Hi all,
I had been looking at the Chopper for a while, but with Vanson recently changing their leather (not for the best), and the fact that they stopped making it in a size 42 (M=40, L=44) i was pretty sure i would never own one.
That is until an older, still unworn size 42 turned up for sale on eBay, in Europe.
As you can imagine i jumped on it and ended up getting it for a great price.
The jacket arrived yesterday and it was just as described, actually new, never been worn, and a real beast!
The hide really is something else, it is around 1.5 mm thick, super soft supple and heavy, with a very even grain all around. It is a very deep black, darker than my LL or Schott which are the only other cow hide jackets i have to compare.
Putting it on feels like sliding into supple armor, taking it off feels like it should create suction sounds, it literally molds to you in seconds.
It does squeak HARD! I don't think i have owned a noisier leather jacket, putting it through my patented "quick break in process" didn't change a thing. I don't know why, but only my Schott and this Vanson squeak like this, maybe an American trade secret?
Construction is slightly below average, nothing really horrible going on but nothing really pretty either. I think it compares to my Schott 644, pretty rough around the edges, but fully functional.
The collar stitching has a few crooked stitches here and there, the quilting has a few dodgy stitches too, the stitching around the pockets is not square at all (well, left side almost is, the right side is a parallelepiped, not a single 90 degree angle...).
A lot of the seams on the inside have not been rolled and pressed flat like they do on most jackets and you can really feel them through the lining. The ones in the arms for example are very aggressive, stand straight up and rub the inside of your arms pretty hard.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a badly made jacket, but it doesn't have the effortless perfection and attention to detail that my Freewheeler LaBrea shows.
This is rough and tough!
Another negative IMO is the use of a plastic zipper pin and box, they say it is an upgrade and better than brass, but my mind struggles with the idea of plastic being better than brass.
I am also not a fan of the unstitched cuff ends, to me it makes the sleeves look unfinished.
The lining is a very nice cotton fabric, very thin, with a softness similar to a cotton T shirt. Much softer than the classic drill we are used to.
It has a proper gun pocket, leather lined and with a heavy duty clip, pretty cool in my opinion.
The kidney panel feels like it could stop a bullet, i think it has some artificial material or something sandwiched in between the layers of leather, but it is very rigid and thick.
Fit is good, the arms have a nice forward curvature, the gussets are very functional and forward reach is great, it is a big bulky jacket but it doesn't feel like it is fighting me like my AL cafe racer did when it was new. The jacket looks pretty wide at the bottom because of thickness of the adjustment straps, but it doesn't look too bad. I have 33" waist and the waist feels good on the second to tightest adjustment hole.
Overall, i am happy i got it.
To me it has the same problems i see with Schott jackets, they focus on making them fast, not making them pretty. This was OK when they were worth $500, but I think that at the current price these could do with slightly better stitching/attention to detail, and no plastic on the zipper. Considering i got it for close to half price, and it is in a desirable and now unavailable leather, it is hard for me to complain too much.
This jacket isn't a perfect masterpiece to be looked at and admired, it is a workhorse, and this is how i intend to use it.
This is a riding jacket, not a walking jacket!
Pics:
And fit pics:
I am now officially done for 2018! No more jackets for me.
I had been looking at the Chopper for a while, but with Vanson recently changing their leather (not for the best), and the fact that they stopped making it in a size 42 (M=40, L=44) i was pretty sure i would never own one.
That is until an older, still unworn size 42 turned up for sale on eBay, in Europe.
As you can imagine i jumped on it and ended up getting it for a great price.
The jacket arrived yesterday and it was just as described, actually new, never been worn, and a real beast!
The hide really is something else, it is around 1.5 mm thick, super soft supple and heavy, with a very even grain all around. It is a very deep black, darker than my LL or Schott which are the only other cow hide jackets i have to compare.
Putting it on feels like sliding into supple armor, taking it off feels like it should create suction sounds, it literally molds to you in seconds.
It does squeak HARD! I don't think i have owned a noisier leather jacket, putting it through my patented "quick break in process" didn't change a thing. I don't know why, but only my Schott and this Vanson squeak like this, maybe an American trade secret?
Construction is slightly below average, nothing really horrible going on but nothing really pretty either. I think it compares to my Schott 644, pretty rough around the edges, but fully functional.
The collar stitching has a few crooked stitches here and there, the quilting has a few dodgy stitches too, the stitching around the pockets is not square at all (well, left side almost is, the right side is a parallelepiped, not a single 90 degree angle...).
A lot of the seams on the inside have not been rolled and pressed flat like they do on most jackets and you can really feel them through the lining. The ones in the arms for example are very aggressive, stand straight up and rub the inside of your arms pretty hard.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a badly made jacket, but it doesn't have the effortless perfection and attention to detail that my Freewheeler LaBrea shows.
This is rough and tough!
Another negative IMO is the use of a plastic zipper pin and box, they say it is an upgrade and better than brass, but my mind struggles with the idea of plastic being better than brass.
I am also not a fan of the unstitched cuff ends, to me it makes the sleeves look unfinished.
The lining is a very nice cotton fabric, very thin, with a softness similar to a cotton T shirt. Much softer than the classic drill we are used to.
It has a proper gun pocket, leather lined and with a heavy duty clip, pretty cool in my opinion.
The kidney panel feels like it could stop a bullet, i think it has some artificial material or something sandwiched in between the layers of leather, but it is very rigid and thick.
Fit is good, the arms have a nice forward curvature, the gussets are very functional and forward reach is great, it is a big bulky jacket but it doesn't feel like it is fighting me like my AL cafe racer did when it was new. The jacket looks pretty wide at the bottom because of thickness of the adjustment straps, but it doesn't look too bad. I have 33" waist and the waist feels good on the second to tightest adjustment hole.
Overall, i am happy i got it.
To me it has the same problems i see with Schott jackets, they focus on making them fast, not making them pretty. This was OK when they were worth $500, but I think that at the current price these could do with slightly better stitching/attention to detail, and no plastic on the zipper. Considering i got it for close to half price, and it is in a desirable and now unavailable leather, it is hard for me to complain too much.
This jacket isn't a perfect masterpiece to be looked at and admired, it is a workhorse, and this is how i intend to use it.
This is a riding jacket, not a walking jacket!
Pics:
And fit pics:
I am now officially done for 2018! No more jackets for me.
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