So, since i am stuck at home all day waiting for the UPS truck to turn up (gotta love the "anytime between 7am and 7pm" deliveries!) I thought i might as well spend my time doing this Dominator No 551 review i talked about yesterday...
I ordered this Jacket a bit before Christmas 2012 and received it the 7th of January, so it is pretty much ten months old.
Lewis Leathers originally quoted me a 6 weeks waiting time, it ended up being a little over 3 weeks.
The jacket wasn't worn on a daily basis as i have a few, but was not babied, and was used to ride (with a Knox armored shirt underneath).
Let me start by saying that i have a pretty weird frame, I am very V shaped, which means that usually pretty much nothing of the rack suits me!
I am 6'2, 176lbs, with a 32" waist 42" chest and 20" shoulders... Basically anything that fits me in the shoulders is a baggy mess at the waist.
If it fits me at the waist i usually cant move my arms and the sleeves reach my elbows.
This was not a problem for Lewis Leathers, they just made a new pattern for me, at no extra charge and with a smile.
I was able to go to the store and try things, get measured, which really helped.
Now, the jacket!
In my opinion the leather is really nice! Yes, it is not the sacred FQHH that every body obsesses about, but it is one of the nicer cow hide i have seen.
It has a nice sheen to it without being on of those horrible plastic looking shiny leathers. It is very smooth, with no scaring or marks.
The thickness is about 1.6 mm, a tiny bit thicker than my Schott 644.
Out of the box the leather is very stiff and it really takes a while for the creases to form at the arms...
What really did it for me was riding my bike in the rain while wearing it, this is in my opinion the best way to break in a jacket!
The construction is as good as it gets, all the stitching is exactly as it should be, all the trimmed edges are hidden or so smooth you don't see them.
One detail i really like is the front/top sleeve seam, it starts as a flat seam for an inch and then switches to a rolled seam, meaning that you don't have the double layer of leather you would have it the seam was a rolled seam from the edge! Meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but to me it shows attention to detail!
All the zippers are real nice and glide smoothly.
Fit wise, i am happy with the result, they did exactly what i wanted, without a problem.
In the end, my jacket is labelled as a size 42 and here are the measurements (measured flat):
Shoulder to shoulder: 20"
Pit to pit: 23,5"
Bottom hem: 19.5"
Back length: 26"
Sleeve length: 26"
Would i change anything?
Not really, the only thing i sometimes wish for is a wind flap on the main zipper!
Riding with it at speed can be troublesome if it is cold outside, but then it wouldn't look as clean when worn open, which would be a shame.
Which is why i plan on ordering a Cyclone No 441 at some point in the future.
Also, i am not a huge fan of the sleeve lining, which is a rough scratchy synthetic lining.
It looks very hard wearing but is not the most comfortable, it is doing it's job though and i can easily live with it.
Would i recommend them?
Without a doubt! Everybody at the store was very nice and helpful, the whole experience was painless and the result was great.
Most importantly, they allowed me to change the patterns to suite my physique, which other manufacturers refused to do!
One thing that might be worth mentioning, i did ask them to omit the chest patch with Lewis Leathers written on it, i am not a big fan of in your face branding.
Now the pictures, excuse the quantity, but better to many than not enough!
The lining is cotton with a synthetic inner layer, it is actually pretty warm and i have worn it in freezing conditions with a jumper without being cold.
Detail of the buckles, they are a great design, they have not come undone once!
The sleeve seam i mentioned, as you can see, it starts as a flat seam and after an inch changes to a rolled seam, cleaner look!
I ordered this Jacket a bit before Christmas 2012 and received it the 7th of January, so it is pretty much ten months old.
Lewis Leathers originally quoted me a 6 weeks waiting time, it ended up being a little over 3 weeks.
The jacket wasn't worn on a daily basis as i have a few, but was not babied, and was used to ride (with a Knox armored shirt underneath).
Let me start by saying that i have a pretty weird frame, I am very V shaped, which means that usually pretty much nothing of the rack suits me!
I am 6'2, 176lbs, with a 32" waist 42" chest and 20" shoulders... Basically anything that fits me in the shoulders is a baggy mess at the waist.
If it fits me at the waist i usually cant move my arms and the sleeves reach my elbows.
This was not a problem for Lewis Leathers, they just made a new pattern for me, at no extra charge and with a smile.
I was able to go to the store and try things, get measured, which really helped.
Now, the jacket!
In my opinion the leather is really nice! Yes, it is not the sacred FQHH that every body obsesses about, but it is one of the nicer cow hide i have seen.
It has a nice sheen to it without being on of those horrible plastic looking shiny leathers. It is very smooth, with no scaring or marks.
The thickness is about 1.6 mm, a tiny bit thicker than my Schott 644.
Out of the box the leather is very stiff and it really takes a while for the creases to form at the arms...
What really did it for me was riding my bike in the rain while wearing it, this is in my opinion the best way to break in a jacket!
The construction is as good as it gets, all the stitching is exactly as it should be, all the trimmed edges are hidden or so smooth you don't see them.
One detail i really like is the front/top sleeve seam, it starts as a flat seam for an inch and then switches to a rolled seam, meaning that you don't have the double layer of leather you would have it the seam was a rolled seam from the edge! Meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but to me it shows attention to detail!
All the zippers are real nice and glide smoothly.
Fit wise, i am happy with the result, they did exactly what i wanted, without a problem.
In the end, my jacket is labelled as a size 42 and here are the measurements (measured flat):
Shoulder to shoulder: 20"
Pit to pit: 23,5"
Bottom hem: 19.5"
Back length: 26"
Sleeve length: 26"
Would i change anything?
Not really, the only thing i sometimes wish for is a wind flap on the main zipper!
Riding with it at speed can be troublesome if it is cold outside, but then it wouldn't look as clean when worn open, which would be a shame.
Which is why i plan on ordering a Cyclone No 441 at some point in the future.
Also, i am not a huge fan of the sleeve lining, which is a rough scratchy synthetic lining.
It looks very hard wearing but is not the most comfortable, it is doing it's job though and i can easily live with it.
Would i recommend them?
Without a doubt! Everybody at the store was very nice and helpful, the whole experience was painless and the result was great.
Most importantly, they allowed me to change the patterns to suite my physique, which other manufacturers refused to do!
One thing that might be worth mentioning, i did ask them to omit the chest patch with Lewis Leathers written on it, i am not a big fan of in your face branding.
Now the pictures, excuse the quantity, but better to many than not enough!
The lining is cotton with a synthetic inner layer, it is actually pretty warm and i have worn it in freezing conditions with a jumper without being cold.
Detail of the buckles, they are a great design, they have not come undone once!
The sleeve seam i mentioned, as you can see, it starts as a flat seam and after an inch changes to a rolled seam, cleaner look!
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