aero black jerky photos

[frieren]

Hi all,

I’m considering ordering an Aero in black Jerky and was wondering if anyone here has long-term wear photos.

Specifically, does black Jerky develop any tea-core effect over time, or is it fully struck-through and stays black underneath?

I’ve searched around but most photos I’ve found still look pretty black, so it’s hard to tell. Would really appreciate any aging shots or first-hand experience.

Thanks in advance!

 

[zebedee]

Hi, it develops teacore very quickly indeed. It wears easily and very comfortably, but is also very durable. Mine showed the lighter base within a few weeks at the edges, as it was rubbing against a canvas bag strap. I’d recommend asking Aero for FQHH black (which will do the same thing after about a year of solid wear) if you aren’t sure. Mid-way would be Vicenza Blackened Brown, which is lighter than FQHH and will also wear through to brown reasonably quickly. For struck-through, get Vicenza in black. Jerky is an underrated hide: I didn’t like it at first, but it’s grown on me and is really comfortable. Although the crust looks like russet, the wear appears in a range of browns to a sort of sandy colour.

 

[frieren]

Hi, it develops teacore very quickly indeed. It wears easily and very comfortably, but is also very durable. Mine showed the lighter base within a few weeks at the edges, as it was rubbing against a canvas bag strap. I’d recommend asking Aero for FQHH black (which will do the same thing after about a year of solid wear) if you aren’t sure. Mid-way would be Vicenza Blackened Brown, which is lighter than FQHH and will also wear through to brown reasonably quickly. For struck-through, get Vicenza in black. Jerky is an underrated hide: I didn’t like it at first, but it’s grown on me and is really comfortable. Although the crust looks like russet, the wear appears in a range of browns to a sort of sandy colour. View attachment 773344 View attachment 773345

Haha, yes — yours was actually the only black Jerky photo I found that really shows some tea-core coming through.

Most of the other ones I’ve seen still look pretty much black overall, so it’s been a bit confusing trying to figure out how it really ages.

Originally I was set on CXL FQHH — I absolutely love the way it ages and the contrast it develops. But I live in Taiwan, and the climate here is pretty humid and hot most of the year. On top of that I’m only 5’6”, so I’m a bit worried that 1.3mm CXL might just overwhelm me both in weight and visually. I’m thinking a slightly lighter hide might give me a longer wearable season too.

I also considered blackened brown Vicenza, but from what I’ve seen here on TFL, it doesn’t seem to develop a very dramatic tea-core effect either.

So at this stage I’m honestly still a bit undecided about which hide to go with.

 

[zebedee]

Ha, I used to live in Taiwan. Jerky will teacore quickly- I'll post some more up to date photos soon. Move to Hong Kong - we have a sort of winter here

JC

 

[frieren]

Ha, I used to live in Taiwan. Jerky will teacore quickly- I'll post some more up to date photos soon. Move to Hong Kong - we have a sort of winter here

JC

ha!! I didn’t know you lived in Taiwan before! That’s a surprise! Yeah, the humidity and heat here are no joke, haha.

Really looking forward to seeing more of your photos!

By the way, have you ever owned anything in CXL HH or Vicenza HH? I’m curious if there’s a big difference in terms of wearable temperature ranges for Hong Kong or Taiwan (assuming the same lining).

Also, how would you compare the stiffness and drape of Vicenza Blackened Brown against CXL HH and Jerky?

 

[Aloysius]

If you want a black leather that feels like the vintage black jackets, it's jerky. I hate that name so much though; Aero's American distributor came up with it and it makes an amazing leather sound disgusting.

 

[zebedee]

ha!! I didn’t know you lived in Taiwan before! That’s a surprise! Yeah, the humidity and heat here are no joke, haha.

Really looking forward to seeing more of your photos!

By the way, have you ever owned anything in CXL HH or Vicenza HH? I’m curious if there’s a big difference in terms of wearable temperature ranges for Hong Kong or Taiwan (assuming the same lining).

Also, how would you compare the stiffness and drape of Vicenza Blackened Brown against CXL HH and Jerky?

Vicenza and jerky are the same, weight-wise. Jerky drapes slightly better and is probably more wearable in the heat/humidity. I have a Café Racer in Vicenza Blackened Brown and it shows the darker undertones than jerky around the cuffs and shoulder seams. It feels a little stiffer, but not as stiff as black fqhh. Vicenza is a really nice hide and it (might) be worth the extra money. I will take a photo of the CR's edges later.

 

[frieren]

If you want a black leather that feels like the vintage black jackets, it's jerky. I hate that name so much though; Aero's American distributor came up with it and it makes an amazing leather sound disgusting.

Yeah, I like cxl HH brown base slowly peeking through

Right now I'm torn between black jerky and blackened brown Vic to get that same cxl HH retro patina with the brown undertone gradually showing up.

 

[MrProper]

how would you compare the stiffness and drape of Vicenza Blackened Brown against CXL HH

It's like night and day. In terms of comfort, I definitely prefer Vicenza to CXFQHH. If you want a truly black jacket, blackened brown might not be the right colour for you. I would classify mine as espresso/black coffee colours. It's not so obvious at first glance, but when you see it next to deep black (trousers, for example), you notice it. Of course, it may vary from batch to batch.

 

[Aloysius]

Yeah, I like cxl HH brown base slowly peeking through

Right now I'm torn between black jerky and blackened brown Vic to get that same cxl HH retro patina with the brown undertone gradually showing up.

I would take black Jerky over Vicenza, having owned BB Vicenza. Jerky is a bit like having CXL but in a midweight more accurate to real vintage jackets.

 

[frieren]

It's like night and day. In terms of comfort, I definitely prefer Vicenza to CXFQHH. If you want a truly black jacket, blackened brown might not be the right colour for you. I would classify mine as espresso/black coffee colours. It's not so obvious at first glance, but when you see it next to deep black (trousers, for example), you notice it. Of course, it may vary from batch to batch.

I saw that photo of the blackened brown vic on your ig , it looks absolutely killer

 

[frieren]

I would take black Jerky over Vicenza, having owned BB Vicenza. Jerky is a bit like having CXL but in a midweight more accurate to real vintage jackets.

both blackened brown vic and black jerky look amazing. The more I look at them, the harder it is to decide! Haha.

I'd love to see more photos of how the brown tones evolve on these two hides.

I would take black Jerky over Vicenza, having owned BB Vicenza. Jerky is a bit like having CXL but in a midweight more accurate to real vintage jackets.

 

[Aloysius]

I saw that photo of the blackened brown vic on your ig , it looks absolutely killer

Note that Mr. Proper’s batch of blackened brown is unlike any other I’ve seen which tends to be much more black.

 

[frieren]

Note that Mr. Proper’s batch of blackened brown is unlike any other I’ve seen which tends to be much more black.

good looking out!

 

[zebedee]

ha!! I didn’t know you lived in Taiwan before! That’s a surprise! Yeah, the humidity and heat here are no joke, haha.

Really looking forward to seeing more of your photos!

By the way, have you ever owned anything in CXL HH or Vicenza HH? I’m curious if there’s a big difference in terms of wearable temperature ranges for Hong Kong or Taiwan (assuming the same lining).

Also, how would you compare the stiffness and drape of Vicenza Blackened Brown against CXL HH and Jerky?

Vicenza and jerky are the same, weight-wise. Jerky drapes slightly better and is probably more wearable in the heat/humidity. I have a Café Racer in Blackened Brown: it's definitely black as opposed to dark brown.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Haha, yes — yours was actually the only black Jerky photo I found that really shows some tea-core coming through.

Most of the other ones I’ve seen still look pretty much black overall, so it’s been a bit confusing trying to figure out how it really ages.

Originally I was set on CXL FQHH — I absolutely love the way it ages and the contrast it develops. But I live in Taiwan, and the climate here is pretty humid and hot most of the year. On top of that I’m only 5’6”, so I’m a bit worried that 1.3mm CXL might just overwhelm me both in weight and visually. I’m thinking a slightly lighter hide might give me a longer wearable season too.

I also considered blackened brown Vicenza, but from what I’ve seen here on TFL, it doesn’t seem to develop a very dramatic tea-core effect either.

So at this stage I’m honestly still a bit undecided about which hide to go with.

So there appears to be something to consider a bit more even than the Vicenza or Jerky Leather:

Originally I was set on CXL FQHH — I absolutely love the way it ages and the contrast it develops. But I live in Taiwan, and the climate here is pretty humid and hot most of the year

Realize that these jackets are built in Scotland, it can be humid at times however it is substantially cooler nearly the whole year. For this reason I would encourage you to very carefully consider the linings that Aero offers (most are wool tartan or cotton based) and that isn't going to promote any type of breathability. In fact I would think nearly any leather jacket in that climate would be rather stifling most of the time. At a bare minimum, you may need to find something that is lined with a silken, fairly breathable polyester lining and defiantly not a (poly-fill) quilted lining. While wool "can" breathe to a limited extent, it may also be more rapidly affected by moths and degradation if worn and stored in a warm, humid climate.

Just my $0.02 here. If you search for "Cool Tech" motorcycle jackets on here, you'll see one that I own that would actually work rather well in a climate such as yours, but they are not a heritage style or dressy jacket.

 

[frieren]

Vicenza and jerky are the same, weight-wise. Jerky drapes slightly better and is probably more wearable in the heat/humidity. I have a Café Racer in Blackened Brown: it's definitely black as opposed to dark brown.

got it! I’m leaning towards black jerky for now. I’m really hoping to get that vintage teacore look similar to cxl as it ages

 

[frieren]

So there appears to be something to consider a bit more even than the Vicenza or Jerky Leather:

Originally I was set on CXL FQHH — I absolutely love the way it ages and the contrast it develops. But I live in Taiwan, and the climate here is pretty humid and hot most of the year

Realize that these jackets are built in Scotland, it can be humid at times however it is substantially cooler nearly the whole year. For this reason I would encourage you to very carefully consider the linings that Aero offers (most are wool tartan or cotton based) and that isn't going to promote any type of breathability. In fact I would think nearly any leather jacket in that climate would be rather stifling most of the time. At a bare minimum, you may need to find something that is lined with a silken, fairly breathable polyester lining and defiantly not a (poly-fill) quilted lining. While wool "can" breathe to a limited extent, it may also be more rapidly affected by moths and degradation if worn and stored in a warm, humid climate.

Just my $0.02 here. If you search for "Cool Tech" motorcycle jackets on here, you'll see one that I own that would actually work rather well in a climate such as yours, but they are not a heritage style or dressy jacket.

Yeah, I actually checked with Holly at Aero about Cupro or Rayon, but she told me they only offer the linings listed on their website.

So I guess I’ll stick with "Cotton Sateen" for its breathability and see how it goes. If it still feels too stuffy, I might find a local tailor here in Taiwan to swap the lining for Cupro later on.

Anyway, thanks for all the great info!

 

[MrProper]

Yeah, I actually checked with Holly at Aero about Cupro or Rayon, but she told me they only offer the linings listed on their website.

So I guess I’ll stick with "Cotton Sateen" for its breathability and see how it goes. If it still feels too stuffy, I might find a local tailor here in Taiwan to swap the lining for Cupro later on.

Anyway, thanks for all the great info!

Satin is very comfortable to wear. But if it's very humid and sweaty, I would still prefer cotton drill because its structure makes it less “sticky.” At least that's my impression with my jackets.
I once had an Aero jacket made of unfinished HH with a cotton drill lining that was slightly thinner than the usual heavy cotton drill. It was a nice fabric for spring/early summer. I don't wear leather jackets in summer because it's simply too warm for me and I find leather jackets too uncomfortable to carry around.

 

[Grandville]

Absolutely stunning leather quality, love the rich break in.