Scandalous!: Nylon Better than Leather for Wearing?

[lkalliance]

In all seriousness, I'm really starting to... need one of those again. It's cold, it's rainy and leather jackets just take too long to dry.

I thought I'd read that goatskin leather is virtually waterproof. Does that make a difference?

 

[ButteMT61]

I thought I'd read that goatskin leather is virtually waterproof. Does that make a difference?

If you want to be dry, I suppose it would...

 

[Monitor]

I thought I'd read that goatskin leather is virtually waterproof. Does that make a difference?

None of mine weren't. They'd soak up water the same as any other leather. I mean, it takes a while but it happens. Leather with coating is more resistant to water. The jacket that I have from a German maker, Harro, never once got truly soaked and Langlitz is good in that regard but leather just isn't fully waterproof. Right now the Schott CR is hanging in the living room, drying and that jacket has a serious coating.

 

[bn1966]

whatever. braggart

Oh yes! When you get to a 'Level Seven' jacket wearer, these wonderful options might be available to you too Butte, one day you might aspire to heights of jacket wearing excellence (you never know).

At present there is a cursed jacket that you need to move on before you can self-actualize

 

[Sloan1874]

It takes some serious rain to get an CXL jacket soaked through. Just look at the sustained effort it takes to get hot water treatment to work.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I don't wear leather much these days even though I've owned many dozens of leather jackets. I love the idea of them more than the wearing - especially here where they are pretty much unnecessary. I don't generally go out in the rain so waterproofing isn't something I even consider.

Nylon however makes a lot swishing sounds when worn and the MA-1, though nice, makes me look slightly like a neo-Nazi, skin-head since I am six feet two with a buzz cut. I got yelled at by someone in a train about this last year.

Never get that when I'm wearing Harris tweed or a Dickies Eisenhower jacket, my new favorites.

 

[navetsea]

but but, leather jacket when not on you, they also serve as room decorations... I can't say the same about fabric jackets

 

[Bern1]

Fun! Yes nylon makes that swish sound but it has its place. I still have every Patagonia jacket I have ever bought. But to me they are strictly utilitarian. I wear them when I am working on my car or outside on the house. As far as looking cool... not so much. At least not the ones I own anyway!

 

[CBI]

here's the deal for me also, where I live in the mid-south, it seems that practically NO ONE wears jackets ...........period................until it gets really cold. Light jacket weather, you see VERY few jacket wearers around here. I mean ANY type pf jacket. So, jackets for coolish temps don't get worn by the general public in these parts. It's weird but I notice this. Wearing anything like an A-2 or G-1 just looks strange when everyone around is wearing shirts (frequently short sleeve) or maybe a fleece pullover (at the most) in cold weather. It takes the weather to get down to maybe 40 degrees before the jackets come out. At that point, it's the cloth stuff for me! Seen this here for 20 years! Only exceptions are folks doing outdoorsy stuff.

 

[ton312]

I very much love to hate summer and winter equally for very different reasons. Chicago gives many opportunities for both. I love drinking coffee on my front porch at 5AM in sandals and a tee-shirt and I equally love burying myself under heavy leather and shoveling snow. That first warm spring breeze and that first biting cold rain...both send happy feels my way. Can't imagine life any other way.

 

[Stearmen]

View attachment 65076 Nah, like I've said, I started picking up jackets of the non-leather variety too and enjoy them a lot. LA is a tough place to collect leather jackets. This time of year you have to cram in wearing them as it will be 90-100 before you know it.
No sense being miserable - there are great jackets that didn't come from killing cute little animals...
I ordered one of these CockpitUSA "Sun Faded MA-1's"

How do you like the jacket? I almost pulled the trigger on one when they were on sale.

 

[bn1966]

Going to try Cockpit for an MA-1 later in the year hopefully, hearing good things about their USA made MA-1. It's not cheap (especially getting it to the UK) but the review TXFlyGuy gave makes me think the quality & fit could be worth the £££££....

Would be good to get Buttes thoughts on his 'Sun Faded ' version when it arrives.

I'm finding the N-2B a useful companion currently, my 90's N-2B is light & warm given the dry cold conditions last couple of days. The split hood means I can unzip it for driving; N-2 style jackets were a recent fashion fad over here for Girls but that seems on the wane. Might dig my heavy 70's wool interlined version out for walking the dogs today.

For the summer I've found an old L-2B to be the perfect companion when the sun starts to dip, that flight jacket look without the warmth of its more bulky relative. An A-1 covers the days where leathers wanted, mine feels like a leather cardigan (Cape) & is mainly worn un-done.

 

[bn1966]

Back from walking the dogs, 70's N-2B

(Wife laughed when a School Girl walked past us wearing the fashion parka equivalent)

 

[ButteMT61]

How do you like the jacket? I almost pulled the trigger on one when they were on sale.

Haven't got it yet...

 

[Siggmund]

Much as I love them, it's not the same sense of 'ownership' that you get from an A-2 or whatever. Also, there's not the same sense of craftmanship going into them. You know a Good Wear or an Aero has had serious work by an individual at every step of the way, every time.

Wine vs grape juice, imho. That's why leather works for me, aesthetically, if not practically.

 

[Stearmen]

Haven't got it yet...

Looking forward to your review!

 

[BobJ]

I know that nylon and other modern synthetic fabrics are practical, but leather gains character as it ages and records the life you live. Leather jackets get BETTER with time. Nylon and other synthetics start out the best they will ever be, and just go downhill from there.

There's something warm and vintage about wool, but doesn't gain character like leather, either.

That said, there's place for all three.

I, personally, don't like synthetics and have only leather and wool.

 

[bn1966]

There's at least a couple of old 'salty' looking nylon pieces (MA-1 & N-2B) that have been around the block a bit but remain firm favourites. I prefer that look on them as opposed to 'new'.

Maintenance wise, some of the nylons in regular use do see the dry cleaners and occasional knit replacement...

 

[Stand By]

BobJ beat me to my comment which is that, I agree (with him) in that a fabric jacket (as nice as they undoubtedly are) will look shabbier as the years (decades) go by. Think of a good leather jacket after a decade; it's just gotten warmed up in its characterization. If it has wool shearling, it's darkened and packed down and developed a nice nap nicely too and looks vintage all by itself - and the jacket will just keep going into the next decade ... and as Sloan says, one feels more of an attachment to them. I think it's partly because leather moulds to one's own body in a unique way over time with its folds, drapes and scuffs - and as individuals, the jackets become personalized to each of us in the process. That simply doesn't happen with fabric. And I know that my L2-A (cool as it is) will look like like every other person's L2-A out there around the world.
Don't get me wrong - there's a place for nylon jackets for fans like us around here and I adore my Buzz L2-A - but I don't wear it much as the summers are invariably too warm and long for the need for any jacket, so mine still looks good after the years I've had it. But for those cool morning dog walks and late evenings, it's a winner. It's amazing how it can feel cool enough for those times, and yet still warm enough to take the edge off any chill in the air ...
But the jackets that get all the wear in my wardrobe are my ELC Irvin, RW B-3 and RW B-6 and my C-3s ... they're all in and out of my closet like players on a hockey bench ... and they all only look better as the years go by.
Sadly I think it's my Aero ANJ-3 that gets worn the least as the spring and autumn months are so short and that's a shame as I love it too.
If I lived in a more temperate climate (like back the UK) I could see me having an A2 of a different colour/hide as well as they'd both be worn a lot more (and I would no longer need all the shearling I have!) ... and if it came down to a harsh choice between an A2 (or similar) and a nylon L-2 (or similar) in Europe, I'd opt for the leather variant for practical reasons (they perform better in the wet IMO) and for their aesthetic when combined with their longevity.

 

[ButteMT61]

Agree on the wear on materials vs leather, however...N-1's look better, IMO, when they have some of a salty look to them. That's why I'll never wash or dry clean mine...