Bill Kelso A-2 or Aero

[tattoohanz]

Hello fellow forumers
Can you help me with my choice wich is better...Aero or Bill Kelso's A-2 .I was ready to order kelso,but then the prise goes up,allmost the range of aero....
Thx in advance
Btw,nice place you have here,friendly and informative,i like it

 

[ButteMT61]

BK has upped their offerings. The new site is (mostly) up.
http://www.billkelsomfg.com/
Hard to say. Folks are just now getting the new models with the new materials. They look promising, and would give Aero a run if they are as good as they look.
Maybe the folks that have ordered and received can chime in. Although there aren't many at this point...

 

[Phantomfixer]

The hide on the RW 23380 looks very nice. The music on the web site is just as good....turn around time might be better than Aero. Good to see ELC and Aero have some competition. Drives up customer service and eliminates/reduces complacency. I think the new line is much better than the first generation, going by pics only. Would be nice to get trade in value for the "next generation"...

Glad to see the new site
JZ

 

[tattoohanz]

Heeey,thx for reply Butte
This will be my first a2,so i have no experience with this jackets....so i'm looking for something reliable for the price range around 5-600€.what do you thing about this : http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=103
Let's say i'm not kind of skinny guy,more like mid weight (180 cm,88kg...) ,so i'm looking for more roomy fit.I'll apreciate any help from the experienced members
Thx in advance.
Cheers

 

[ButteMT61]

That Aero is really nice. I just sold mine this week. Not that I didn't like it, but I already had one similar enough that I figured I needed to thin the herd. I try to make it one in, one out. I've got things manageable now, so...
That's a damn nice jacket. I can't compare to the new BK though as I have yet to see one.

 

[Metatron]

Sweet website and excellent music... Does anyone recognise those tunes? Sorry for the o.t

 

[tattoohanz]

Metatron,i know most of them,but was a nice surprise to hear the song from club obi wan

 

[ButteMT61]

I must be old - I hate website music lol Or, it's that I have ~3000 CD's and every music service under the sun. The interwebs need not feed me more toons!

 

[rocketeer]

Sweet website and excellent music... Does anyone recognise those tunes? Sorry for the o.t

When I clicked on the site they were playing Rum and Coca Cola by The Andrews Sisters.
Only listened to that one track.

 

[Jeff M]

I'd go Aero.
Less of a gamble for me.

The new BK's are just beginning to come out. No "track record" with their new designs.
The pictures of the actual jackets I've seen look nice, but photos can be very misleading.
I have not been impressed with photos of how their jackets fit. That may be because of the wearers..but, nothing has really "popped" for me.

Aero's A2 designs have been around for decades.
Aero's are custom fit to the purchasers specs.
BK will do some fit adjustments to their standard sizes. No idea of the quality of those alterations or if they accept returns to "get it right" if the don't work out like Aero offers.
I have no concerns sending money off to Aero. I travel to Scotland on a semi-annual basis, so feel comfortable that I can pop in to Galashiels for a visit.
With Aero, you don't have to pay till the item is shipped.
BK wants the money up front. I don't know where the jackets are physically produced...were the plant is.

Lastly....I'd be interested to see how the current Greek economic meltdown and potential leaving of the Euro zone plays out before purchasing a BK, which are made in Greece with leather from Italy.
I've been following the "unfolding" of the new BK designs for several months now. There seemed to be a lot of delays associated with obtaining things like zippers, leather, mouton for collars. Didn't leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling that BK has their act together.
Have to wonder how the Greece/Italian/Spanish economic crisis will affect their supply lines.
And....if production isn't hit, whether a potential departure from the Euro will result in a fall in prices of Greek goods which will no longer be artificially propped up by being tied to the rest of the Euro economy...or if the whole operation will implode.

 

[tattoohanz]

I think i'll pull the trigger for Aero,allready send message with some questions,if everything's good i'll order next week...
Thx for the help guys

 

[Metatron]

I must be old - I hate website music lol Or, it's that I have ~3000 CD's and every music service under the sun. The interwebs need not feed me more toons!

I agree 100%, I make an exception when it's music that I'd actually listening to though! Its' the elevator type music that gives me violent thoughts.

I know aero is probably beyond criticism as far is quality is concerned, but they could learn something about presentation from Bill Kelso... I ramble about this a lot, but when you are buying clothes online it's really important to able to imagine what the thing would feel like. There's better photos of aero jackets here than on their website.

 

[ButteMT61]

Valid point, and it's been brought up before.
Aero needs a better web presence. It will be more important as time goes by. Not everyone knows about tfl and other similar joints. Aero needs to sell themselves to the rest of the world, and the site needs a facelift.

 

[Otter]

Funnily enough I prefered their old website to this more recent version.

 

[Don Tomaso]

...
Aero needs a better web presence. It will be more important as time goes by. Not everyone knows about tfl and other similar joints. Aero needs to sell themselves to the rest of the world, and the site needs a facelift.

I would disagree here. What they need is steadily developing their business, and that is what they do. Hiring and training new staff, secure sourcing, the works. I'm a new customer myself, joined the crowd just this year, and I already pulled a friend of mine into it, he's contemplating having a barnstormer made this year.
Aero has a waiting-time of 3 month+ for a new jacket, books seem to be full, so why spend $$$ on a really good website? Things like these cost serious money.

 

[Don Tomaso]

BTW: There's one Bill Kelso A2 that looks really nice, the last contract on the page. Maybe one day... ;-)

 

[Edward]

Valid point, and it's been brought up before.
Aero needs a better web presence. It will be more important as time goes by. Not everyone knows about tfl and other similar joints. Aero needs to sell themselves to the rest of the world, and the site needs a facelift.

The one thing missing, IMO. from all these websites - Aero, ELC, BK... - is what John has on Goodwear's site: clear photos of a jacket in a set size being worn by the same guy in the same size. I appreciate that's not always an option for Aero as their business model is based on manufacture to order, but for the others who take a more stock-based approach, it would be great. Very hard to imagine how different contracts fit differently from a photo of the jacket alone. It'll be interesting to see the buzz on the new BKs. At one time I was weighing one of those us against an Aero Real Deal. After the Aero price rise, the BK seemed the better bet for me, but these new models are now in the region of the Aero price again (by the time I'd pay postage from Greece, they'd be identical, pretty much). I may end up going used. I'm in no hurry for another A2 (I have one ELC Roughwear and one Aero goat already), and I think the sort of money they all go for new now I'd rather have to sink into a civilian jacket.

 

[ButteMT61]

Just because a business is successful, it doesn't mean it's OK to sit back and relax. Web presence is huge. As Edward stated, Good Wear's site to me has a perfect mix of information, pictures, and is easy to navigate. Of course, everything can be better, but it's one of the best sites around - especially for jackets. It's clean, clear, to the point.
I love Aero. But they need to improve on the pictures. They're getting old, and they're too small. I'd also like to see them put more of their custom (customer) orders up there so people can see that they have options outside of the norm. When I was new to the sport, I found the site a tad confusing. I spend my life on a computer, so I may be more critical of this sort of thing. But make no mistake, it's important for any business, and Aero isn't a shop many outside of the hobby know a lot about - and you don't stroll by their factory to shop
And let me be clear- I'm not saying it's a bad site - far from it. Very far from it.

 

[tattoohanz]

I would disagree here. What they need is steadily developing their business, and that is what they do. Hiring and training new staff, secure sourcing, the works. I'm a new customer myself, joined the crowd just this year, and I already pulled a friend of mine into it, he's contemplating having a barnstormer made this year.
Aero has a waiting-time of 3 month+ for a new jacket, books seem to be full, so why spend $$$ on a really good website? Things like these cost serious money.

3+ months in a line?...man,i want it,and i want it now so maybe if i order next week,the jacket will be ready for the season
Other than that they deliver very fast,last week i'v ordered pair of jeans and they arrived in 3 days to Prague....thats fast

 

[ButteMT61]

3+ months in a line?...man,i want it,and i want it now so maybe if i order next week,the jacket will be ready for the season Other than that they deliver very fast,last week i'v ordered pair of jeans and they arrived in 3 days to Prague....thats fast

The secret is to order when it's off-season and then the wait isn't so bad. Planning ahead is key for sanity as well as having a nice, new jacket for the fall/winter!