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Aero jacket weight

Han Jones

New in Town
Messages
6
Are all aero jackets heavy? Really looking for a vintage style half belt light in weight. The guys at Steele and Jones have a perfect weight horse hide but they only do Indy jackets. I love the aero styles just afraid of another heavy jacket.
 

Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,798
Are all aero jackets heavy? Really looking for a vintage style half belt light in weight. The guys at Steele and Jones have a perfect weight horse hide but they only do Indy jackets. I love the aero styles just afraid of another heavy jacket.
Their Vicenza hh is vegetable tanned and lighter in weight.
 

Tom71

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,397
Location
Europe
Are all aero jackets heavy? Really looking for a vintage style half belt light in weight. The guys at Steele and Jones have a perfect weight horse hide but they only do Indy jackets. I love the aero styles just afraid of another heavy jacket.

Aero have lots of different leathers to choose from, and even within a specific choice weight etc. will vary from batch to batch. Even the (in) famous CXL-HH is often used in a lighter variety these days.

What I struggle with is your personal concept of "perfect weight horsehide". Best advice is to speak to Holly (or Ken or Denny), and they should sort you out perfectly.
 

AeroFan_07

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,314
Location
Iowa
Anywhere from 4.5 - 9 lbs would be a basic range. However these days, most HB's are in the 4.5 - 6.5 lb range. I would also reccommend Vicenza Horsehide, or "Soft Midweight Cowhide" if weight is a concern.
 

Turnip

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,248
Location
Europe
My 48 FQHH HWM is about 8 pounds, no idea whether that’s lightweight or not to be honest.

5 pounds is already my cardigan...:D
 

dubpynchon

One Too Many
Messages
1,045
Location
Ireland
I’ve had CXL horsehide in very different weights. If you ask them for a lighter weight leather they’ll give it to you. Goatskin tends to be light too.
 

Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,562
Location
Australia
Are all aero jackets heavy? Really looking for a vintage style half belt light in weight. The guys at Steele and Jones have a perfect weight horse hide but they only do Indy jackets. I love the aero styles just afraid of another heavy jacket.

They may well be too heavy for your taste. They generally are for mine. I have a Viceza horse hide which is till a robust 2.5oz. More managable than 3oz, but still substantial. What you need to establish is what is the weight or thickness of the hide that you like. I think the S&J horse is around 2 oz. Ask them - then you have a frame of reference. The lightest Aero hide 2.5oz is probably a little heavier than the weight of Wested's heavier cowhide. Aero goat hide is still pretty heavy (heavier than a goat G&B Expedition, for instance) and some of the hides vary between batches.

My size 42 Vicenza half-belt weighs 1.96 kilo or 4.2 pounds. My idea of a light weight jacket is one that weights closer to 3.3 pounds. You may find in discussions like this that people's idea of 'light' is very different.
 

Mandarin

Practically Family
Messages
624
They have a wide variety of mid weight leathers to chose from. Particularly recommendable is their jerky horsehide, good looking , immediately comfortable, with no break-in required.
 

dudewuttheheck

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,260
No. They have CXL in horse and steer, but they also have other options. I have owned their Badalassi and have tried on CXL and Vicenza jackets. The Badalassi is a nice mid weight, though is decently stiff at first (which I like.) The Vicenza is even lighter in my experience. I'd call the Vicenza a lighter midweight jacket. It's actually lighter and less stiff than most other vegetable tanned hides that I've experienced.
 

dlite90

Familiar Face
Messages
93
Nope. First horsehide jacket I ever held was an Aero (Vicenza) and I was amazed at how light it was. Didn’t seem that stiff either.
But I’ve got a steerhide Aero and it’s heavy.
 

Han Jones

New in Town
Messages
6
This my dream jacket.
 

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Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,562
Location
Australia
This my dream jacket.

Mine too, apart from the sleeves, I even like the fit. Bill Kelso do the most accurate copy of this Californian - they had one on loan to copy. It's better than Tony Nowak's. That jacket is around 2.5oz by accounts I've read. Aero don't make this one but they have similar styles. You would need to make changes to a model or combine some elements of others. Jerky Horse is my recommendation for this.
 

Bahabp100

Practically Family
Messages
793
Are all aero jackets heavy? Really looking for a vintage style half belt light in weight. The guys at Steele and Jones have a perfect weight horse hide but they only do Indy jackets. I love the aero styles just afraid of another heavy jacket.
Jerky horsehide is light weight and grainy
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,736
Location
London, UK
Mine too, apart from the sleeves, I even like the fit. Bill Kelso do the most accurate copy of this Californian - they had one on loan to copy. It's better than Tony Nowak's. That jacket is around 2.5oz by accounts I've read. Aero don't make this one but they have similar styles. You would need to make changes to a model or combine some elements of others. Jerky Horse is my recommendation for this.

Aero will do some reasonable alterations at their own discretion - though not if it means redrafting the pattern (which is fair enough for the business model). Military jackets aside, Ken's approach has always been primarily to make items that were "possible" in the pre-1960 era, rather than necessarily direct copies. Personally, I prefer that approach -more room for interesting variations / 'best of' features.

Jerky would be a good option - or goat. I've come to prefer goat in a light leather, but someone who wants the pronounced wear look on their jacket would probably be better off with the horse.
 

jglf

A-List Customer
Messages
421
Location
USA
My size 46 cxl highwayman is 5.5 lbs. Mine isn't that heavy.
It’s interesting to see how similar styles and size in cxl jackets can vary in weight so drastically. I’ve seen examples of them weighing from 5lb to 8.5lb in the same size. I wonder if it’s an error in using a weight scale or if the thickness of Aero’s cxl varies a lot. I noticed that when I purchased a fish hook scale that my jackets were really about 20% lighter than me weighing them using a body weight scale.
 

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