Horse vs Steer vs Goat Premium Half Belt

[Commisar]

All,

I'm in the process of ordering my custom Aero jacket.

Pattern will be the premium half belt. Color will be Brown, or close to brown.

Lining will be Cotton tartan. Sleeves will be Cotton drill or cotton sateen.

Now for the really fun part.... I'm am at a 3 way impass for the actual leather. I know CXL FQHH and CXLSH are excellent leathers. I also know they'll show up nice and still and require months of wear to break in and they'll happily change color with wear and will show every single scratch and scuff they pick up.

Meanwhile Goatskin is tough, lighter, and will look new longer, which is fine by me. It also has a neat pebbled pattern.

I live around Dallas Texas, so I get 105F+ summers and maybe 32F winters (barring freak winter storms).

This means most of my jackets get worn from maybe October to March on a cold year and November to February on a warm year.

 

[zebedee]

All,

I'm in the process of ordering my custom Aero jacket.

Pattern will be the premium half belt. Color will be Brown, or close to brown.

Lining will be Cotton tartan. Sleeves will be Cotton drill or cotton sateen.

Now for the really fun part.... I'm am at a 3 way impass for the actual leather. I know CXL FQHH and CXLSH are excellent leathers. I also know they'll show up nice and still and require months of wear to break in and they'll happily change color with wear and will show every single scratch and scuff they pick up.

Meanwhile Goatskin is tough, lighter, and will look new longer, which is fine by me. It also has a neat pebbled pattern.

I live around Dallas Texas, so I get 105F+ summers and maybe 32F winters (barring freak winter storms).

This means most of my jackets get worn from maybe October to March on a cold year and November to February on a warm year.

Goatskin. Failing that, Vicenza as it's almost as light and flexible.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Pinnacle HH, soft like goat, dense like horsehide, similar finish to CXL

 

[TheDonEffect]

Goat is probably the most practical, HH will be the most beautiful, CXL steer will skew more towards HH in that range. As Canuck mentioned, Pinnacle may be the way to go given the recent reviews of the leather.

HH texture is just beautfil, I forget until I wear my HH jacket and get reminded, CXL HH is just beautiful. My CXL steer is close, while everything else while very good and awesome, just isn't the same. Really comes down what you're looking for, bu again the Pinnacle may be the way to go, seems to be the best of all worlds except no pull up.

 

[Commisar]

Goat is probably the most practical, HH will be the most beautiful, CXL steer will skew more towards HH in that range. As Canuck mentioned, Pinnacle may be the way to go given the recent reviews of the leather.

HH texture is just beautfil, I forget until I wear my HH jacket and get reminded, CXL HH is just beautiful. My CXL steer is close, while everything else while very good and awesome, just isn't the same. Really comes down what you're looking for, bu again the Pinnacle may be the way to go, seems to be the best of all worlds except no pull up.

Hmm I do like practical.

Goat is black, brown and DARK brown.

FQHH is a myriad of colors.

I wear my jackets regularly when it's cold enough and I do like the "wear it and forget about it" appeal of goatskin. Plus I can always get a fun FQHH later.

 

[Aloysius]

Aero's goat is severely underrated. It's very rich looking in addition to the excellent drape.

 

[Commisar]

Aero's goat is severely overrated. It's very rich looking in addition to the excellent drape.

Overrated or underrated?

The nice drape is very appealing

 

[Aloysius]

Overrated or underrated?

The nice drape is very appealing

I meant to say underrated!

 

[Kunja]

I vote for goat as well. In your climate it will get more wear time I think.

 

[zebedee]

If you go with the darkest seal goatskin possible, it will probably go with anything.

 

[newtojackets]

Going a bit against the grain here, but I wouldn’t go for CXL HH. Don’t get me wrong it’s gorgeous, but it’s just so stiff. Whenever I need to choose which jacket to wear, I steer away from my CXL for that reason

 

[TheDonEffect]

Hmm I do like practical.

Goat is black, brown and DARK brown.

FQHH is a myriad of colors.

I wear my jackets regularly when it's cold enough and I do like the "wear it and forget about it" appeal of goatskin. Plus I can always get a fun FQHH later.

I live in CA, so we have similar challenges in that it's nice here for the majority of the year, and I'm a hoody kinda guy.

So I've went down the rabbit hole, learned alot, here's my humble perspective:

There is no magic leather that is as comfortable as lamb and looks good as a chrome/veg dyed horsehide. From my experience, crosszips with their layers of leather really need a more comfortable leather, and since they're bolder designs by default, as a whole the jacket already makes a loud statement.

But for half belts, cafes, etc, the leather hide imo is more important. It's like a three ingredient dish vs an 8hr stew, the ingredients matter much more. Also, with the simpler design, they tend to be inherently more comfortable, allowing some room for discomfort in the leather.

I will say getting the full bore 3oz FQHH CXL may be a bit much for a lot of people, I struggled with my skived CXL which is more like a 1.5 or 2oz at this point, but there are compromises out there like CXL steer, Badalassi, Vicenza, and that new Pinnacle looks promising.

You're buying an Aero, this is no small purchase, for me I'd want something that is immediately discernable from anything you can get from an outlet mall. CXL will break in and become more comfortable, the more comfortable leathers however will never look like CXL.

I feel if you're the type that always wear leather jackets, then yeah having a more comfortable option is necessary, which is the case for many on TFL. But if I want comfort, I'll wear my hoody, if I'm making the decision to wear leather, I want it to be something with a sense of occasion.

Pictures don't really do these leathers justice, you have to see them in person and experience them, it will be much more clear.

 

[trainspotter]

I believe most agree CXL horsehide is beautiful, although the normal weight can get a bit cumbersome & stiff

If you are looking at a black jacket, I would suggest ask Holly for the lighter weight CXFQHH. It is a great combination of CXL's beauty & is very comfortable, drapes extremely well

 

[Commisar]

I believe most agree CXL horsehide is beautiful, although the normal weight can get a bit cumbersome & stiff

If you are looking at a black jacket, I would suggest ask Holly for the lighter weight CXFQHH. It is a great combination of CXL's beauty & is very comfortable, drapes extremely well

I'm looking for a brown jacket. Vicenza is interesting

 

[Commisar]

I live in CA, so we have similar challenges in that it's nice here for the majority of the year, and I'm a hoody kinda guy.

So I've went down the rabbit hole, learned alot, here's my humble perspective:

There is no magic leather that is as comfortable as lamb and looks good as a chrome/veg dyed horsehide. From my experience, crosszips with their layers of leather really need a more comfortable leather, and since they're bolder designs by default, as a whole the jacket already makes a loud statement.

But for half belts, cafes, etc, the leather hide imo is more important. It's like a three ingredient dish vs an 8hr stew, the ingredients matter much more. Also, with the simpler design, they tend to be inherently more comfortable, allowing some room for discomfort in the leather.

I will say getting the full bore 3oz FQHH CXL may be a bit much for a lot of people, I struggled with my skived CXL which is more like a 1.5 or 2oz at this point, but there are compromises out there like CXL steer, Badalassi, Vicenza, and that new Pinnacle looks promising.

You're buying an Aero, this is no small purchase, for me I'd want something that is immediately discernable from anything you can get from an outlet mall. CXL will break in and become more comfortable, the more comfortable leathers however will never look like CXL.

I feel if you're the type that always wear leather jackets, then yeah having a more comfortable option is necessary, which is the case for many on TFL. But if I want comfort, I'll wear my hoody, if I'm making the decision to wear leather, I want it to be something with a sense of occasion.

Pictures don't really do these leathers justice, you have to see them in person and experience them, it will be much more clear.

Very true. I want a brown jacket that isn't a gigantic PITA to wear and break in. Someone I know has a FQHH jacket that he never wears after 5+ years of ownership because it's so stiff in the cold.

My current black leather jacket was a semi hand me down that's.... Lambskin

Vicenza in Seal or Dark seal certainly sounds interesting and unlike CXL a scratch won't be extremely showy.

 

[Commisar]

Goatskin. Failing that, Vicenza as it's almost as light and flexible.

Ohh need to read up on Vicenza.

 

[Commisar]

Oh and now I heard anything brand new Horween leather called Pinnacle.... Sigh.

At least I know that CXLSH AND CXLFQHH are out KF the running.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Well, I wouldn't rule out CXLSH. It's more comfortable out the box and breaks in almost instantly. If CXLHH feels like cardboard, then CXLSH feels like rubber if that make any sense. If I were to make another jacket, I'd be willing to make it in CXLSH and I would probably choose it over all aniline options including goat.

Also, FWIW, having some stiffness/body is actually not a bad thing. My crosszip is a super lightweight steer that's pretty much like lambskin in terms of wearability, but with some character, heck it's practically a windbreaker, but the lack of body doesn't help it keeps its shape which is important for the lapels on a cross zip. I do wear it the most because of it's so comfortable, but if I could do it over again, I'd consider going CXLSH with it.

Badalassi and Vicenza are also other options you should definitely consider as well, and I read great things about Jerky which may be the under the radar choice here for you.

 

[Commisar]

Well, I wouldn't rule out CXLSH. It's more comfortable out the box and breaks in almost instantly. If CXLHH feels like cardboard, then CXLSH feels like rubber if that make any sense. If I were to make another jacket, I'd be willing to make it in CXLSH and I would probably choose it over all aniline options including goat.

Also, FWIW, having some stiffness/body is actually not a bad thing. My crosszip is a super lightweight steer that's pretty much like lambskin in terms of wearability, but with some character, heck it's practically a windbreaker, but the lack of body doesn't help it keeps its shape which is important for the lapels on a cross zip. I do wear it the most because of it's so comfortable, but if I could do it over again, I'd consider going CXLSH with it.

Badalassi and Vicenza are also other options you should definitely consider as well, and I read great things about Jerky which may be the under the radar choice here for you.

That jacket will be a Premium Half Belt.

Badalassi is out as it is squeaky

 

[handymike]

I would stay with medium weight leathers in the style you've selected. The sleeves are slim on these Premier jackets, and the CXL in regular weight can be a bit much. I live in LA for reference.