Aero jacket weight

Their Vicenza hh is vegetable tanned and lighter in weight.

 

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.

 

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.

 

No, they're not all heavy. You have a range of options.

 

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...

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

I got this from Holly not long ago in response to my inquiry about their lightest weight leather.

The lightest leather we have would be the Battered Seal Steerhide -http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/photos/29854f5d9bb16a60_battered-steerhide.jpg

 

I understand.

 

My size 46 cxl highwayman is 5.5 lbs. Mine isn't that heavy.

 

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.

 

Jerky horsehide is light weight and grainy

 

My Aero Goathide jacket size 36 weights 1.7 kilo

 

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.

 

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.