New Aerial Star A2, Incredible Steerhide, Great Cut, I Love It!

[tropicalbob]

Yes, but they've been very up-front about that since they started, and it's how they keep prices down. To me, it's no different than when Sears and Montgomery Ward sold leather jackets as work-wear.

 

[Azog]

When I was in communication with Aerial Star after they first started up Chris was very open to the size adjustments I was requesting. In the end I decided to wait and see rather than being an early adopter.

 

[nick123]

When I communicated with Chris, he really was adamant that in the future he wanted to make standard and maybe talls only. That's his wish and it's to be respected. Maybe I was lucky in that I ordered early enough to be able to specify custom length, but I wouldn't badger him now with his new policy in place if I was to order again.

 

[Dagenham Dave]

When I communicated with Chris, he really was adamant that in the future he wanted to make standard and maybe talls only. That's his wish and it's to be respected. Maybe I was lucky in that I ordered early enough to be able to specify custom length, but I wouldn't badger him now with his new policy in place if I was to order again.

I respect it. I'm just disappointed because the A-2 with Slash Pockets is so cool!

 

[nick123]

I respect it. I'm just disappointed because the A-2 with Slash Pockets is so cool!

The 27"+ sleeve club must always suffer. Welcome aboard!

 

[Dagenham Dave]

The 27"+ sleeve club must always suffer. Welcome aboard!

Thanks!

 

[tropicalbob]

I guess having a 27" sleeve is like having a 7 7/8 size head: you do feel discriminated against. Take a gander some time at the Ebay hat offerings in that size.

 

[Brettafett]

I guess he is trying to keeps costs low, as he has his jackets made-up. More fiddling, more $...
Have you tried Steve McColgan's jackets? (SM Wholesale) Pretty sharp A-2 and he will certainly add or subtract whatever you want.

 

[handymike]

I wonder if he's still kicking around the idea of Half-belt and Moto styles.

 

[Dagenham Dave]

I guess he is trying to keeps costs low, as he has his jackets made-up. More fiddling, more $...
Have you tried Steve McColgan's jackets? (SM Wholesale) Pretty sharp A-2 and he will certainly add or subtract whatever you want.

Does he do an A-2 with slash pockets?

 

[Azog]

US Authentic do custom work and use horsehide. I've heard their standard pattern has long arms too.

 

[Fanch]

Gibson & Barnes also do Tall sizes (Short, Regular, Tall) but must keep in mind the way their jackets are labeled regarding sizing. Eg. my G&B Type A-2 Mark 43 that is labeled as a size 40 (Tall) fits a bit bigger than my Aero Bronco A-2. It's not a sizing issue but a labeling issue.

Below are a couple of pics of a G&B Type A-2 Mark 43 labeled as a size 42 (Tall) that I sent back for a size 40 (Tall).





Below is a pic of the G&B Type A-2 Mark 43 labeled as a size 40 (Tall) that fits much better than a 42. Also see the smile on my face with the size 40 and frown with the size 42.


Below is my Aero Bronco A-2 labeled as a size 44. Back length of 27" and sleeve length of 27" are the same for my G&B size 40 and my Aero size 44. However, the pit to pit is 24.5" for my G&B size 40 but 23.5" for my Aero size 44. I am pretty certain that a G&B Type A-2 Mark 43 labeled as a size 38 (Tall) would fit exactly the same as my Aero Bronco A-2 labeled as a size 44.


I enjoy wearing both jackets but would not want an Aero Bronco A-2 any smaller, nor would I want a G&B any larger that what I have. I hope that you can see that the G&B "historic" A-2 jackets are not actually bigger than the Aero A-2 but just labeled bigger.

 

[tropicalbob]

FWIW, I was just looking at the AL half-belt in size 38 that's posted on their sales page. Beautiful jacket in black goat, but with 29" sleeves! Perhaps some of our simian brothers might be interested. It's going for 350 pounds.

 

[Sloan1874]

The Bronco's a perfect fit. Great colour too.

 

[zhz]

The Bronco looks really good.

 

[zhz]

I am interesting to see how does this steerhide aging. Any close pictures?

 

[nick123]

The Aerial Star steerhide is rather grainy/veiny/interesting out of the box. I don't think it has a different shade undercoat so the color will remain the same, but it has a good degree of character, and the color will change depending on the lighting it's in.

 

[Dagenham Dave]

Below is a pic of the G&B Type A-2 Mark 43 labeled as a size 40 (Tall) that fits much better than a 42.


Below is my Aero Bronco A-2 labeled as a size 44. Back length of 27" and sleeve length of 27" are the same for my G&B size 40 and my Aero size 44. However, the pit to pit is 24.5" for my G&B size 40 but 23.5" for my Aero size 44.

I think both jackets look great Fanch. I think the Aero one looks better on your shoulders - less squared off, which I like.

What leather and colour is the Aero Bronco A-2?

 

[Fanch]

The Aero Bronco A-2 is russet horsehide. BTW if I were not currently buried in jackets already, I would jump on an Aerial Star with slash pockets in either a 42 or 44 tall size. Looking at Aerial Star's measurments, it appears that my G&B size 40T would more or less equate to an Aerial Star 44 (tall), and my Aero size 44 (tall) to an Aerial Star size 42 (tall).

 

[Dagenham Dave]

The Aero Bronco A-2 is russet horsehide. BTW if I were not currently buried in jackets already, I would jump on an Aerial Star with slash pockets in either a 42 or 44 tall size. Looking at Aerial Star's measurments, it appears that my G&B size 40T would more or less equate to an Aerial Star 44 (tall), and my Aero size 44 (tall) to an Aerial Star size 42 (tall).

Russet Jerky mid-weight HH?

BTW if I were not currently buried in jackets already, I would jump on an Aerial Star with slash pockets in either a 42 or 44 tall size. Looking at Aerial Star's measurments, it appears that my G&B size 40T would more or less equate to an Aerial Star 44 (tall), and my Aero size 44 (tall) to an Aerial Star size 42 (tall).

And so would I if I could get a 44 regular with 44 tall arms.