What Are the Most Popular Leather Jacket Brands on TFL?

[El Marro]

(Aero is) The wheel that squeaks gets the grease. It sucks that the other hard working (and better) wheels do not get the recognition they deserve.

I follow your analogy but I don’t think I agree. Aero is popular here but I don’t think anyone is giving them any credit they don’t deserve. If anything, I would say Aero’s Star has dimmed in the six years I have been around the lounge. There was once a time when most of the new jackets here were from Aero and I don’t see that so much these days.

 

[handymike]

Aero is where many of us enter the game, but after 10 years on this forum (I know...) my collection has evolved.

 

[Yamahana]

I’ll step up to represent the underdogs. All mine are vintage, nary a youngster amongst em and all are pretty much fellers from the poor side of town.
1. 5 Sears - Oakbrook, Fieldmaster
2. 3 Fidelity - USA made
2. 3 Lesco
2. 3 Montgomery Ward
3. 2 Brooks
With the rest of the herd made up with strays from Grais, Cycle Rider, Kit Carson, HUC Sweden, Excelled, Foster $ Son, Passaic
… and I live in the AZ desert‍

 

[Canuck Panda]

I follow your analogy but I don’t think I agree. Aero is popular here but I don’t think anyone is giving them any credit they don’t deserve. If anything, I would say Aero’s Star has dimmed in the six years I have been around the lounge. There was once a time when most of the new jackets here were from Aero and I don’t see that so much these days.

That is true. It came out wrong from me I’m sorry. Aero is good stuff. I still have close to two dozens of them.
What I tried to say was that there are a lot of other makers out there just as good or better, but are talked about here less frequently. For example, there’s always at least one Aero related thread on each page or the next, but not the case for many other brands.

 

[Coriu]

That is true. It came out wrong from me I’m sorry. Aero is good stuff. I still have close to two dozens of them.
What I tried to say was that there are a lot of other makers out there just as good or better, but are talked about here less frequently. For example, there’s always at least one Aero related thread on each page or the next, but not the case for many other brands.

Aero's popularity may be due to them checking more boxes than those who may be as good or better in terms of quality...
-large array of stock patterns in the $1000US range(not everyone can afford a $1500 jacket and/or not everyone has the patience to design and build a custom jacket )
-large range of sizes(not everyone can fit into the smaller sizes of Japanese brands)
-reasonable number of leather choices
-good customer service-I have found they respond quickly to inquiries, unlike certain others

 

[Coriu]

13 more people responded today. After two days, results are as follows. Top 3 stayed the same. Thedi moved ahead of Lost Worlds. And The Real McCoy's joins the Top 10.

Points Leaders
1. Aero-56
2. Vanson-34
3. Schott-17
4. Thedi and Cal Leathers-14
6. Lost Worlds-11
7. Eastman/ELMC and Goodwear-10
9. The Real McCoy's-9
10. Brooks and Field Leathers-7

 

[Flying Monkey]

My array of jackets is kinda pedestrian compared to many on the forum, but half the fun for me is finding them at thrift stores, ebay, garage sales , etc. for a low price and in my size. The hunt, as it were.

#1- Branded Garments- 4
#2- Champlain- 2
#3- Kerr- 2
Aaaand 16 others of 1 each. Langlitz, Lesco, Espinoza, Schott, LL Bean, Michael, Sears, Red Wings, and so on.
My favorites by far are the Brandeds and the Champlains. I love the way the Brandeds look, but the Champlains are the most comfortable and worn the most. About half a dozen various jackets need to go on the classifieds because they almost never get worn.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Aero's popularity may be due to them checking more boxes than those who may be as good or better in terms of quality...
-large array of stock patterns in the $1000US range(not everyone can afford a $1500 jacket and/or not everyone has the patience to design and build a custom jacket )
-large range of sizes(not everyone can fit into the smaller sizes of Japanese brands)
-reasonable number of leather choices
-good customer service-I have found they respond quickly to inquiries, unlike certain others

You’re right, and above is a perfect example why Aero is more popular here. Aero brand was mentioned in 5 out of the 7 last posts.

None of the below brands are represented in the same frequency, does that mean they are worse? No.

Lewis Leather, priced same as Aero. Better moto jackets/ordering process than Aero.
Johnson Leather, priced less than Aero. Better moto jackets/ordering process than Aero.
Vanson Leather, at half of Aeros price. Better moto jackets than Aero.
Simmonsbilt, priced less than Aero, better leather assortment than Aero. And I still can’t find a better cafe racer based pattern than SBs.

See, even my own post, the name Aero has been used more times than other brands who actually does the jacket job better. This is what I’m trying to illustrate.

 

[Manolito]

1 - Schott (9 Schott USA + 4 Schott Europe = 13)
2 - Levi's ( 1 levi's + 2 Levi's Vintage Clothing + 1 Levi's made and crafted = 4)
3 - Aero Leather (2)

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Currently:

Freewheelers: 3
The Real McCoys: 1
Mister Freedom: 1

That's actually it.

In terms of past brands I've owned multiples of:

Freewheelers: Total of 7
The Real McCoys: Total of 3


As far as the most popular jacket brand though, it's obviously Aero. Always has been, always will be here.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

To justify my insanity, I play a lot of games with my numbers. My total count right now is 26 including an Aero C3 vest. But I never use that number LOL for various reasons. About 9 jackets are too small for me or not up to my fit satisfaction, and/or are being reserved for my 2 sons when they get a little older, or are for sale right now.

So that leaves 17. But I don't use that number either LOL. Another 7 are "special circumstance jackets" i.e. like a B3. Not meant for every day use in my climate and situation, but more like a certain weather or to go with a certain outfit or look or a "fun" jacket for shits and giggles and more about the heritage than actual daily grab and go jacket.

So that leaves 10. I'm comfortable with that number LOL. I could grab any of those 10 and be happy on any given day.

But for purposes of this exercise, long story short:

Schott is clear and away my number 1 brand currently owned
Vanson probably number 2
Aero number 3
Cal number 4
Thedi number 5

The problem with the above numbers though is that I wouldn't call it a representative sample because that's what I ended up with buying things mostly on a whim as they popped up and felt like they were a good deal, would round out the collection, etc. There was some method to the madness, but not fully thought out, and certainly wasn't my intention to buy mostly Schotts for instance. There's just good value in them in the used market, so I have a lot of them. If I knew then what I know now, I think the numbers would be different. I would probably have 12 jackets straight up. I'd probably have a bigger variety of brands incorporating RMC, ELMC and maybe another higher end. And I'd really limit the redundancy so I'd have all my preferred styles covered, but trying to focus on the best I could afford on each of those styles. Basically more quality over quantity and still hopefully have room for fun jacket or two.

 

[red devil]

Just caught up with this thread, Aero is unsurprisingly the most popular, for a long time it was considered the epitome of jackets here, even though members are now more aware of the brand's limitiations, it will obviously remain prevalent in collections.

I would agree there are better alternatives for as much or less, hence why, I don't own any Aero.

I don't have numbers in hand, but my currently most owned jacket brands are: LW, Thedi and JL. If there haven't been travel restrictions, Electric Leather Studios might have been in the top 3.

 

[Mysteryo]

Well, currently (and partialy):
Schott: 12
Lost Worls: 3
Himel: 4
GW:3
LL: 2
Langlitz: 2
FW/RMC/Y2/ 1
Aero 1

most of my collection are vintage:
Buco: 6
Californian: 4
Durable: 2
Brooks 2
fidelity 3

And many others (around 70 jackets in total)

 

[Pandemic]

Aero's popularity may be due to them checking more boxes than those who may be as good or better in terms of quality...
-large array of stock patterns in the $1000US range(not everyone can afford a $1500 jacket and/or not everyone has the patience to design and build a custom jacket )
-large range of sizes(not everyone can fit into the smaller sizes of Japanese brands)
-reasonable number of leather choices
-good customer service-I have found they respond quickly to inquiries, unlike certain others

Aero (and TB) has a decent website. I doubt there are that many first jacket buyers who stumble upon the Johnson (Langlitz, Vanson, etc) website and say ‘that’s the jacket for me!’.

Same could also be said for Schott.

 

[Coriu]

To justify my insanity, I play a lot of games with my numbers. My total count right now is 26 including an Aero C3 vest. But I never use that number LOL for various reasons. About 9 jackets are too small for me or not up to my fit satisfaction, and/or are being reserved for my 2 sons when they get a little older, or are for sale right now.

So that leaves 17. But I don't use that number either LOL. Another 7 are "special circumstance jackets" i.e. like a B3. Not meant for every day use in my climate and situation, but more like a certain weather or to go with a certain outfit or look or a "fun" jacket for shits and giggles and more about the heritage than actual daily grab and go jacket.

So that leaves 10. I'm comfortable with that number LOL. I could grab any of those 10 and be happy on any given day.

But for purposes of this exercise, long story short:

Schott is clear and away my number 1 brand currently owned
Vanson probably number 2
Aero number 3
Cal number 4
Thedi number 5

The problem with the above numbers though is that I wouldn't call it a representative sample because that's what I ended up with buying things mostly on a whim as they popped up and felt like they were a good deal, would round out the collection, etc. There was some method to the madness, but not fully thought out, and certainly wasn't my intention to buy mostly Schotts for instance. There's just good value in them in the used market, so I have a lot of them. If I knew then what I know now, I think the numbers would be different. I would probably have 12 jackets straight up. I'd probably have a bigger variety of brands incorporating RMC, ELMC and maybe another higher end. And I'd really limit the redundancy so I'd have all my preferred styles covered, but trying to focus on the best I could afford on each of those styles. Basically more quality over quantity and still hopefully have room for fun jacket or two.

Keep working on it and I think you can get that number down to 5. This is brilliant advice. I vow to actually reduce my collection by end of day today...without actually touching a jacket.

Seriously, though, you touched on an important point. "Popularity" is not just a function of the cool factor. Good resale value can drive popularity of a brand. Schott's may not be the sexiest jackets around, but they are a relatively good value and safe investment.

And availability on the resale market can drive popularity, too. My father's business was auto sales. He drilled into my head that the second you drive a new car off the lot, its value drops drastically. For this reason, I almost exclusively buy used jackets. This approach has somewhat dictated the jackets in my wardrobe, as it likely would for other collectors who use such an approach.

 

[Coriu]

Just caught up with this thread, Aero is unsurprisingly the most popular, for a long time it was considered the epitome of jackets here, even though members are now more aware of the brand's limitiations, it will obviously remain prevalent in collections.

I would agree there are better alternatives for as much or less, hence why, I don't own any Aero.

I don't have numbers in hand, but my currently most owned jacket brands are: LW, Thedi and JL. If there haven't been travel restrictions, Electric Leather Studios might have been in the top 3.

LW, Thedi and JL...is that in order of number of each you own? In other words, you own the most LW, followed by Thedi?

 

[Coriu]

Aero (and TB) has a decent website. I doubt there are that many first jacket buyers who stumble upon the Johnson (Langlitz, Vanson, etc) website and say ‘that’s the jacket for me!’.

Same could also be said for Schott.

Excellent point. I have learned not to underestimate the importance of this, especially with regard to millenials and Gen Z. A millenial friend opened a business and it has exploded. His products are not particularly unique, but he has an incredible social media presence and every week he updates his website with new releases. He created a facebook page just for people who buy his products. People compare notes and post photos/videos of their latest acquisitions. His customers have created a community, of sorts. It is a "buying experience." I think this is the way of the future and companies that don't get with it will be left in the dust.

 

[Coriu]

Looks like the following Loungers have 20 or more leather jackets in their closets. Anyone else out their belong to this elite club?

carlos840
coriu
elmarro
jmax
jonesy86
jonbuilder
kingb
mandarin
marc mndt
mysteryo
photo2u
red devil
tmitchell59
toomanyhatsonlyonehead
tusche
yamahana

 

[nattevagten]

Simmonsbilt, priced less than Aero, better leather assortment than Aero. And I still can’t find a better cafe racer based pattern than SBs.

Can I ask what makes it so special? I am still looking for a CR and SB definitely seems like a better option than Aero, at least as far as the price and leather selection is concerned.

 

[El Marro]

Looks like the following Loungers have 20 or more leather jackets in their closets. Anyone else out their belong to this elite club?

carlos840
jmax
jonesy86
jonbuilder
kingb
mandarin
mysteryo
tmitchell59
toomanyhatsonlyonehead
tusche
yamahana

Guilty as charged.