Vanson and Horween

[dannyk]

Todays version of I just stumbled upon this should turn more heads than the Thursday jacket thread. I was just looking at Left Fields site poking around and then this happened.

 

[dannyk]

Not an absurd price. Could be lower but eh. But if I’m reading that correctly limited to 20 pieces?

 

[Superfluous]

My initial reaction was: "another cross-zip Vanson . . . yawn." Then I saw the price.

 

[Hh121]

Seems those makers learned as long as they are using horween leather they can raise the price as high as they want.

 

[dannyk]

Im not sure how I feel about the price. I feel like it’s inline for what it is. Could be a little lower. But when most of the Japanese brands are well over a thousand sometimes over 2,000. Base Aeros are at 900-1,000. Base Himels are at like 2,000. Schotts are at like 700-1,000. When you have Vanson who don’t use Horween or HH, and now you do. It seems not out of this world to me. But just like the Thursday post I put up the other day. I have no skin in the game. I’m not buying it. Just said I know there’s some people at TFL that would like this or at least would like discussing it.

 

[JMax]

Vanson Collaborations are top notch. They are made to a higher standard than “regular” Vanson.

Not any more yawn-inducing than yet another straight zip collared jacket. We all like what we like. Beauty of this place.

 

[Peacoat]

The " . . . in Collaboration with Vanson Leathers." is confusing to me. Is this a Vanson jacket? How is Vanson involved in this "collaboration?" The ad states, "Proudly made in Fall River Massachusetts [sic]." Yes, Vanson is in Fall River, Massachusetts, but it doesn't say Vanson is the manufacturer. I may be overly cautious here, but the language of the ad gives me pause. Perhaps there is a lot here I don't understand?

Can I afford it? Yes. Would I pay $1600 for this jacket, even if Vanson made it? Nope. I would take a pass on this one. YMMV.

 

[JMax]

Not an absurd price. Could be lower but eh. But if I’m reading that correctly limited to 20 pieces?

As I understand it, it’s 20 pieces per size per year.

 

[JMax]

The " . . . in Collaboration with Vanson Leathers." is confusing to me. Is this a Vanson jacket? How is Vanson involved in this "collaboration?" The ad states, "Proudly made in Fall River Massachusetts [sic]." Yes, Vanson is in Fall River, Massachusetts, but it doesn't say Vanson is the manufacturer. I may be overly cautious here, but the language of the ad gives me pause.

Can I afford it? Yes. Would I pay $1600 for this jacket, even if Vanson made it? Nope. I would take a pass on this one. YMMV.

100 percent Vanson made. Christian from Left Field sat down with Vanson years ago to devise specs for the jacket. Then Vanson builds it. Nothing nefarious here. In fact, if you call Vanson direct and tell them to build one for you they will, no need to go through Left Field, or Paul Cox, or whoever else they have collaborated with (long list I bet).

 

[dannyk]

Vanson Collaborations are top notch. They are made to a higher standard than “regular” Vanson.

Not any more yawn-inducing than yet another straight zip collared jacket. We all like what we like. Beauty of this place.

Agreed. Some like cross zips, some cafes, some shawls. And there’s a ton of makers all doing their own riffs on the same basic models that have existed for forever. So to me there is no yawn here. And I do think it looks nice. And Vanson don’t do Horween or horsehide. So this is quite exciting to a lot of people. And like I said the price doesn’t seem out of this world to me. It seems maybe a bit high but comparitivley across the market I don’t think it’s absurd. Though if I were going to shell out 1,600 for a VansonXHorween HH jacket I would do it in a different model. Although Left Field And Vanson always do the Commando it’s their thing. But wouldn’t be my choice for those two teaming up.

 

[JMax]

The Commando is a wonderful jacket, regardless of the leather. I love the x-150 but would be curious to see it in HH. It is well made and well thought out for the bike. Owner of Left Field is a rider if I recall correctly. Nortons.

 

[Hh121]

With that amount of money, I will go Lost Worlds Trojan or J23 with belt.

 

[dannyk]

With that amount of money, I will go Lost Worlds Trojan or J23 with belt.

Now the J-23 I could get behind. That’s a top one for me. But just like I said in my last post if this jacket was around 1,300ish give or take a bit I would be sold. Since it’s not for that money I agree a J-23 would do it for me.

 

[Superfluous]

Not any more yawn-inducing than yet another straight zip collared jacket. We all like what we like. Beauty of this place.

I did not mean yawn in the sense that a cross-zip is boring. To the contrary, a cross-zip is far, far more interesting that the boring straight zips that I favor. I merely meant that a cross-zip is not a new style for Vanson. I much prefer cross zips . . . on everyone but me. My apologies if the "yawn" comment came across derogatory -- that was not my intent.

Im not sure how I feel about the price. I feel like it’s inline for what it is. Could be a little lower. But when most of the Japanese brands are well over a thousand sometimes over 2,000. Base Aeros are at 900-1,000. Base Himels are at like 2,000. Schotts are at like 700-1,000. When you have Vanson who don’t use Horween or HH, and now you do. It seems not out of this world to me.

In my experience, the quality of Vanson’s craftsmanship is not on a par with any of the the brands that you mentioned. If one is going to charge $1,600 for a leather jacket, the craftsmanship must match the price. JMax posted that, with special editions, Vanson employs a higher level craftsmanship. If that is the case, an additional up-charge might be warranted. That said, doubling the price – even with the addition of Horween leather – seems pretty steep.

Vanson makes a very durable, robust, good looking jacket that is very fairly priced and perfectly suited for its intended purpose -- riding a motorcycle. In my experience, the $1,600 jacket market is materially different.

 

[dannyk]

I did not mean yawn in the sense that a cross-zip is boring. To the contrary, a cross-zip is far, far more interesting that the boring straight zips that I favor. I merely meant that a cross-zip is not a new style for Vanson. I much prefer cross zips . . . on everyone but me. My apologies if the "yawn" comment came across derogatory -- that was not my intent.



In my experience, the quality of Vanson’s craftsmanship is not on a par with any of the the brands that you mentioned. If one is going to charge $1,600 for a leather jacket, the craftsmanship must match the price. JMax posted that, with special editions, Vanson employs a higher level craftsmanship. If that is the case, an additional up-charge might be warranted. That said, doubling the price – even with the addition of Horween leather – seems pretty steep.

Vanson makes a very durable, robust, good looking jacket that is very fairly priced. In my experience, the $1,6000 jacket market is materially different.

Right. I think this is a 1,300 dollar jacket. If I were buying it that’s where I would be. I think the problem though is in general the prices as we all know have gone up and up. Where this seems like a lot..but I’ve been tellling myself that about pretty much every new maker or new design that comes out. The market for these things the ceiling just keeps going up. Vanson probably sees what other companies can get away and raise the price. Then that first maker sees vanson raise their price so they inturn go up. What is the ceiling? When do they all price themselves out of customers. Or do we being addicted like we are, just keep paying? Though that’s a different argument all together.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Sorry dannyk..I misread the brand that this thread was discussing. I deleted my past posts..so never mind.

 

[dannyk]

Sorry dannyk..I misread the brand that this thread was discussing. I deleted my past posts..so never mind.

No problem! I’ve started typing replies in the wrong thread, answered the wrong person. We’ve all been there! And I deleted my response. We’re all good.

 

[Hh121]

You can also try JL. For that kind of money, you will get Horween CXL 5.5oz HH custom MC jacket with mouton collar.

 

[Peacoat]

100 percent Vanson made. Christian from Left Field sat down with Vanson years ago to devise specs for the jacket. Then Vanson builds it. Nothing nefarious here. In fact, if you call Vanson direct and tell them to build one for you they will, no need to go through Left Field, or Paul Cox, or whoever else they have collaborated with (long list I bet).

Thanks for the information. Had no idea. One of my favorite motorcycle jackets is a Vanson in the great competition hide. May take it out tomorrow if it isn't too cold.

 

[Guppy]

In fact, if you call Vanson direct and tell them to build one for you they will, no need to go through Left Field, or Paul Cox, or whoever else they have collaborated with (long list I bet).

That's not very "limited edition" then, is it? Not that I care about production run sizes. It adds no value to me that they make such a small quantity. If it were a regular special order only jacket, I could get it made to my specific measurements, and it might cost around $1000-1200. I think it's a nice design but that price puts me off.