Torn between two... Help me decide!

[Tikimel1]

Hi! I am new around here and looking for guidance on a new jacket. I have narrowed it down to the Schott 626vn and the Schott 519. I have everything I need for riding, so this is a more daily, non-armor piece.
Ideally, I want soft but strong… with minimal break in time. I’m a little wary of the lining in the 519 and it being too hot come the fall.

If you had to choose between the 626vn and the 519, which would you choose?

 

[Carlos840]

The correct TFL move would be to get both, to help you decide which one to keep when you tried them on, but then realize you like them both as much and keep them both.

 

[jonesy86]

Yep!

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

I owned 519, tried on 626vn. 519 is longer, nice leather but is shiny and more pebbled. Didn't like how 626vn felt at all.

TBH, go for 613sh. It has the shine of 519 and pretty much same cut but not as long. Horsehide will develop really nice. Check out the thread on here, it has a lot of info.

 

[Aloysius]

The 519 is an alpha-sized version of the 613S, with a waxed lightweight cowhide (and lightweight quilted lining) in place of the stiff steer/horse of the 613S. The 613S is essentially a revival of the 60s/70s Perfecto pattern. It's trim, but V-shaped.

The 626 is slim, but in the sense of a slim tube, not the Perfecto shape. Many models of it are also extremely long. The leather is fairly boring.

Between the two you lay out, I'd always go with the 519, even though I have an issue with it (the belt snap; I know this is a feature on Schott's 'premium' jackets and that it is practical, but I still hate the look of it).

 

[Bfd70]

519. 626 seems to “fashiony” to me.

 

[dannyk]

If youre 100% set on these two then its the 519 all day. If I could help persuade as someone above already has go for one of the 613-618 variants. The 618 is cut more like the one stars of the past, minus the actual stars. So I bought a 618hh and then bought stars and put them on myself. The 613s 613sh or p613s are very very nice and would take any of these options over the 519. Which inst to judge your choices or budget if thats the case. Its just if I were getting a Schott I would always go with a variation of what makes Schott Schott which are the 613 and 618.

 

[Aloysius]

If youre 100% set on these two then its the 519 all day. If I could help persuade as someone above already has go for one of the 613-618 variants. The 618 is cut more like the one stars of the past, minus the actual stars. So I bought a 618hh and then bought stars and put them on myself. The 613s 613sh or p613s are very very nice and would take any of these options over the 519. Which inst to judge your choices or budget if thats the case. Its just if I were getting a Schott I would always go with a variation of what makes Schott Schott which are the 613 and 618.

What you say is true for the 626 and an older model of 519, but not the current iteration of 519. The current one is the same pattern as the 613S. It just has a lighter hide/lining.

 

[dannyk]

What you say is true for the 626 and an older model of 519, but not the current iteration of 519. The current one is the same pattern as the 613S. It just has a lighter hide/lining.

Yes and I don’t like that haha. Personally again, no offense to the poster at all…just some cooler and better in my opinion options out there. I think you and I have seen have similar tastes.

 

[Kenan]

Things to consider with the 613S is that it's very narrow in the chest and quite long in the arms and body. I owned one and that pattern didn't really feel very like it was very thought through. Also it's quite heavy 3.5 oz steerhide, so it's a process to break in.

 

[dannyk]

Things to consider with the 613S is that it's very narrow in the chest and quite long in the arms and body. I owned one and that pattern didn't really feel very like it was very thought through. Also it's quite heavy 3.5 oz steerhide, so it's a process to break in.

I had the 613sh for a while and I regret to this day I sold it......it was definitely the thickest house horsehide they offer. 3.5oz throughout but and heavier than regualr 613 but the leather was almost spongey so light and drapes, and creases and rolls amazingly. Its not cxl or shinki but its good. Maybe the 613sh hide just fits and sits differently than the 613s or maybe I just have a body type it works with because I had no issues with the fit and cut of it at all. Just as always I end up selling or trading everything because I want "perfect" but it doesnt exist and then I miss what I had.

 

[Kenan]

I had the 613sh for a while and I regret to this day I sold it......it was definitely the thickest house horsehide they offer. 3.5oz throughout but and heavier than regualr 613 but the leather was almost spongey so light and drapes, and creases and rolls amazingly. Its not cxl or shinki but its good. Maybe the 613sh hide just fits and sits differently than the 613s or maybe I just have a body type it works with because I had no issues with the fit and cut of it at all. Just as always I end up selling or trading everything because I want "perfect" but it doesnt exist and then I miss what I had.

I think the 613SH is a little different the cut from the 613S. Perfect is impossible! I know the feeling, just sold three jackets from Schott to buy a J-24 from RMC. Had I known what I know now I would probably have stayed away from Schott. Had a few problems with their jackets. Loose stiching on the 613S and a top coat that was peeling on a 618HH just as an example. Schott does make amazing patterns, but to me there are many better options within the same price range. Aero wins in that price range in my opinion.

 

[dannyk]

I think the 613SH is a little different the cut from the 613S. Perfect is impossible! I know the feeling, just sold three jackets from Schott to buy a J-24 from RMC. Had I known what I know now I would probably have stayed away from Schott. Had a few problems with their jackets. Loose stiching on the 613S and a top coat that was peeling on a 618HH just as an example. Schott does make amazing patterns, but to me there are many better options within the same price range. Aero wins in that price range in my opinion.

Mostly agree. They cost too much for what they are these days. Their Perfecto line has always been really solid to me though. Ive owned maybe 5 different Perfectos from various ranges 70s-2000s Always sold them or traded them away for something better. But what I realized to me now at least.....if it looks good keep it. If it fits, keep it. Because perfect does not exist and Ive owned a few perfectly stitched, amazing hardware etc... jackets but they didnt look and feel half as good as my old beat up vanson that I sold and now Jake here is rocking it. Objectively speaking any RMC is at least as good as is or significantly better than anything Schott has made recently at least. Yet they just dont feel as kickass to me. Though its probably just the history of the brand and all the images in my mind giving me a placebo but it works! haha. All that said I wouldnt mind an RMC J-24 any day.

 

[Kenan]

Mostly agree. They cost too much for what they are these days. Their Perfecto line has always been really solid to me though. Ive owned maybe 5 different Perfectos from various ranges 70s-2000s Always sold them or traded them away for something better. But what I realized to me now at least.....if it looks good keep it. If it fits, keep it. Because perfect does not exist and Ive owned a few perfectly stitched, amazing hardware etc... jackets but they didnt look and feel half as good as my old beat up vanson that I sold and now Jake here is rocking it. Objectively speaking any RMC is at least as good as is or significantly better than anything Schott has made recently at least. Yet they just dont feel as kickass to me. Though its probably just the history of the brand and all the images in my mind giving me a placebo but it works! haha. All that said I wouldnt mind an RMC J-24 any day.

I agree that their perfecto line is good, but it still has some faults. I mean to me Schott is the Red Wing of jackets. Good but there a many better options. It’s a legendary brand though and even if they falsely claim to have made the jacket Brando wore in “The Wild One” I still have massive amounts of respect for their history.

That Vanson is amazing and the fit on Jake is couldn’t be better!

My near perfect ( to me at least ) is this Aero!

 

[dannyk]

I agree that their perfecto line is good, but it still has some faults. I mean to me Schott is the Red Wing of jackets. Good but there a many better options. It’s a legendary brand though and even if they falsely claim to have made the jacket Brando wore in “The Wild One” I still have massive amounts of respect for their history.

That Vanson is amazing and the fit on Jake is couldn’t be better!

My near perfect ( to me at least ) is this Aero! View attachment 424443

Expensive? More than a mall jacket but on RMC level of detail? nope but this is perfect man....great look. See thats what Im saying not necessarily defending Schott just those maybe not perfect jackets, those not super perfectly stitched jackets......but the ones that just work for you....and this one is working for you!

 

[Kenan]

Expensive? More than a mall jacket but on RMC level of detail? nope but this is perfect man....great look. See thats what Im saying not necessarily defending Schott just those maybe not perfect jackets, those not super perfectly stitched jackets......but the ones that just work for you....and this one is working for you!

Thank you very much! Stitching isn't everything either. That's overrated tbh. The reason why I went for the RMC J-24 is because I thought was the closest to the orginal. Fit over maker any day though. The 613 and 618 from Schott are amazing patterns that just fit.

 

[Tikimel1]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! I appreciate it.

I looked at Aero… nothing from their stock collection was calling me (except for the battered HH which looks really cool, but I suspect is incredibly stiff and I don’t want to spend a ton of time on the break-in). Honestly, the reviews I read for the 626vn said it needed little break-in and that’s really my only draw to it.

I considered a custom from Thurston, but too many options and hides to pick from and I start overthinking it.

I joke that I want “the one” and am fooling myself that it would be the last one, so I just want the best one for now.

 

[dannyk]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! I appreciate it.

I looked at Aero… nothing from their stock collection was calling me (except for the battered HH which looks really cool, but I suspect is incredibly stiff and I don’t want to spend a ton of time on the break-in). Honestly, the reviews I read for the 626vn said it needed little break-in and that’s really my only draw to it.

I considered a custom from Thurston, but too many options and hides to pick from and I start overthinking it.

I joke that I want “the one” and am fooling myself that it would be the last one, so I just want the best one for now.

exactly: for now......What you should actually do is get the 519 or 626 if thats what your heart desires and then delete this account and block tfl on your browser. Youll be way happier in the end. If you hang out here the quest will never end and then you might also pick up collecting of something else like denim, knits, wool, boots, watches that you didnt have before coming here. Get the jacket and dont look back!

 

[Shine]

I got this 519 back in 2016 & I like it more every year.

 

[Tikimel1]

Ha @dannyk ! Now I’ve been checking out Thurston Bros stock offerings and may have found a totally different one.
Then I started looking at the different hides, which has me considering a custom…. Damn. !!