My Next Jacket?

rick5150 · Nov 21, 2005

I am very seriously considering buying this jacket from Aero Leather.

This one is called the Highwayman and it is made from a nice heavy front-quarter horsehide. I have a very similar one from Lost Worlds called the Ryder.

I wanted to ensure that I get every detail correct since these jackets are not cheap by any means.

Anyways, I was wondering if anybody here had any experience with Aero Leather.

airfrogusmc · Nov 21, 2005

Rick there are quit a few guys at both the 20th and VLJ that have these jackets you're asking about. I don't think anyone makes a finer utility/moto jacket than Aero. If you're in the states there are a couple of Aero reps here that can make the buying experience a little easier.

PADDY · Nov 21, 2005

Aero will excell with this one !

Rick, great choice if you go with Aero. Their front quarter horse is second to none, as long as you don't mind a bullet proof jacket that will take a 'wee while' to break in and conform to your body. Plus it is HEAVY!! But I love their FQHH!! and have a barnstormer (double breasted) in it. It will not just be your jacket, but your great-great-great grandkids too (as a family heirloom!!). Anyone who has gone for this hide has never (to my ears) been disappointed, but actually over the moon!!

Don't think about it my friend...just make it happen!!

The Wingnut · Nov 21, 2005

Is that the same type worn by Toby McGuire in Seabiscuit?

Been looking for one. I like the style, very '30s.

rick5150 · Nov 21, 2005

Thanks. Hey Paddy, I cannot find the picture again, but I am certain I saw a picture of you on the Aero website.

I love heavy horsehide jackets. Virtually every jacket I see in the "leather" stores is complete crap. Poor quality leather, too many seams, and too lightweight.

I have wanted this jacket for a long time. Now, all I have to do is decide on Brown or Cordovan. And Lined in brown imported Alpaca Wool I think...

Thanks for the quick replies...

The Mad Hatter · Nov 21, 2005

Check out their "Aero Sale Items" where they are offering Highwaymen at reduced price - apparently at slightly inferiour quality. (If I were in the market, I get one of these - but frankly I can't think of when I would wear it instead of the Flightsuits Expedition I already have. )

I also have a Aero front-quarter horsehide barnstormer, which is cordovan, and second the opinion made above.

rick5150 · Nov 21, 2005

Thanks - I did check that out. Nothing in my size and I am not particularly patient when I want something. The Indy jackets are great, but these horsehides bring the jacket to another level. I have 4 Indy jackets (plus my wife has the 5th that was too small for me.) What I like (other than the bulletproof jacket) is the lack of pocket flaps to catch on things and the added wool cuff beneath the barrel cuff keeps wind and dirt out. I do like the action pleat on the Indy jackets though. They are the most functional of any jacket with side-straps that I have seen.

shamus · Nov 21, 2005

The Highwayman was my first jacket from Aero. I got it in brown heavy front quarter horse with alpaca lining.

I loved this jacket, but....

Things you should know about this jacket...

When I first got it I could not put my arms down, it's that heavy, I felt like the kid from Christmas story.

These jackets take years to break in, years!

I found that it kept riding up on my neck when ever I sat down or raised my arms.

I would suggest you buy it used and broken in. If you do order it, think about an action back. Or thinner Front quarter.

I think the look is one of the best jackets I've ever seen, but keep in mind it takes forever to break in.

You can litterally lean this jacket up against the wall and it stays.

rick5150 · Nov 21, 2005

shamus said:
The Highwayman was my first jacket from Aero. I got it in brown heavy front quarter horse with alpaca lining.

I loved this jacket, but....

Things you should know about this jacket...

When I first got it I could not put my arms down, it's that heavy, I felt like the kid from Christmas story.

These jackets take years to break in, years!

I found that it kept riding up on my neck when ever I sat down or raised my arms.

I would suggest you buy it used and broken in. If you do order it, think about an action back. Or thinner Front quarter.

I think the look is one of the best jackets I've ever seen, but keep in mind it takes forever to break in.

You can litterally lean this jacket up against the wall and it stays.

Did you simply wear the jacket to break it in, or did you knead it and massage the leather to soften it up a bit? I broke the Lost Worlds horsehide enough for it to be comfortable within a few weeks. In between I threw it in the dryer (no heat) to loosen it up.

I cannot help but notice that you used the past tense, as in "I loved this jacket." Did you get rid of it?

What I love about the horsehides is that when you break them in, they will always be yours. The ones I had in the past bent in all the right places. If is standup up by itself, it will save me a hanger.

Jokerswild7 · Nov 21, 2005

wow, are they really that stiff?
I would have never guessed. Ive seen a few aeros in my day, and they always seemed soft/plyable. I guess its also the horsehide...

Glenn

shamus · Nov 21, 2005

I did everything to that jacket, ... wore it, put it in the dryer, slept in it, massaged it watching tv. It's one he** of a jacket.

But yes, I don't have it anymore. It's over on the back of some French guy right now. sorry to say, I needed the money at the time.

That being said, it is my favorite looking jacket.

rick5150 · Nov 21, 2005

Aha! I found it.

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/...e?page=displayproduct&subcatid=161&prodid=574

MudInYerEye · Nov 21, 2005

The Wingnut said:
Is that the same type worn by Toby McGuire in Seabiscuit?

Been looking for one. I like the style, very '30s.

Hey Wing,
That's actually Aero's 1950's style halfbelt. They also offer a 1930's version with buttoned cuffs, an angled waist, and a much snugger fit. The 30's Aero halfbelt (and the Aero Cossack model) are about as sweet as they come.
IMO the best Aero halfbelt was a version of the 30's jacket made in conjunction with Levi's/LVC a couple of years ago called the Blue/Black jacket. It was made from a beautiful jerky blue buffalo hide that had an inky black top-coat sprayed over it, a waistband, a particularly slim and short cut (similar fit to the Bogart BLACK LEGION jacket posted about previously but with a long sculpted collar). They pop up on eBay every few months. I'll post pics of mine eventually.
Regarding the choice between the Aero or the Ryder, I have both, Aero wins No Contest. The Ryder's halfbelt is about an inch too low, the zippered breast pocket is misplaced, and when worn the shoulders have a boxy right-angle cut whereas the Aero halfbelt has a graceful slope that conforms to the shoulders like a well-tailored jacket should.
It's a shame that McCoy's/Toyo don't offer their jackets overseas because their civilian jackets are possibly cooler than their military jackets.

MudInYerEye · Nov 21, 2005

Whoops is my face red!
The jacket at the top the page is the Highwayman, not the 1950's halfbelt. See what happens when you oberve things in a careless manner!

rick5150 · Nov 22, 2005

I should change the title of this thread and take the question mark out. I ordered this jacket today. Thanks for everybody's help.

Matt Deckard · Nov 22, 2005

Chamorro Recently bought one of these jackets and showed it off at the Queen Mary. The leather is as stated above, extremely stiff, though that is how they were back in the Golden Era. They needed work wear that would last through anything and Horse Hide was that leather.

BellyTank · Nov 22, 2005

Hmmm...

Not wishing to pee on anyone's parade...

...but I'm not 100% sure that's what the jackets were actually like 'back in the day' (stiff-as-a-board)-

Call me a cynic- call me whatever you will but sometimes I think these repro utility jackets are a shade, or more too heavy. The whole idea of heft and substance reeks of Golden Era quality and draws us into the Vintage idyl but having had a few originals; Sears/Hercules to name just one famous source of inspiration and many various repros, including Aero, I'm not wholly convinced. Front Quarter Horsehide was definitely a tough, premium raw material but there's still something not quite right.

I have worn heavy Horse and Steerhide jackets and although the thought and the image of them is great, they can be a pain to wear- pulling on shoulders, minimizing arm movement and feeling like a heavy weight across the neck...
'Too heavy' is just too heavy- nothing short of impractical.

I don't know what the answer is, just as I don't know if the raw materials used today are the same in substance as they were in name 60 years ago...

Same goes for flight jacket repros and their raw materials. Some of the A-2s available are virtually unwearable or at least not-too-practical to wear in the 'correct' size.

As time and experience progress, I'm becoming a bigger fan of Goatskin; it's one of the toughest hides, very supple and much, much lighter and it has a fantastic shelf life- check any Vintage Goatskin jacket against a Horse or Steer/Cowhide example-

B
T

Matt Deckard · Nov 22, 2005

Good point... I myself don't have much experience with vintage leather jackets and don't know the weights of leathers back in the day. I hope Aero and these repro companies do justice to what they have in their collections and don't try to toughen up a past that may have been more light weight and soft.

BellyTank · Nov 22, 2005

Don't...

Don't get me wrong- Aero make a first class product and what a huge selection the make... But I guess I am a little cynical, given some experience of originals and repros. Aero are THE only vendor outside of Japan who come even close to getting 'the Vintage thing' spot-on, ...close to it. There are other vendors, not actually too many in the same league, who rate themselves pretty high but Aero are, by nature, a prolific and progressive manufacturer, who embrace the vintage clothing market- and supply this market with many years of experience behind them. There are limits however to how far a manufacturer will go to 'get it right'...details... details...
The exception is/are the Japanese manufacturers of 'Repro-Vintage', to whom money is no object and re-manufacturing a long extinct, 70 year old zipper, for the sake of authenticity is just a means to an end- to hell with the cost...

Those of us who are, or have ever been Vintage Flight Jacket fanatics know only too well, the trials and tribulations- the joys and disappointments of finding something that hits just the right mix.

Somewhere lies the happy medium of authenticity and practicality...

I think I'd better start making Vintage Leather Jackets soon...

B
T

rick5150 · Nov 22, 2005

Thanks for the info Bellytank. Right after I buy the jacket, too.

Just kidding, it would not have changed my mind.

I am not into the vintage look much (sorry). I just love the look of the Aero Highwayman. Always have. Gorgeous style and it has always been my favorite-looking jacket. I bought the Lost World's Ryder because it was similar and more affordable - but it was not the Highwayman.

Horsehide can be damned uncomfortable when it is new, but after it breaks in a bit, it cannot be beat. It bends in the right places, but still can deflect golf balls.

I like the protection it offers, as if I am going to fall I would rather do it in the horsehide than the goatskin. The light jackets may be tough, but they are still thinner and you can feel rocks, sticks and glass more as you go skidding down the side of a mountain or sliding down the road on your back after wiping out your bike

Plus, the heavy horsehide has a way about the way it looks when it breaks in. It took me 43 years to get this jacket and I am going to enjoy it whether I like it or not

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