Vanson! Vanson! Vanson!

[ton312]

It’s kind of like seeing your first true love again and remembering what conjured all those emotions to begin with. Vanson leathers provided me my first real leather jacket, back in the early 90’s, cost me a whopping $40 and looked like something Sly wore in Rocky III. It opened my eyes to what a leather jacket could be! Purchased at a thrift store in Sycamore, IL…it was love at first sight.

I’ve had an on again/off again relationship with Vanson ever since. I would speculate that I have owned around 30 Vanson jackets, spanning the companies entire existence, across a fairly broad range of styles. From the RJ and sport rider styles to the Derby and well documented love for the model E. They keep me coming back, and I’m always looking. That says something, particularly given my tendencies in the hobby.

We’ve discussed at length what makes Vanson so great. A working class, work horse of a jacket. Not priced in the stratosphere, no pretension, just a solid jacket built for life based on jackets designed to save people’s lives. Warrantied against failure, no compromises and no bullshit.

My closet holds three right now and I’ve gone into some detail about two, but my latest really has me appreciating the brand on an entirely new level.

Comp Weight Cow:
Vansons flagship hide, some of the nicest leather I think one can own, time tested and beautiful. I experienced many flavors of comp weight. Smooth as a board and hard as a rock. Grainy, almost CXL like, and the newer, heavily pored and much maligned. I’ve also had thin and crispy white labels, and oil slick rubbery soft modern labels. With the exception of the last two, I’ve loved them all.
Older (80’s-90’s):
Model E, brown core, size 44”, weight: 6.40lbs

Oxford 9D, size 40”, weight 5.96lbs:

Dark Maple Bainbridge:
I was not a fan from what I’d seen before. Looked a bit too couch-y. But having it in hand…What a spectacular hide. It smells identical to Horween CXL and shares Horweens water repellent and pull-up properties. It’s like CXL without the pain and suffering! I suspect it will age quite beautifully as it dulls and becomes both lighter and darker.
Oxford 9D, size 40”, weight: 5.07lbs

The true beauty of Bainbridge doesn’t reveal itself until you take it outside. Then it becomes like a bag of Red Man chewing tobacco.

It’s an absolute delight to wear. I will have at least one more jacket in it, maybe the redwood, not sure. This hide seems to take some of the biker vibe out and makes the jacket just feel a bit more refined. You wouldn’t frame a house with a sledgehammer, so you save the big guns for when they are needed.
Thank you for indulging me folks. I am extremely pleased with…

 

[handymike]

Yes, yes, yes!

 

[Canuck Panda]

All three are awesome! But you had me at 40 dollars. Lol. What a find it was.
The brown leather gave the Oxford a totally different look. Very sophisticated but still tough with those oversized hardwares. Like Rock wearing a suit.
Can’t wait to see the Redwood. First rule of Tons Club, you…

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Freaking awesome. I've been eyeing that Bainbridge for a while. I actually almost pulled the trigger on something similar with the Daredevil model but then chickened out because at the time I thought the sleeve coin zip was too much LOL. Meanwhile I've got a full blown LL Lightning coming totally tricked out now. Oh how things change.

Anyway, great mix of leathers. That teacore Model E is top. A lot of us have said, if only Vanson had better leather options. Maybe it's not the market they're going for and they choose to do it sparingly via TB, collabs, special releases (like Horse and Octagon) and custom orders. Their website leaves a lot to be desired as far as imagining what is possible in their capable hands. But I get the sense they're ok with being blue collar, pot bellied, hard-wearing, slightly baggy demo. Luckily a bunch of us have cracked the code by sizing down, getting custom stuff, searching the dark caverns of Ebay and Buyee, etc. etc. That CXL Commando I got is a show stopper. So nice, I bought it twice in fact. And the one Carlos had customized with the padding is top 10 things I've ever seen on here. More stuff like that and this Bainbridge model would get them trending on IG and all that. But again, not sure that's what they're after and on many levels, I totally respect that.

 

[MrProper]

Really cool. Thumbs up.
I am thinking about taking the black oxford. However, extended at the sleeves and body and a little tighter at the hips.
What length should this jacket be? Like a cafe racer? And how big is the front drop on this model?
Many thanks.

 

[ton312]

Really cool. Thumbs up.
I am thinking about taking the black oxford. However, extended at the sleeves and body and a little tighter at the hips.
What length should this jacket be? Like a cafe racer? And how big is the front drop on this model?
Many thanks.

Great question. The TB model is essentially blunt cut (1/2”) drop where as the Vanson stock offering is a little over 1” drop.

 

[MrProper]

Great question. The TB model is essentially blunt cut (1/2”) drop where as the Vanson stock offering is a little over 1” drop.
View attachment 372044 View attachment 372045

Many thanks.
Interesting. It could be a tolerance of 0.5 inches, which Aero also uses in its calculations. To be on the safe side, I will ask Vanson about this.

 

[JMax]

Vanson, somehow, is not frequented enough by folks that aren’t looking for a yeoman’s jacket. But they make incredible jackets in incredible hides. I figured you would like this brown. The CW brown is nice, but doesn’t have the spectacular look this one does. At least not right out the gate. This has me thinking. The blue Bainbridge is awesome too. Oxblood, and whatever else they do is simply great.

I do miss having Constantine there. He was amazing to work with. Loved leather jackets, was a good dude and made sure you were happy with it all.

 

[ton312]

Many thanks.
Interesting. It could be a tolerance of 0.5 inches, which Aero also uses in its calculations. To be on the safe side, I will ask Vanson about this.

I would do that for sure. I suspect TB adds an inch to both lengths as a standard.

 

[Carlos840]

They all look amazing.
So did you cancel the Oxford 9D size 42 and get the Bainbridge instead or are you still waiting on a 42?

 

[ton312]

They all look amazing.
So did you cancel the Oxford 9D size 42 and get the Bainbridge instead or are you still waiting on a 42?

I cancelled the 42” 9D. Just couldn’t see the point. I am going to have Vanson make me a halfbelt, based on the Logan’s closet surrogate jacket. Now the debate becomes do I want it redwood bainbridge…? I kind of think I do.

 

[JMax]

I cancelled the 42” 9D. Just couldn’t see the point. I am going to have Vanson make me a halfbelt, based on the Logan’s closet surrogate jacket. Now the debate becomes do I want it redwood bainbridge…? I kind of think I do.

The redwood is sick. Don’t sleep on the blue either. One of each bud, one of each.

 

[ton312]

The redwood is sick. Don’t sleep on the blue either. One of each bud, one of each.

I saw this one TB had from Aero in it. Looks pretty sweet. Burnished cherry. I like! The blue is awesome too. I could see a tight fit, belt-less C2 in that.

 

[Carlos840]

I cancelled the 42” 9D. Just couldn’t see the point. I am going to have Vanson make me a halfbelt, based on the Logan’s closet surrogate jacket. Now the debate becomes do I want it redwood bainbridge…? I kind of think I do.

That Surrogate jacket is cool, interresting/different collar.
Redwood is sweet, but i don't like the OD green stitching that TB seems to be using with it.

 

[ton312]

That Surrogate jacket is cool, interresting/different collar.
Redwood is sweet, but i don't like the OD green stitching that TB seems to be using with it.

Yeah I’d go dark brown for sure. This leather needs no help in making a statement.

 

[JMax]

Yeah I’d go dark brown for sure. This leather needs no help in making a statement.

You beat me to it. Let the leather take center stage. Is the bainbridge stiff at first, like the X-150/Octagon used to be?

 

[ton312]

You beat me to it. Let the leather take center stage. Is the bainbridge stiff at first, like the X-150/Octagon used to be?

A little bit. It’s just like CXL in that it stiffens with the cold but very quickly softens up. I’d put it at 2.5oz, so it’s thinner than octagon, and far thinner than cxl. It takes literally minutes to become very pliable.

 

[photo2u]

Love that model E. I need to get one in size 42.

 

[JMax]

Love that model E. I need to get one in size 42.

Yep. Look for the models with the riveted belt loops. Magic.

 

[TREEMAN]

Nothing's better than a great Vanson thread.....All three jackets are winner's !! I'm dying to see how the Maple breaks in....I bet it's going to be un-real !!