The Indiana Jones jacket. Much hype, little substance?

[CLShaeffer]

Thread necromancy, I know, but...

I have one of the Indy jackets from San Diego Leather. (http://leather.com/mens_aviation/indy.php)

I bought it for a variety of reasons.

1) I actually use it as my motorcycle jacket.
2) Here in Hawaii a black jacket is ridiculous
3) So are knit cuffs and waist
4) The action back is actually a somewhat functional motorcycle design.
and probably most importantly to me...
5) My dad used to ride with a vintage leather jacket like one of the ones Mojave Jack posted (uh, 8 years ago) on page 2. The Indy design was the closest I could find that had the same feel and was made of substantial leather.

Its not a "true" Indy jacket and wasn't meant to be but after riding with it for a few years now I've been really pleased. Oddly, I never get "Hey, Indy!" comments but frequently get raised eyebrows and "Wow. Why so dressed up?" when I'm off the bike. I even wear brown ankle boots when I'm riding and have a canvas satchel.

I do avoid wearing a wide brimmed hat with it, though.

I got more "Indy!" comments when I wore a trench coat and a leather fedora in college. Even a safari jacket with a brazilian canvas hat. I actually considered not getting the Indy jacket because of that... but I haven't had a single Indy comment with it. There are a few riders around here that were aviation jackets so I suppose the untrained eyes see the same thing.

 

[Edward]

INterestingly, I'm the same - never a single Indy comment in the Indy jacket.... but any fedora, yes. A brown trilby and a USN flying jacket, yes. I think for the average person on the street it's the hat which signifies Indy.... I suppose that, compared to modern streetwear, is the most 'unusual' and therefore memorable element.

I'm unconvinced by the notion that colour makes any difference to heat (I'm sure I read, but can't find again, alas, reports of academic research that comclusively proved it doesn't have any more than a psychosomatic effect), but I definitely agree with you re knits. I have a Wested Raiders in goat that I bought used, specifically because it was a lighter leather without any heat-trapping knits, intending to use it for Summer wear. I even wore it in India last February when I needed a secure wallet pocket in Old Dehli. Not too unbearable in 23 degree heat!

Can't quite imagine wearing mine on a bike, but Indy did....

 

[Sloan1874]

I've read that research about colour absorption too. Makes a lie to those old 'in case of a nuclear attack, paint your windows white to reflect the heat' advice.
Incidentally, CLS, how robust is your Indy's leather?

 

[Interbak]

Interesting take on the Indy style, with the button cuffs, havenyoungot any pictures? The San Diego website pictures are pretty poor.

Thanks, B

 

[Fanch]

A number of years ago I owned a G-1 made by SD Leather Company that was a decent jacket. I suspect that the button cuffs would work better for cycle use than the traditional barrel cuffs. Of course G&B jackets are also made in San Diego, and G&B's rendition of the Indy jacket they call the Expedition is pretty much duplicated from the original Hollywood design. My G&B Indy is my "go to" jacket when the weather is cool but not cold.

 

[Interbak]

I had a couple G&B Expos, lamb and goat. Well made jackets, but they replicated the "falling off the shoulders" design of the original jacket too well. I didn't find them very comfortable and sold them both.

B

 

[CLShaeffer]

Sloan, the leather is substantial enough for me to feel confident wearing it on the bike. The only things I currently have to compare it to are a Hein Gericke Dakar, which is goat, and some Unik Chaps. My Indy is cowhide and about the same thickness as the chaps. The Dakar feels a bit more substantial overall but the leather itself is about the same thickness as the Indy. It is definitely not fashion leather.

Its not a stiff leather jacket like some motorcycle jackets can be but I think that's the cut of it rather than the thickness of the leather. Its very comfortable.

Edward, color has no effect on heat coming from the inside, of course, but black absorbs the most energy from sunlight and heats up quickly from the outside - even when I'm moving and the wind is helping cool things down. At least here I can feel a huge difference between a white shirt and a black shirt of the same thickness and fabric when in the sun. To be honest, the dark brown of the Indy jacket and the chaps aren't ~that~ much better than black here but there is enough of a difference that it is bearable and I don't feel like a sweaty motorcycle fashion victim.

Fanch, yes the button cuffs are handy and one of the main reasons I picked this jacket. On my wrists the 2 snaps are tight enough to keep the wind from ballooning the jacket while letting enough flow through to keep things cool and tight enough to keep the wind out when it is cold and rainy. Barrel cuffs would be air scoops and ride up in the wind.

The jacket also has a button down collar. Very handy in the wind and they hid the snaps so it still looks mostly like an Indy. The other main difference is in the pull straps at the waist. Such little details are entirely inconsequential to me and I'm not interested in paying for a screen accurate version of the jacket. I get it, but that's not why I bought the jacket.

My main criticism of the design is that the "action" back doesn't do as much as it looks like it should. It really needs to go all the way to the shoulder to give you "action" worthy mobility increase. Its does allow you to size the jacket down, fit it snug to cut down on catching the wind (and to look great) while still having good mobility but its not as effective as a full action back. Some military gear I've seen has a full action back... and it looks really goofy. The Indy design is a good compromise but it still binds more than a true bi-swing arm design.

My main criticism of this specific jacket itself is the liner and I knew it would be. I'd love the twill liner of the G&B. The SD Indy has a synthetic liner. Great for slipping it on an off but very hot against the skin on a warm day. I always wear a long sleeve, light cotton shirt under it (which looks embarrassingly like an Indy shirt, should anyone ever notice) since I need it for sun protection off the bike, anyway, but it makes the "throw the jacket over the t-shirt for a quick run to the store" a bit less ideal than I'd like. It also makes it less likely that I can wear the jacket as much off the bike here in the tropics. I've considered seeing if I can replace the lining even if its just in the sleeves. That would change my world entirely.

The one other thing I could wish for, since I have some experience living in this jacket, would be a deeper cut to the button cuff and a snap to hold it closed. That would let me more comfortably roll the sleeves up when not on the bike (which I normally do if I don't just take the jacket off) and allow for more venting options while riding. I cringe thinking of poor Harrison Ford wearing the jacket in some of the places the movies were filmed - the jacket and felt fedora must have been a hot combo.

Wow. Didn't really set out to critique the Indy jacket design in book form, here, but I suppose that's what the thread is about. My thought is that it isn't really hype but it also isn't really a jacket designed by someone who was an adventurer. It is a very functional design for a Hollywood jacket of the period it invokes, though. Most of us who wear Indy jackets aren't really "adventurers" either so if it works for you... it works.

Some pics quick pics.

And some of the non-Indy style details:

Hard to get a good selfie with the fierce backlight where the mirror is, but... here is the jacket how I tend to wear it off the bike. I'm not surprised that I don't get Indy comments, really, now that I look at it.

And the Indy Biker look - sans helmet, gloves and glasses. Not the greatest pic but the best I got with the lighting challenges:

 

[Seb Lucas]

A number of years ago I owned a G-1 made by SD Leather Company that was a decent jacket. I suspect that the button cuffs would work better for cycle use than the traditional barrel cuffs. Of course G&B jackets are also made in San Diego, and G&B's rendition of the Indy jacket they call the Expedition is pretty much duplicated from the original Hollywood design. My G&B Indy is my "go to" jacket when the weather is cool but not cold.

.

Jacket nerd time. The G&B was copied from a stunt jacket it has been said. The evidence for this is spurious. Probably a copy of an older Wested with some tweaks. I enjoy mine but there's no real guarantee of pattern reproduction. They aren't very accurate, but they are an improvement on the fragile film version.

 

[Marv]

I have a Wested Indy in distressed cowhide and it's a very well made, comfortable jacket.

I have never received any Indy comments or jibes and I have only ever seen one other person wearing one (at the same time as myself I might add) and we both gave each other a surprised and slightly uncomfortable acknowledgement as we passed by but that was it.

Never seen one since........

 

[Fanch]

.

Jacket nerd time. The G&B was copied from a stunt jacket it has been said. The evidence for this is spurious. Probably a copy of an older Wested with some tweaks. I enjoy mine but there's no real guarantee of pattern reproduction. They aren't very accurate, but they are an improvement on the fragile film version.

Didn't mean to imply screen accuracy is of any importance to me; it isn't as the only importance to me is a jacket that fits well and secondarily looks good. I understand what was said earlier about the quirky shoulder drape of the G&B Expedition jacket.

 

[Edward]

Jacket in the pictures looks good. Catches the basic vibe of the Indy, with the different cuffs. I imagine those snugger cuffs are a bonus on the bike, especially if you want to tuck them into gloves?

.

Jacket nerd time. The G&B was copied from a stunt jacket it has been said. The evidence for this is spurious. Probably a copy of an older Wested with some tweaks. I enjoy mine but there's no real guarantee of pattern reproduction. They aren't very accurate, but they are an improvement on the fragile film version.

Interesting, I'd always heard that the G&B was one of the better versions. In all honesty, I'd long wanted an Indy, just felt I had to have one, but didn't want to spend much on it (as far as jackets go in and of themselves, all other things being equal I prefer my Aero 30s Halfbelt, but the Indy is far superior for typical weather this time of year), so the Wested was ideal. I'd love to see in person one of the couple Aero made. Will Lauder, I believe, was behind that, but they only did a couple. I suspect there could have been rights issues, possibly - not sure of the status of ownership of the design, if any; that and I just don't think the market was there for them. Most of the buyers of the design seem to be wanting something that's more for "costume" use than a daily wearer in the way the Aero guys would be. I think the Aeros were also made from FQHH, which wouldn't drape right. Their goat might have been a nice alternative, though.

 

[Fanch]

CL Shaeffer, after looking at the latest pics of your SD Leather Co. jacket, the better it looks and a bargain to boot. At the price point shown, it appears to be a true value and am hard pressed to find any negative feature about the jacket. I think maybe it more closely resembles the G-8 than anything else and would be hard to beat it as a general all purpose jacket, more so than my G&B Expedition.

 

[CLShaeffer]

Fanch, that's kind of how I see it and why I plunked down the cash for it. I haven't been disappointed - though the non-Indy jacket details are part of why the jacket works for me.

Thinking about it, reading and writing this thread has me again thinking about saving up and having the sleeves relined in cotton. It would be *much* more tropics friendly that way and probably less expensive then getting the whole lining replaced with the interior pockets and all.

 

[Fanch]

Fanch, that's kind of how I see it and why I plunked down the cash for it. I haven't been disappointed - though the non-Indy jacket details are part of why the jacket works for me.

Thinking about it, reading and writing this thread has me again thinking about saving up and having the sleeves relined in cotton. It would be *much* more tropics friendly that way and probably less expensive then getting the whole lining replaced with the interior pockets and all.

I would think carefully before having the sleeves relined since cotton sleeve lining might tend to grab as compared to what you already have. Sometimes the enemy of good is better.

 

[CBI]

wow - 12 pages on this! No way I am reading it all. The Indy jacket looks pretty cool so if one likes it, wear it. I don't think the current crop of Indy jackets is a well served as they could be due to limited quality. Imagine a Good Wear version with that superb Japanese HH. Now, that would look great. Wested makes a nice one and they offer a few leather options not really listed on their site that are are upgrades for a very reasonable price. For those REALLY concerned about a genuine vintage look - buy an original old jacket and be done with it!

 

[Kukulcan]

I got what Wested calls "Novapelle" Raiders jacket for a good price which fits perfectly. Got it from someone my size (190cm) but not my shoulders. I was surprised how well it hides my not so slender body with its straight form, it doesn't look bulky at all.

I don't feel like I look like Indiana Jones nor really like an adventurer from the time, but I am an Indy nut and happy this works as an everyday jacket for autumn or warmer winter days. And my wife likes the look, while she thinks the more bulky flight jackets (which I like) look much too Macho on me.

The photo was taken on a hot summer day - when I received the jacket - so the other outfit doesn't really match. And the heavy Novapelle leather sure isn't for summer days - let alone jungle or desert.

The leather quality is OK for the price but sure not close to some of the more expensive AERO or Belstaff jackets. As this isn't "made for life" quality the original lambskin would probably be a good choice if you want a slightly lighter and softer jacket. For higher quality this might be an alternative with probably perfectly soft and durable leather (they don't care offering lambskin at all):

http://www.alexanderleathers.com/modernclassics/indiana.html

 

[Fanch]

Your jacket looks good and appears to drape much better in the shoulders than my G&B Expedition does for me. Always looking for the perfect (unattainable) fit.

 

[Kukulcan]

Your jacket looks good and appears to drape much better in the shoulders than my G&B Expedition does for me. Always looking for the perfect (unattainable) fit.

Although I am a little soft around the middle the shoulders are the result of 100 pushups a day

 

[Seb Lucas]

I think Wested's hide quality is excellent - it's the lining, pattern design and sometimes the workmanship that isn't as good as some of the others. They do tend to use lighter hides; no more than 2.5oz. The veg tanned goat they had a while back was as good as it gets.

 

[Worf]

Not a fan of their, Wested's, HH though... saw an Indy HH close up and was not impressed. Doc Strange swears by them and their service and his word is good with me.

Worf