What jacket cuff style do you prefer and why?

[holdencain]

Hi all,

I am digging through posts in learning all I can before ordering my first jacket.

What are your thoughts on cuff style? American, button, zip....?

I am considering a Highwayman or a HB style. I like the look of button cuffs, but wonder if they are *practical*....how do they actually wear/function daily. The jacket would be a daily wear comfort jacket...hopefully function as a multi-season piece. I want this to be a jacket that I wear w/ extreme prejudice!

Thanks,
H

 

[Peacoat]

I prefer the Aero Highwayman cuffs for their simplicity. The Vanson Enfield offers even more simplicity: no cuffs, but zippers on the bottom of the cuff/sleeve. This is a good feature for a motorcycle rider. For me, buttons always seem to get in the way on a leather coat. Plus, they aren't practical for a rider.

 

[TheSnark]

I gotta go with Peacoat on this one... nothing is better than zip sleeves on a riding jacket. On the other hand, if I didn't ride, I might be very tempted by button cuffs, which do have a nice look. I don't really care for wool cuffs at all; for some reason elastic cuffs just annoy me, and I'd guess that they don't age as well as zip sleeves or button cuffs.

 

[holdencain]

I gotta go with Peacoat on this one... nothing is better than zip sleeves on a riding jacket. On the other hand, if I didn't ride, I might be very tempted by button cuffs, which do have a nice look. I don't really care for wool cuffs at all; for some reason elastic cuffs just annoy me, and I'd guess that they don't age as well as zip sleeves or button cuffs.

Thanks-
I don't ride so no worries there. I would worry about catching/ripping off a button.....
H

 

[Mr Badger]

I've owned/own jackets with many different kinds of cuffs, guess it depends what the weather's like where y'are, and what you'll be doing in 'em. I walk to work and back year-round so the storm cuffs on my Highwayman & Barnstormer are deff the best for warmth, closely followed by the knit cuffs on my A2 and G1, with the trad 'open end' sleeves of my other jackets in in a very chilly last place!

However, I find that storm or knit cuffs do make jackets pretty much unwearable in any temp over 60, and difficult with sweaters/shirts which themselves have bulky sleeve ends.

I also found zip cuffs the most versatile, in terms of year-round use. They offer the best compromise for warmth/ventilation and wearing over sweaters/shirts, as long as the open/closed sizings aren't too loose/tight!

When I wear my old horsehide cafe racer in the Winter, I pull the sleeves down over the ends of my gloves and zip 'em up, which means my wrists aren't frozen when I get to work, and leave 'em open in the Spring/Autumn.