Horween FQHH and shoulder bags/backpacks

[Witchtrip]

Hello,
I recently received my first Aero FQHH jacket and was curious about carrying a bag. I'll be wearing the jacket this fall/winter on my commute to work and always have a bag. I know the FQHH will patina and show wear, but I really don't want strap marks or rubs on the shoulders. I'm fine with normal rubs and wear, I just think a 10 lb pack might cause undesirable wear on the shoulders. Has anyone experienced this carrying a bag?

Thanks!

 

[zebedee]

Yes, it will show wear.

 

[ton312]

It may show some but that's kind of the beauty of the hide. The CXL can take so much abuse and really it needs to be abused in order achieve the level of character resting under the surface. Don't baby it! The more you sweat in it, beat it up, generally punish it...the better it gets!

 

[Monitor]

It might show wear but what Ton said, it will only look better. CXL FQHH will pick up wear quicker than some other hide regardless of what you do with it so even if the jacket picks up some rubs on the shoulder, it will eventually even out. For what it's worth, I often wear a backpack when riding and I never noticed any significant wear around the shoulders on any of my Aeros. But then again, I didn't have any for that long so...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Sure. it will show excessive wear across only the one shoulder you repeatedly put the strap over.

 

[IXL]

If you regularly carry a bag, this is normal wear....for you. If you regularly cram heavy gloves into a front pocket, causing it to flop about, this too would be normal for your jacket.
However you use your gear is what is normal for you. This is why no well-worn jackets tend to look the same.

 

[Witchtrip]

Yeah, I totally posted this without thinking it through. I'm all for breaking it in and really using it, but I'm going to leave the bags off of it. The shoulders are perfect and I don't want them sloping/stretching or becoming asymmetrical. I have plenty of other jackets that will handle the backpack just fine. Thanks for the input though

 

[bn1966]

My jackets have to fit in with my life & that means putting up with carrying bags & having seat belts strapped across them etc.....they seem to have come through it OK so far

 

[ton312]

Yeah, I totally posted this without thinking it through. I'm all for breaking it in and really using it, but I'm going to leave the bags off of it. The shoulders are perfect and I don't want them sloping/stretching or becoming asymmetrical. I have plenty of other jackets that will handle the backpack just fine. Thanks for the input though

Oh you won't stretch that CXL. Unless you tie it to two horses running in opposite directions! It's a great jacket man. I love the premier Highwayman and I think yours is the nicest I've seen.

 

[tropicalbob]

I usually carry my bag on my right shoulder (I have to carry a lot of heavy anthologies), so every now and then I wear it like a messenger bag to give it a change. To tell the truth, though, I don't even think about it much and just figure it's normal use. I haven't noticed any problems with the shape of the shoulders at all. After a certain point, I just stopped worrying about the jacket, and it seems all the better for it.

 

[Witchtrip]

I agree with everything you guys are saying, I'm not going to coddle or get neurotic about what I can and can't do to the jacket, but I am so pleased with how this thing fits, the potential of a heavy bag changing the superb lines of the shoulders is not something I want to do in the first season of wearing it. Trust me, I'm all for using the stuff I buy, but I'm in a honeymoon period with this jacket that will, most likely, last for a while. You guys are all jaded because you have like 100 jackets each!

 

[willyto]

I do wear a bag and I don't take any precaution or actually care about it. Just wear it and enjoy the patina your jacket gets from it. That's the beauty of leather, it tells your story.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Perhaps the only "caution" I would offer is if you have buttoned cuffs instead of zipped cuffs as sleeve ends. I find pulling on my backpack for work (also about 10 lbs) it's pretty easy to catch the buttons in a strap. Other than just taking time putting it on, I say the same as these guys, wear & enjoy it. You will quick see how it's becoming part of you. Speaking of being part of you, Willyto, the jacket & hat fit you perfectly!

 

[tropicalbob]

I agree with everything you guys are saying, I'm not going to coddle or get neurotic about what I can and can't do to the jacket, but I am so pleased with how this thing fits, the potential of a heavy bag changing the superb lines of the shoulders is not something I want to do in the first season of wearing it. Trust me, I'm all for using the stuff I buy, but I'm in a honeymoon period with this jacket that will, most likely, last for a while. You guys are all jaded because you have like 100 jackets each!

I've got two leather jackets, a brown one and a black one, and I think my wife's just commandeered the black one. I know exactly how you're feeling, though: for the first couple of years that I owned the brown Aero LHB I spread it out on my desk every night (no kidding) and checked out that days's progress. I still do it sometimes.

 

[nick123]

I wouldn't worry at all. You might get some color loss, but the rest of the jacket will eventually catch up. And 10 lbs isn't too heavy. There's been threads (somewhere) here in the past about this same topic, even a lengthy seatbelt one if I recall. I suppose you'll want to make sure you don't have any buckles that come into contact with the leather. Other than that, enjoy! Oddly enough, it's cold enough to wear a jacket this morning...off to the college I go for a fruitless tutoring session. :/

 

[Edward]

The only jacket I have on ehich it has noticeably left a bit of patina, carryinga bag, is my Dustbowl, which is made from Horween Bison. The black finish has rubbed a little in parts on that, giving it a sort of coppery-patina - I suppose it's what some would call 'teacore'. Nothing excessive, though. My CXL FQHH jackets have had no noticeable marks from carrying a bag - and, being based in London and so using public transport rather than driving anywhere, I do that a lot.

If your jacket is the brown or Cordovan FQHH, it'll be even less obvious than it is on black.

 

[Witchtrip]

Very good to know, Edward. I work in Manhattan and have quite a hike, which prompted my concern. It's black FQHH and doesn't have quite the rich brown undertones as the sample I received from Thurston. Copper patina would be fantastic, but I've already noticed on the inside bottom trim the zipper pull has scratched as it's established its path and the leather is quite pale showing through. That would be a little too extreme in the shoulder area.

 

[Sloan1874]

Hello,
I recently received my first Aero FQHH jacket and was curious about carrying a bag. I'll be wearing the jacket this fall/winter on my commute to work and always have a bag. I know the FQHH will patina and show wear, but I really don't want strap marks or rubs on the shoulders. I'm fine with normal rubs and wear, I just think a 10 lb pack might cause undesirable wear on the shoulders. Has anyone experienced this carrying a bag?

Thanks!

As with any leather jacket, if you carry a backpack over your shoulder, it will begin to take on a patina. My LHB has a 'fade' across both the shoulders, which I think looks fantastic - for some reason I think of the sunburst effect on a guitar, but that's just me. The only thing you have to make sure of is that you have to swap shoulders when carrying your bag so that the wear is even.

 

[Witchtrip]

Very interesting, like phantom bandoleros... any chance you could post a pic?

 

[Witchtrip]

Btw, Sloan, your cordovan board racer haunts me. The grain & color are stunning. I wish I'd never seen it...