather than the mid-weight HH, although either would likely outlive me!

 

[Boris K]

Fantastic Jacket..Love the half belts Aero do! Just in time for winter too!

Do you have any problem with Colour Transfer?
As my Aero, a Cordovan coloured bootlegger model, transfers colour onto bags, paper..almost anything.. very annoying!

Rufus

My barnstormer also transfers color to shirts, etc. I asked Aero about it and received this reply:

"The only thing we can suggest is rubbing the jacket lightly with dry cloth
to remove this excess colour, and do this until it stops coming off, please do
not under any circumstances, put anything on it, like conditioner etc
as this will make it worse!
Kind regards
Amanda"

I have found a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball can reduce color stains on some fabrics. Test in an inconspicuous place first, however

 

[Peacoat]

I have a cordovan Highwayman that has no problem with "color transfer." Of course I haven't put anything on the leather, such as a conditioner, to cause the dye to transfer.

What about you guys who are experiencing this problem, have you treated your jackets in any way? Put any type of conditioner on the leather?

I have a few worn spots on my Highwayman that could use some type of conditioner, but I am reluctant to use anything for fear of causing some bleeding on an otherwise perfect jacket.

 

[DJS Press]

I e-mailed Amanda @ Aero a few months after I received my Highwayman with a few questions, and here's her response regarding applying conditioner:

"Only use leather conditioner when the jacket needs it, therefore a few years (or 10) down the line.. you should never put conditioner on a brand new f/q horsehide jacket, your putting liquid onto something that's waterproof!!!!!!"

I have still noticed no color transfer from my new LHB. It is breaking-in beautifully. I'll post more photos in a month or so.

 

[Boris K]

.

What about you guys who are experiencing this problem, have you treated your jackets in any way? Put any type of conditioner on the leather?

I haven't tried anything on the barnstormer to prevent color transfer except a quick test with clear shoe polish on the inside pocket leather. Didn't seem to help at all.

I guess I'll try Amanda's rubbing method on a small area and see what that does...

 

[tonypaj]

"What about you guys who are experiencing this problem, have you treated your jackets in any way? Put any type of conditioner on the leather?"

I've got a cherry Barnstormer, it has always stained my clothes, conditioner or no conditioner. I solved it so far by limiting what I wear with it, dark clothes only or jeans. White shirts and stuff, no way... I can easily use a roll of paper towel to rub it, and things won't change any (except I then have tons of red paper). Haven't tried rubbing with alcohol, may do, though... But it's my favorite jacket, even with stains and itchy alpaca lining...

tonypaj

 

[James Miller]

Nice Aero

It's a great looking jacket. I order one in October 18, I'm hoping to get mine before christmas. I hope mine will look as good as yours.

 

[James Miller]

dye problems

I have over 30 leather jackets and I have tryed a leather sheen on some of them to keep the dye from rubbing off.

I have put a satin sheen on some of them and it helps stop some of the dye from comming of on my clothes. I have also tryed a high gloss sheen on on some of my vintage jackets. the high gloss looks good on the vintage ones but the newer ones a satin sheen looks better. These jackets that I'm talking about are ones that that I have re-dyed.

 

[Rufus]

Heya Chaps,

My cordovan jacket is untreated (it's heavy horsehide)...and it really has rubbed onto everything jeans, bags, shirts...grr..

I'm gonna go with goatskin next time..as I've never had problems with old Goatskin jackets!

The cordovan colour is quite 'ruby'-ish, so rubbing it with a cloth would achieve very little except a very dirty cloth...oh well..

Still.. great jacket, and Aero are a wonderful company to feal with!

rufus