Leather Jacket Advice

[Kakoos]

Hi, I've learned a lot about leather jackets from mainly lurking here years back. This is a very interesting message board.

I'm in the market for a durable leather jacket. I had previously decided to go with the Expedition Jacket from Gibson and Barnes being goatskin, I liked the style of an Indiana type jacket, and hearing nothing but good things about the quality, but when I originally went to order they told me that they were out of stock and to check back in the fall. I checked back in early October only to discover that they no longer carry the jacket.

So my question is who makes good, durable, long lasting leather jackets in that Indy style these days? I had originally decided on Gibson and Barnes because at the time I was reading here that Wested was falling in quality.

 

[nick123]

Bill Kelso Relic Hunter (you could order in goat or Liberty horsehide)
http://www.billkelsomfg.com/store/en.php?p=productview&prod=23

Lost Worlds "Raider"
http://www.lostworldsinc.com/Raiders_Leather_Flight_Jacket.htm

 

[Kakoos]

Wow, those are great. Thank you very much.

 

[Seb Lucas]

US Wings Legend Indy pattern - a slimmer cut more accurate pattern than their earlier jackets.

 

[Kakoos]

I notice they have Bison leather. How's that compared to goat?

 

[AeroFan_07]

Bison & Goat are toally different. I relaly don't care for the feel of the Bison. It's thick and soft however seems to "lack" character. Goat dosen't typiclaly "show" a lot of breakin. It's durable and light. There's a lot of other great options, if you are in California it would be worth a quick trip over to Johnson Leathers in San Fransico, they will make you anything you want and keep quite a bit on had too.

 

[Kakoos]

Interesting. Sounds like what I want is either horse hide or goatskin.

How's the quality of those leathers at Bill Kelso?

 

[Doctor Strange]

Who says Wested has fallen in quality? Their jackets are very good for the price. Even their custom work is very reasonable.

I just recently got my son a Wested jacket - not an Indy style, a lambskin blouson - and I think it's excellent for an under-$150 jacket.

I've had one of their custom-size lambskin Raiders jackets for nearly 15 years and I love it. And as I've reported here endlessly, when I tore the back panel (yup, lambskin is more fragile than other hides) they replaced it for free. Their Indy styles in goat, horse, or cow are surely tougher. But I wanted lamb, just like the original RotLA wardrobe. And that's another plus for Wested, construction-wise their jackets are close to the originals... if that matters to you at all.

I briefly had a US Wings goatskin Indy jacket. It didn't fit me at all, and I gave it away... but I also thought the quality of its goatskin and synthetic lining were inferior - the hide was plasticky, with a very heavy dye topcoat. The goatskin on both my G&B jackets is much better. (On the plus side, the friend I gave it to has now worn this Indy jacket constantly through eight NYC winters and it's held up very well, so it is tough.)

Anyway, I wouldn't dismiss Wested out of hand. Okay, they're a film wardrobe house, not a military supplier, so their jackets aren't built mil-spec tough... but they aren't crummy el-cheapo mall jackets either.

 

[Edward]

I notice they have Bison leather. How's that compared to goat?

My Aero Dustbowl is Horween Bison. Similar grain to some goathides, but a much thicker hide. Soft to feel, but I suspect it could take buckshot all the same! Not a hide foe Summer, though very nice. Breaks in quickly.

Goat is much softer from the off, but very durable.

Wested do very nice jackets for the money; just don't expect them to be on a par with those at thrice the price.

If I was looking for an Indy style jacket but not worried about screen accuracy, I'd consider the Aero Royale. http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=2238 Similar t o the sort of thing Indy might really have worn if they'd picked an original design rather than 'evolved' an A2.

 

[Kakoos]

Thanks Doctor Strange! That's good to know.

Yeah, I'm not real worried about movie accuracy as I'm with the durability. In fact my priorities are durability>utility>movie accuracy.

I live on a farm, and while this isn't going to be my work jacket, it can still face some rough situations like if I'm caught in weather, I'm in the weather, or any unexpected job. Plus, I'd want it to last a long while.

By utility I mainly mean useful pockets, and inner pockets. Nothing bugs me more about clothing than fake or useless pockets.

And by movie quality I mainly mean just the design. I like the design, and it's similar to my last leather jacket.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Wested is immensely variable. I had a Wested goat Indy which was the heaviest and most characterful veg tanned goat I have ever seen. I just bought a Wested Menlo repro in a cowhide that is a beautiful hide and quite heavy. Unfortunately it's too short for my taste so I will move it on. When they are good Wested are very well made jackets and not greatly inferior.

 

[Monitor]

My Aero Dustbowl is Horween Bison. Similar grain to some goathides, but a much thicker hide. Soft to feel, but I suspect it could take buckshot all the same! Not a hide foe Summer, though very nice. Breaks in quickly.

Goat is much softer from the off, but very durable.

Wested do very nice jackets for the money; just don't expect them to be on a par with those at thrice the price.

If I was looking for an Indy style jacket but not worried about screen accuracy, I'd consider the Aero Royale. http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=2238 Similar t o the sort of thing Indy might really have worn if they'd picked an original design rather than 'evolved' an A2.

Aero actually used to do an Indy jacket and it looked quite good!

 

[Kakoos]

Looks I'm leaning toward the Wested or the Kelso. Which do you guys think? I understand from doing some more research that people have a problem with Kelso, but I haven't found a post to pin down exactly what's wtong with them.

And what leather do you think wold be best in terms of durability of both use and weather and lifespan? goat or horse? I've read arguments that both are tough.

 

[tropicalbob]

You might also want to consider the Aero Long Halfbelt. I've had one for almost six years now and wouldn't give it up for the world. Plenty of handy pockets, and it's a late 1940's, early "50's style that isn't too tight and can be worn with a sweater. The brown horsehide breaks in beautifully and isn't nearly as stiff as some folks say (IMHO).

 

[mr_lits]

In terms of durability I would recommend the horse over the goat. Goat is great and really comfortable "out of the box", but horse is significantly heavier and takes longer to break in. I have both in the kit and like them for different reasons but in terms of character, once broken in, horse is like a suit of armor that fits like a glove. I always imagined ordering an Indy in horse someday. Personally I would have it make by Kelso.

 

[Edward]

Aero actually used to do an Indy jacket and it looked quite good!

As far as I recall, there were a couple of prototypes made up at Will's instruction, but they never went into full production as it were. Marketing an Indy can be tricky: while it's unlikely Paramount would be able to protect their design (and everse engineering is not a copyright violation viz-a-vis the patterns),the value of the design to 99.9% of the potential market is that it is an Indy, and there's a whole heap of obvious marketing terms which would be in violation of registered trade marks ("Indiana Jones", for one, plus all the film titles, names of spin offs, and such). I suspect too that a huge chunk of the market for a jacket like this is the "cosplay" community, who a] won't want a jacket that isn't exactly to the original specs, hide included, and b] are looking for a costume piece to wear in a climate-controlled convention centre, and thus not a high-end jacket (priced as such). I have no insider knowledge on this one, but I suspect these were among the reason the jacket was canned. A shame in some regards as I'm sure an Aero version would be outstanding. That said, the Indy is one of those jackets where I really wanted to own one, but not eough to shell out for a high end - knowing a halfbelt and such would get far more wear. I found the Wested I bought perfect for a Summer jacket I can take places I might not take an Aero. I also ended up wearing it much more than expected, and on season when all my other leathers were just too much.

Looks I'm leaning toward the Wested or the Kelso. Which do you guys think? I understand from doing some more research that people have a problem with Kelso, but I haven't found a post to pin down exactly what's wtong with them.

Kelso can be difficult to deal with in the same manner as Lost Worlds. There was atime when their main man was on here - his unique approach to marketing made Stu Lost Worlds look positively cuddly by comparison! I think that put quite a lot of people off. For me, it was a combination of that and the time I emailed to ask about sizes relating to house A2s that were being sold off. I emailed them asking if I sohuld err towards a 42 or a 44 as I was between sizes on their provided measurements, only to receive a reply giving me the hard sell on a jacket "labelled a 40, but it's asize 42 really". Then they decided it was a good idea to market their new hides by telling us all how rubbish the old ones were. I dropped out at that point. Others seem to have had hit and miss experiences with waiting time and such. Certainly when they turn out a jacket the quality is indeed excellent based on those I've seen, so a lot may depend on the sort of customer service approach you prefer, and whether they are offering something you can't get elsewhere.

In terms of hides, goat will be lighter and drape easier from the off than horse. The horse may also patina to a much greater degree, depending on what you're after. A lot depends on what you want. I bought an Indy (a Wested Raiders) second hand a few years ago because I wanted a jacket that was a lighter leather for Summer wear. I thus opted for the goat over the other hides on offer. The Wested goat is lighter than the stuff Aero uses, though in my experience still durable (all the benefits of lamb in hot weather, but without the fear of its fragility if you're a clumsy oaf like me). I'd maybe choose something heavier if you wanted a Winter jacket (depending where you are in the world, natch).

If you do want your Indy to wear in warmer weather, I'd suggest asking wested (or whomever) to line the sleeves in cotton, not satin. I find that's the one place on mine where it just gets too hot and sticky too quickly compared to the cotton-lined body.

 

[Kakoos]

You guys are all great. It's not very often I come across a group so willing to answer all the questions I come up with, and so well too.

I'm not sure I want to gamble half a grand with someone that sounds like that. It sounds like they make good jackets, but their service sounds arrogant.

So far I'm leaning toward a Wested in goat, but I'm going to look at Aero's goat, I didn't know they did that hide. I live in Southern California so it can get hot as hell down here in the Summer and in the 40-50s during the Winter. If I travel I suppose I can just layer underneath. I'm just hoping that if I get a Wested in goat that it'll survive years of camping, and casual farm stuff.

Edit: Where is Aero's goat options?

 

[nick123]

Kelso goat looks like a really good option. I've debated their Indy jacket in goat. I've owned two of their pre-Victory era jackets which I wish I still had w/no problems in build quality or complaints. Their goat option is substantially cheaper than the horse price wise.

 

[regius]

You guys are all great. It's not very often I come across a group so willing to answer all the questions I come up with, and so well too.

I'm not sure I want to gamble half a grand with someone that sounds like that. It sounds like they make good jackets, but their service sounds arrogant.

So far I'm leaning toward a Wested in goat, but I'm going to look at Aero's goat, I didn't know they did that hide. I live in Southern California so it can get hot as hell down here in the Summer and in the 40-50s during the Winter. If I travel I suppose I can just layer underneath. I'm just hoping that if I get a Wested in goat that it'll survive years of camping, and casual farm stuff.

Edit: Where is Aero's goat options?

Do you want to buy my Schott-made US Wings bison Indy for a start? It’s practically new, the bison is very nice, burgundy color. PM me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Mushman's leather maker (Electrick Leather Studio) has made a couple with Badalassi. It's not cheap, however.
http://shop.mushmans.com/?pid=102778902