My new Aero Halfbelt Deluxe...

[deluxestyling]

Your hands will definitely feel the items in the cargo pockets, especially if they're something bulky. They will be in the way, but not impossible to still put your hands in the handwarmer pockets.

Given the depth of the cargo pockets I think they are more suitable for long-ish & flat items like documents, etc. A mobile phone would not be a problem, but it'll be difficult to take it out of the deep cargo pocket while wearing the jacket.

Thanks for the follow up. Thought whatever you put in the cargo pockets would kinda get in the way but never noticed how deep they are. I guess for small items like keys or a phone the depth would be a problem and make it a little tricky to get them out but they're still handy pockets though.

Looks great and well worth the wait.

 

[HighandDry]

Great looking jacket!

In terms of hides, I have a Cheyenne in mid-weight HH in seal jerky and a black FQHH halfbelt. Although the mid-weight was softer to begin with, it seems it takes much longer to break in. The FQHH is only a month old and now is softer than the mid-weight and shows much more break in. In fact, it's actually much more comfortable than the mid-weight. My mid-weight still has that shiny, pleather look. Did you find your mid-weight to take longer to break in?

 

[blethook]

I find it hard to believe that FQHH can become softer & more supple than the MW HH. I have a FQHH vintage brown jacket (Route 66) which is still breaking in. It doesn't have the shine to start with, so hard to say. Yes, it's breaking in nicely, but what I found with FQHH is that it tends to become hard, especially in the cold, or if it hasn't been worn for a while.

On the other hand the MW HH (seal, jerky) A-2 is broken in already: It drapes just like regular fabric after a couple of years - something that I know I'll never get with the FQHH. What I especially like about the MW jerky seal is the red undertone which becomes more pronounced with wear.

Thanks

 

[Edward]

Blethook, it seems counter intuitive to me too, though I wouldn't rule anything out when you're dealing with an organic material that will inevitably by its very nature have some variance in its characteristics. As I understand it, the FQHH refers to the area of the animal from which the hide has been taken, as opposed to the weight of the particular piece of hide itself.

 

[Dav]

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the first H in FQHH stand for heavy as I thought horsehide was one word, at least that's how it seems to read on my jacket label?

 

[blethook]

I think FQHH stands for Front Quarter Heavyweight Horsehide...but I may be wrong.

I have read somewhere in this forum that FQHH does get stiffer/less flexible when exposed to cold weather. This is inline with my own experience with my FQHH Route 66, but not my mid-weight jerky seal A-2. The A-2 drapes just like cloth now, something I can't see happening to my Route 66.

 

[HighandDry]

Funny, my mid-weight still feels odd. It's soft, but doesn't drape nicely. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it seems to want to spring straight.

My FQHH is stiff in the cold, but after about 5 minutes, it just drapes and forms to my body. It really feels like an older coat after only a month.

I suspect that some of the difference is just variations of the same hide. My mid-weight is probably a little heavier than yours and my FQHH is a little lighter than yours.

 

[Edward]

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the first H in FQHH stand for heavy as I thought horsehide was one word, at least that's how it seems to read on my jacket label?

I could well be wrong - my understanding was that it referred 'HorseHide' rather than 'Heavy Horsehide'.

Aero don't seem to use the FQHH abbriviation themselves, but if you look here, their site refers to both "Heavy Front Quarter Horsehide" and "Front Quarter Horsehide", which suggests to me that different weights are available from the Front Quarter. [huh]:

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/products.php?cat=classicleather

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I could well be wrong - my understanding was that it referred 'HorseHide' rather than 'Heavy Horsehide'.

Aero don't seem to use the FQHH abbriviation themselves, but if you look here, their site refers to both "Heavy Front Quarter Horsehide" and "Front Quarter Horsehide", which suggests to me that different weights are available from the Front Quarter. [huh]:

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/products.php?cat=classicleather

Aero has their regular heavy FQHH (Front Quarter Horse Hide)also sometimes just called Front Quarter Horse Hide...but also their 'Vintage' FQHH which is a more relaxed grainy slightly lighter weight hide as well as their midweight and oilpull horsehides.
HD

 

[Kenal0]

Funny, my mid-weight still feels odd. It's soft, but doesn't drape nicely. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it seems to want to spring straight.

My FQHH is stiff in the cold, but after about 5 minutes, it just drapes and forms to my body. It really feels like an older coat after only a month.

I suspect that some of the difference is just variations of the same hide. My mid-weight is probably a little heavier than yours and my FQHH is a little lighter than yours.

I have the same experience. I have 3 heavy horsehide jackets and they seem to drape nicely. I have a mid weight horsehide Highwayman that does not seem to lay as nicely. I think they are tanned differently and the mid weight does need more wear time to break in a bit more. It feels more like my Lostworlds Easy Ryder.

Kenal0
Kenal0

 

[Edward]

Aero has their regular heavy FQHH (Front Quarter Horse Hide)also sometimes just called Front Quarter Horse Hide...but also their 'Vintage' FQHH which is a more relaxed grainy slightly lighter weight hide as well as their midweight and oilpull horsehides.
HD

AHH!!! That would explain it. Yes, I've received samples of both before now (actually when I was planning my Bootlegger). So is the 'vintage hide' predistressed by Aero, or is it simply a different hide to begin with? I always thought the former, but I don't recall for sure where I picked that up.

 

[mrc]

Beautiful jacket, perfect fit! Post up some photos after you've broken it in--I'd love to see how this looks in a few months.

 

[nicholasb]

That is looking good. Love the seal colour. I wouldn't have thought mid-weight would be a lot lighter then the FQHH.

 

[blethook]

I weighed both jackets (the jerky seal MW HH halfbelt deluxe & the vintage brown FQHH Route 66) and it turns out the Route 66 is heavier by about 150 grams Mind you my Route 66 is simpler in design (less hide being used) & has a lighter lining material, as well. So, all in all the vintage brown FQHH is heavier, though probably not by much...10-20% maybe?

I will definitely post pics of both jackets after they're broken in...

 

[blethook]

After almost two months of wear...

Well folks,

I was going to wait a bit longer before posting some more pictures but it seems like the weather is getting too warm for my Deluxe HB.

So, I thought I would just post some pics of the jacket after only (less than) two months of wear.

As you can see beautiful grains are developing in some areas, including the seal colour rubbing off in the usual high-wear areas...

I'm glad I went with the seal jerky (MW HH) as it's wearing beautifully, IMO.

It's not yet fully broken in... I suspect another season's wear should do it

 

[Seawolf]

Beautiful Jacket. Looks great already. Did you get it lined with Alpaca? You said you're putting it away for the summer, so I'm curious what it's lined with. One of the things I'm struggling with for my Long Halfbelt design is the lining. I can't decide how warm I want the jacket to be.

Thanks!
Seawolf

 

[Dav]

Beautiful blethook, the horsehide so comes to life even after only a few months wear.
You're right about the heat, been far to warm for leather jackets round these parts in the last few days.

 

[Windward]

I've got one of my Windward's also in jerky seal horse - its my summer jacket lined with satin - and looks very very similiar to yours. Its just fantastic how the jerky seal developed character/grain after a short time of wear...good choice.
Windward

 

[blethook]

The lining (on the body & sleeves) is wool tartan, but it's around 20C here the last few days...

I never have an Aero jacket with Alpaca lining but I heard it's quite warm (& also itchy). Personally, I wouldn't wear leather in the summer... An unlined denim jacket, if necessary, would be more than enough here.

To be a serious winter jacket I imagine you'd want a longer jacket (like the long half jacket/hercules) with storm cuffs & something warm for the lining (e.g., Alpaca). As I understand it, Alpaca is rather thick so probably it'll affect the sizing/fit of the jacket.

Alternatively, you can plan to wear a few layers underneath the jacket so the jacket itself won't have to have a warm/thick lining.

My HB Deluxe is rather fitted so I can't put on too many layers underneath. It's not intended to be a serious winter jacket (I have my Barnstormer & USN N1 deck jackets for that).

Have fun designing your jacket

Beautiful Jacket. Looks great already. Did you get it lined with Alpaca? You said you're putting it away for the summer, so I'm curious what it's lined with. One of the things I'm struggling with for my Long Halfbelt design is the lining. I can't decide how warm I want the jacket to be.

Thanks!
Seawolf

 

[Ian]

I've just ordered a Halfbelt deluxe in HFQHH....As always, I'm paranoid about the front length being too short....When you zip it up and lie it flat, what's the length difference?

Ian