Iron Heart IHJ-54

[ton312]

Function over fashion for me and wimpy zips are good for no one. I prefer a robust zipper over something anaemic and the zips on the IH look fine to me.

What a nice jacket.

Agreed. Big fat #10 on a heavy hide is an absolute must. No fear or fiddling. I’d rather not wait to snap the pull like a chicken bone or constantly look at the male end of the tape. 10, 8 or it gets replaced.

 

[Bfd70]

I love a beefy 2 way zipper.
There do seem to be a lot of dangling pulls though. I tend to remove all but one on the main-zip.

Did just that on day 2. The tabs are plenty big to grab without.

 

[Bfd70]

Update pics. The jacket was so soft to begin with that the term “break in” was probably inappropriate. Let’s say it’s beginning to mold.

 

[Powerband]

Man that looks so clean!

 

[El Marro]

Very nice man! Mine arrives tomorrow, fingers crossed It fits half as good as yours

 

[sweetfights]

Superb!!

 

[Carlos840]

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Update pics. The jacket was so soft to begin with that the term “break in” was probably inappropriate. Let’s say it’s beginning to mold.

That really looks nice.
How do you find the side zips feature now that you have lived with the jacket a bit?
Is it useful during daily wear? Or do you end up never using them?

 

[Tom71]

That really looks nice.
How do you find the side zips feature now that you have lived with the jacket a bit?
Is it useful during daily wear? Or do you end up never using them?

Sorry Bfd70 for chiming in.

I find the sidezips on mine quite useful, but never actually use them. Yes, it´s nice to enhance the movability and comfort when in a sitting position. What really bugs me though is: The jacket is very tight fitting in the body. If you open up the sidezip, the jackets flares out big time at the bottom. This is by design, of course, but I always feel like wearing a too short miniskirt.

What I do use is the 2-way-zip to achieve the same result but better looks, IMO (of Course opening the jacket itself, so that may be an inferior solution when actually on the bike...).

Just my 2 cents and also not me being asked, so over to you, Bdd70...

 

[Bfd70]

That really looks nice.
How do you find the side zips feature now that you have lived with the jacket a bit?
Is it useful during daily wear? Or do you end up never using them?

Thanks
My initial suspicion was that i would only need them 1. On the bike (for which the 2 way zip proved better) or 2. When wearing heavy shirts underneath. So far that has held true. The jacket is a good trim fit with a T shirt or light button down. When i wear a heavy sweatshirt or flannel i loosen them a bit.

 

[El Marro]

So my jacket arrived this morning and I like it a lot! I have never felt such a soft supple horsehide, feels almost like lambskin. The jacket was comfortable the moment I put it on and i’m sure it will begin to mold to me with a little bit of wear. It also begins to crease up amazingly fast. Was smooth as glass when I pulled it out of the box and creases and grain are just appearing right before my very eyes.
As far as fit goes, it is a little too long and a little bit looser than my ideal fit although it will work well for layering. I spent a minute looking in the mirror and making the call as to whether or not I liked it enough to live with the minor fit issues and I decided I do. This will be the jacket I reach for when I overdo it at Thanksgiving...
I am beat after a long day at work so pictures will have to wait but I will definitely get some posted for you guys.

 

[red devil]

So my jacket arrived this morning and I like it a lot! I have never felt such a soft supple horsehide, feels almost like lambskin. The jacket was comfortable the moment I put it on and i’m sure it will begin to mold to me with a little bit of wear. It also begins to crease up amazingly fast. Was smooth as glass when I pulled it out of the box and creases and grain are just appearing right before my very eyes.
As far as fit goes, it is a little too long and a little bit looser than my ideal fit although it will work well for layering. I spent a minute looking in the mirror and making the call as to whether or not I liked it enough to live with the minor fit issues and I decided I do. This will be the jacket I reach for when I overdo it at Thanksgiving...
I am beat after a long day at work so pictures will have to wait but I will definitely get some posted for you guys.

These are the kind of jackets you end up using a lot. I had that same feeling with my suburban when I lost weight, but it still works fine enough and is so easy to use

 

[Edward]

Well done!
Looks fantastic! Almost got a 70s vibe... cool.

Puts me in mind of a lot of British jackets I've seen from that period which were designed to have that '58ish-'65ish 'rocker' look, but with the very large zippers that came in from 78ish mostly on UK stuff. By the eighties, a lot of them were comically large, though that's backed off again (perhaps as bike glove design improved?)

Fantastic- Love the fit and love the leather. 2-way YKK zippers are excellent and look great.
Some do not like the side waist zippers but I simply think they are functional and look amazing.
That jacket is a complete victory.
Congratulations.

Earliest side-zips I've seen were on the USAAF B6 (which came in two varieties - side zips, or side buckle adjusters). Never been clear when they made the switch to civilian jackets, but it was definitely a bike jacket thing.

I used to visit a watch forum until I kept reading ridiculous threads asking if it is safe to wear a Rolex while washing the dishes. I know, right?

Wear it like you stole it and the same goes for quality leather jackets. They are not meant to be pampered.

Funny thing, isn't it? I think we all do it to some extent, though the one bit of the babying that never goes away for me is keeping an eye on an expensive jacket when I take it off anywhere in public!

That´s right! mine is missing the handwarmers. Don´t need them though; perfectly happy with the 2 inside pockets...

This is definitely a style which I think benefits from the 'cleaner' look of chest pockets only.

Sorry Bfd70 for chiming in.

I find the sidezips on mine quite useful, but never actually use them. Yes, it´s nice to enhance the movability and comfort when in a sitting position. What really bugs me though is: The jacket is very tight fitting in the body. If you open up the sidezip, the jackets flares out big time at the bottom. This is by design, of course, but I always feel like wearing a too short miniskirt.

What I do use is the 2-way-zip to achieve the same result but better looks, IMO (of Course opening the jacket itself, so that may be an inferior solution when actually on the bike...).

Just my 2 cents and also not me being asked, so over to you, Bdd70...

They do seem to offer something of the same purpose. I would imagine, though, that the side zips are good for working around clothing (if there's any room for layering), whereas the front double-zip achieves that look on the fly. I did have a jacket some years ago with side-zips. It was good for wearing with a sweater where I needed the extra inch or two in the waist, though I found it very much 'all or nothing' in that it was a case of either wearing the zips fully opened or fully closed, no in between. In that sense, side buckles have more of a 'range' to them, but the zips are still a nice feature if you don't need that. I'd definitely choose either over lace-up sides.