Vanson! Vanson! Vanson!

[Canuck Panda]

a video call

good idea!

 

[Aloysius]

Does the standard black Vanson lining have an unpleasant chemical smell to anyone else?

 

[JB1]

Does the standard black Vanson lining have an unpleasant chemical smell to anyone else?

I don't smell anything on mine. Just a bit of leather smell through the lining.

 

[Aloysius]

I don't smell anything on mine. Just a bit of leather smell through the lining.

I have no leather smell, just a vaguely off-gassing smell.

 

[El Marro]

Does the standard black Vanson lining have an unpleasant chemical smell to anyone else?

My first Vanson back in 2016 was an Enfield. I do recall it having a faint chemical odor when it arrived that went away pretty quick.

 

[Aloysius]

My first Vanson back in 2016 was an Enfield. I do recall it having a faint chemical odor when it arrived that went away pretty quick.

My shirt soaked up the smell, haha.

 

[El Marro]

In the excitement of seeing all these jackets my size in front of me I bought two but now I’m genuinely unsure about one of them. View attachment 495707

That jacket combined with the beard says Wolverine all the way. I love it!

 

[Aloysius]

Saw this one when I was there. Thought the leather was interesting. View attachment 495720 View attachment 495721

Looking at your photo again, because of the non-quilted lining, this must be a "Firenze" version rather than comp weight. I guess Firenze is the way to go for TFLers who don't want the lottery of whether their comp weight will be smooth or not?

 

[JB1]

Looking at your photo again, because of the non-quilted lining, this must be a "Firenze" version rather than comp weight. I guess Firenze is the way to go for TFLers who don't want the lottery of whether their comp weight will be smooth or not?

Yeah I'm really not sure. I thought I remember the Firenze having a more rough pebbled type texture.
I don't remember seeing other jackets looking like this one.

 

[Aloysius]

Yeah I'm really not sure. I thought I remember the Firenze having a more rough pebbled type texture.
I don't remember seeing other jackets looking like this one.

I saw a whole bunch like that when I was there (I have some photos on my camera that I'll take off, process, and post eventually); maybe they've had some batches of grainy comp come through recently.

 

[El Marro]

Looking at your photo again, because of the non-quilted lining, this must be a "Firenze" version rather than comp weight. I guess Firenze is the way to go for TFLers who don't want the lottery of whether their comp weight will be smooth or not?

If my memory is correct the Firenze jackets have a different label:

Not sure if this is still true or not.

 

[Aloysius]

If my memory is correct the Firenze jackets have a different label:
View attachment 495945
Not sure if this is still true or not.

I did see that label on some jackets but not all of them. Might have been an unnecessary/expensive complication to have an alternate label for just one leather? Schott has a horse variant and a cow variant of their label but they have several of each type so it would get plenty of use., Aero has a separate little label to indicate the animal, etc. Putting it on the main label might be a bottleneck.

 

[Canuck Panda]

It's all the same Vanson label now.

There is slight gas smell on my brand new Vansons. But it's very faint compared to others and it goes away within a day or two.

Curious what did the Vanson factory smell like?

 

[Aloysius]

It's all the same Vanson label now.

There is slight gas smell on my brand new Vansons. But it's very faint compared to others and it goes away within a day or two.

To be very clear, I'm not for a moment suggesting it's actually a disgusting smell like the two Five Star goat A-2s I bought. It's faint, a bit like a high end memory foam pillow. But obviously it was annoying smelling it all day and having it soak into my cotton shirt.

Curious what did the Vanson factory smell like?

No particular smell. Very organized. Like Schott it's actually a fairly small family operation.

 

[VansonRider]

In the excitement of seeing all these jackets my size in front of me I bought two but now

How does it look with the chest and sleeves zipped up?

 

[VansonRider]

Looking at your photo again, because of the non-quilted lining, this must be a "Firenze" version rather than comp weight. I guess Firenze is the way to go for TFLers who don't want the lottery of whether their comp weight will be smooth or not?

Quilting and Firenze can be specified independently of each other. I have two Highwayman (Highwaymen? LoL) both are Comp weight and only one is quilted. Unless it's been changed Firenze always has a "midweight" tag to ID it.

 

[Aloysius]

How does it look with the chest and sleeves zipped up?

Looks fine. A bit bigger at both chest and waist than the Comet I got in 42, though the Wolverine is 40. The leather is substantial but pliable—think something like Schott naked cowhide, and I think it’ll age well.

That said, it hurt when I tried to lift one arm (but not the other); taking off the jacket I saw that one arm had clearly been attached wrong. I called Vanson and they immediately sent me a return label.

The other jacket has no such issue, but being Octagon the hide is a hell of a break in! Absolutely beautiful depth of color though.

 

[VansonRider]

That’s awesome, I’ve been trying to get a response for them to repair a racing suit, but I got a vague “we may not be able to patch that”. If it’s not repairable, that’s cool, but I’d like some to at least look it over before making that determination. I’d pay them to replace the section if they can’t patch it. The suit’s a double zip Volante, they go for almost two grand for a new one, that’s worth throwing several hundred at the repair.

 

[Aloysius]

That’s awesome, I’ve been trying to get a response for them to repair a racing suit, but I got a vague “we may not be able to patch that”. If it’s not repairable, that’s cool, but I’d like some to at least look it over before making that determination. I’d pay them to replace the section if they can’t patch it. The suit’s a double zip Volante, they go for almost two grand for a new one, that’s worth throwing several hundred at the repair.

Their repair section is very impressive. I also saw the part where they expand jackets with matching leather. There’s even a room for redyes of jackets after scrapes and such.

 

[VansonRider]

Their repair section is very impressive. I also saw the part where they expand jackets with matching leather. There’s even a room for redyes of jackets after scrapes and such.

Oh I know! I grew up on Cape Cod and I've been the Factory a couple times. I remember the first time I thought I couldn't possibly have the right address! Snaking around some old industrial area with smashed out windows... But no, there was the big yellow door!
They've had to reduce staff and production twice. First aroind 2009 and again during covid. I'm sure they'll get to me eventually. I know all about the delays that can happen, so I'm entering this with eyes open! It can take months for them to get a shipment of the leather needed to match a pre-existing item. I want the suit to go to track days, which I've never tried before. In the meantime I have jackets and pants that zip together, so there's really no rush at all.