'Maine' horsehide

[Marc mndt]

I was browsing Aero's sale page when I came across this jacket. I like the style and the leather also looks nice. Aero calls it midweight Maine horsehide. I've tried to Google it but I can't find anything on Maine horsehide. First I thought of Tony's highwaymane but I don't see any manes on this jacket. Does anybody have an idea what kind of hide this is? CXL, vegetable tanned? Is it stiff or playable? Will it soak up water?

 

[hondurasdave47]

I wonder if this is similar to Horween's Vermont Horsehide? Same part of the country?

 

[Guppy]

Ask Aero. They would know.

 

[Marc mndt]

Ask Aero. They would know.

I thought about that but I don't want to bother them unless I'm thinking of buying the jacket. Unfortunately the p2p is .5 short. On the other hand, I once bought a jacket from their sales page which was supposed to have a p2p measure of 22.5, turned out to be 23.75.

Know what, I'll just send them an email

 

[Marc mndt]

I just heard back from Aero. I asked them about this particular hide and about the way they actually measure p2p (some time ago I bought a jacket from their sales page and the p2p measurement was completely off. Back then when I asked Aero about the completely off p2p measurement they simply replied: you're welcome to send the jacket back, no shipping costs will be refunded)

Me:
1) could your tell me a bit more about the 'Maine' hide? Is it chrome tanned, is it vegetable tanned? How is this hide different from your regular CXFQHH or Vicenza?

Aero:
We’re actually not 100% sure ourselves as this was a sample batch from way back in 1999. We believe it’s a Horween mix of Chrome and Veg Tanned. Our founder Ken made one A-2 from it back then and there’s a pic attached taken 14 years later after some really hard wear/mistreating and it’s still in great condition with some lovely patina. We also made a Dustbowl for Ken from it in 2012 (pic attached). Needless to say he loves the leather so that should give you an idea of it’s quality. He’s said the jacket your looking at is actually pretty heavily underpriced due to putting in a Blue Label in error (should have been standard one). Sorry couldn’t give you more specific information on the leather’s make up though.

Me
2) How did you measure the p2p? Last year I bought one of your sale jackets which had a specified p2p measure of 22.5. It turned out to be too big. I measured 23.75 on the jacket. Maybe I didn't measure it the correct way? (I added a photo of of the jacket, how I measured and a screenshot from the listing on their sales page back then)

Aero:
I’ve double checked P2P measurement on this one and it’s sitting just between 21.5” and 21.75”. We just lie jacket flat on floor (without stretching), place arms up and measure between where arms meet the body on both sides of jacket. No your measurement seems correct there so I’m very sorry for the hassle you had there. I think we had a new start around this time and some measurements on sale jackets around this time we’re a bit off but this has since been rectified. Sometimes measurements can be ¼ to ½ inch out depending on person measuring/how the jacket is lying/rounding up or down but over an inch is way out.

................................................................................

First of all, I was completely amazed by Aero's response (in a positive way). Not only did they go to great lengths to provide extra information on the hide (they even included photo's of jackets made form the same hide!). They also apologized for not getting the measurements right on the sales jacket I bought some time ago. Shout out to Aero's customer service!

About the jacket, I usually wear my jackets tight with a 22' p2p. Therefore this one will probably be borderline small. But after seeing the above photo's I couldn't resist, I just had to try. I just bought a new Aero

 

[handymike]

That Dustbowl looks amazing! I wish my Cxl would get like that, but here in California it might take 30 years.

*****
Oh geez- this photo of my old Seven popped up in another thread...


This jacket was only a year old, but had some serious HWT....now I’m thinking of re-creating this.... why did you post that pic @Marc mndt ?!?

 

[Hh121]

I always put Aero as NO.1 in terms of customer service.

I asked same question to them 2 years ago when I found out my Highwayman measurements slightly smaller than they listed.

Here is their answer, seems like they changed their way of measuring:

"
Normally we lay out flat, make sure there is no creases in the leather and press the tape measure flat against the jacket (although not to the point you’re stretching the leather artificially).


Normally there might be a tolerance of 0.25 inch in measuring from person to person, but there shouldn’t be too much of a difference.

With the sleeves, try flattening out and ensuring the tape measure is pressed completely against the shoulder seam.
"

 

[Guppy]

Looks like really nice stuff. Please post the sale page photos and fit pics when you get it.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Nice catch there Marc! I do think you'll be happy with it!
You have a rare jacket coming along there...

 

[Marc mndt]

Nice catch there Marc! I do think you'll be happy with it!
You have a rare jacket coming along there...

I'm pretty certain I'll be happy with it, if it fits. Size 38 feels totally wrong, I usually wear 42, but the numbers are pretty close. Aero's sizing is all over the place. I think it comes down to the height of the armholes and the suppleness of the leather.

 

[Monitor]

Beautiful leather!!!

But yeah, even though they're sometimes slow to reply, Aero CS is great and they're serious maker that stands by their product, which ultimately is consistently great.

 

[Jin431]

I just heard back from Aero. I asked them about this particular hide and about the way they actually measure p2p (some time ago I bought a jacket from their sales page and the p2p measurement was completely off. Back then when I asked Aero about the completely off p2p measurement they simply replied: you're welcome to send the jacket back, no shipping costs will be refunded)

Me:
1) could your tell me a bit more about the 'Maine' hide? Is it chrome tanned, is it vegetable tanned? How is this hide different from your regular CXFQHH or Vicenza?

Aero:
We’re actually not 100% sure ourselves as this was a sample batch from way back in 1999. We believe it’s a Horween mix of Chrome and Veg Tanned. Our founder Ken made one A-2 from it back then and there’s a pic attached taken 14 years later after some really hard wear/mistreating and it’s still in great condition with some lovely patina. We also made a Dustbowl for Ken from it in 2012 (pic attached). Needless to say he loves the leather so that should give you an idea of it’s quality. He’s said the jacket your looking at is actually pretty heavily underpriced due to putting in a Blue Label in error (should have been standard one). Sorry couldn’t give you more specific information on the leather’s make up though.
View attachment 276552
View attachment 276551

Me
2) How did you measure the p2p? Last year I bought one of your sale jackets which had a specified p2p measure of 22.5. It turned out to be too big. I measured 23.75 on the jacket. Maybe I didn't measure it the correct way? (I added a photo of of the jacket, how I measured and a screenshot from the listing on their sales page back then)

Aero:
I’ve double checked P2P measurement on this one and it’s sitting just between 21.5” and 21.75”. We just lie jacket flat on floor (without stretching), place arms up and measure between where arms meet the body on both sides of jacket. No your measurement seems correct there so I’m very sorry for the hassle you had there. I think we had a new start around this time and some measurements on sale jackets around this time we’re a bit off but this has since been rectified. Sometimes measurements can be ¼ to ½ inch out depending on person measuring/how the jacket is lying/rounding up or down but over an inch is way out.

................................................................................

First of all, I was completely amazed by Aero's response (in a positive way). Not only did they go to great lengths to provide extra information on the hide (they even included photo's of jackets made form the same hide!). They also apologized for not getting the measurements right on the sales jacket I bought some time ago. Shout out to Aero's customer service!

About the jacket, I usually wear my jackets tight with a 22' p2p. Therefore this one will probably be borderline small. But after seeing the above photo's I couldn't resist, I just had to try. I just bought a new Aero

Congrats on a new jacket! It's going to be a looker especially years from now! Great purchase

 

[Robbie79]

Great find Marc! I hope it fits you well and I agree that Aero sizing can be strange.

 

[jonbuilder]

hope the fi works out for you that hide appears to age nicely

 

[Imuricecreamman]

Really cool take on a halfbelt. Seems like a great leather for that particular design.

 

[Marc mndt]

Really cool take on a halfbelt. Seems like a great leather for that particular design.

Your Tabacco Badalassi kind of inspired me, it looks so cool. Is yours a 30s slim fit as well? How are the arm holes, are they high?

 

[Imuricecreamman]

Your Tabacco Badalassi kind of inspired me, it looks so cool. Is yours a 30s slim fit as well? How are the arm holes, are they high?

Thanks, man. Yes, mine is the slim '30's as well. I ordered mine slightly oversized so I would be able to layer underneath it so the armholes are really comfortable even when layering. So I wouldn't be to worried unless it is very undersized on you.

 

[Marc mndt]

Bad news. Aero was about to ship the jacket when they noticed there was a small hole under the sleeve. They patched it up and offered a small discount, which I thought was very fair. Alternatively I could decide to cancel the order, which I decided to do.

Looks like they did a good job patching it, but I know I'm just too much of a perfectionist to be able to enjoy the jacket knowing that there's a hole.

On the bright side, getting a refund means I can put the money into a new full custom project, which I decided to do