Advice on Aero jacket

[smoz]

Nice looking jacket, good to see the "standing up on its own" pic.

 

[Monitor]

Dude! That's perfect!

 

[Harris HTM]

Congratulations on your great jacket. Does it meet your expectations? What do you think of the brass hardware?

 

[Fanch]

Very nice Wayfarer with a great fit. Well done!

 

[Sloan1874]

Lovely lining.

 

[Rickard_H]

Congratulations on your great jacket. Does it meet your expectations? What do you think of the brass hardware?

Well, I'm glad I went with the brass. The zippers and pulls are matte and nice but the buckles are a little too high gloss polished.

Over all I'm really happy with it, it looks very well made and the leather is great. But a week is too soon to talk about anything really. Time will tell!

 

[BobJ]

That is one sharp looking jacket! I never really paid much notice to that style, but seeing it on you makes me wonder why we don't see more of them around here. It's distinctive without being busy or overdone. And the fit couldn't be better.

I really like the pattern of that Harris Tweed, I would like to have a jacket made with it as the outer layer. Hmm...

I hope you live in a cold climate, because that's going to be a warm jacket. Cozy and protective at the same time!

Thanks for taking us along on your adventure! I hope you show us pictures as it gets broken in and develops the battered character of an active life.

 

[Rickard_H]

Thanks BobJ! The front of the Wayfarer is really something special with more details than most. When it caught my eyes on it it was really an easy choice. I looked a bit more on the more regular models after that but they started to look more and more dull the more I looked at the Wayfarer

The only thing I didn't think was perfect on the wayfarer was the plain back compared to the detailed front, but I think the bi-swing from the August fixed it perfect!

 

[handymike]

A few months back, @tmitchell59 posted a jacket that looked similar to the Wayfarer (although shorter). It had this front/back combo.

I've never seen this back style with an action-back feature...

 

[dubpynchon]

Great looking jacket, I really like the 30s design on the wayfarer, its a jacket that I'm not sure would suit a more rotund chap like myself, you want those lines on the panels to be straight and not curved around the belly!

 

[Rickard_H]

Thanks for the pics of the old jacket Handymike! What is it that they say, no matter what you do, someone's already done it

Dubpynchon, this jacket is definitely a good motivator to stay slim! I'm planning to have it for decades, would be horrible if I grew out of it

 

[Rickard_H]

So, now I've worn the Wayfarer a bit, as much as I've could because of the high temperatures, the last few weeks.

It's slowly getting it's final shape bit by bit. At first it was really stiff but soon the sleeves softened up but it was still stiff and unyielding around the shoulders, the chest and the waist.

Then one day there was a light rain and the jacket got a little wet. After that the fit got much better! Especially around the shoulders, it took a much better shape there and that made it better over all since it wasn't held up there.

 

[Rich22]

Hi mate, just wondering, does the back completely pop out like that under normal wear?

 

[Rickard_H]

No, definitely not! I'm bending my arms and shoulders together all I can to show the effect.

Under normal use they only open when I stretch forward or downward. During a usual day I'd say they rarely open at all.

 

[Rich22]

No, definitely not! I'm bending my arms and shoulders together all I can to show the effect.

Under normal use they only open when I stretch forward or downward. During a usual day I'd say they rarely open at all.

Thanks for the reply, Rickard! I'm glad thats the case, otherwise that seemed a bit disastrous. Do they pop back in of their own accord after you intentionally stretch them out in that way? Not sure if Aero use elastic or not? It's mainly driving position, or reaching up, where I imagine it to be needed.

 

[Rickard_H]

Yeah, they go back immidiately! Not sure if they use elastics, but I'd guess so.

Although, when I drive they don't expand. I thought they would too.

 

[Rickard_H]

So, now I've used the jacket in what we in Gothenburg call winter, which is more like a few degrees above freezing, hard wind and rain. Actually we had a few days of snow and cold last week too.

My impressions so far is that the jacket, lined with Harris Tweed and cotton drill sleeves, together with a thin shirt is really nice from around 5°C/40°F to 12°C/55°F and a little wind. Below 5°C/40°F it works well for shorter times or with a thin wool sweater it's nice down to maybe -4°C/25°F. After that it's a little too tight for me to put on a lot more clothes underneath and so far we haven't had colder than that.

Another thing I noticed the first days I wore it that has proven true is that it wears in slowly but when it gets wet in a rain it takes a giant leap and gets a lot nicer the next day. It just takes a new shape over the shoulders and sleeves and the wrinkles on the sleeves gets deeper and more pronounced. It also gets softer and more flexible, or simply it bends in new places perhaps.

I'm really really happy with the jackets and I think it's developing perfectly to a nice worn in jacket that fits me better and better!

A question though. Aero says that their jackets don't need to be waxed in several years after they are new. I carry a shoulder bag and where the strap sits the shiny surface gets worn off a little and it looks a bit dry dry there... I've got a bit of experience with leather of all sorts and it surprises me that it should be left in that state. What do you guys say?

 

[Sloan1874]

It's not dry, it's just the shiny top coat being rubbed away. I really like the look, especially on my LHB where it's developed in a really nice grading right across the shoulder area.

 

[jacketjunkie]

So, now I've used the jacket in what we in Gothenburg call winter, which is more like a few degrees above freezing, hard wind and rain. Actually we had a few days of snow and cold last week too.

My impressions so far is that the jacket, lined with Harris Tweed and cotton drill sleeves, together with a thin shirt is really nice from around 5°C/40°F to 12°C/55°F and a little wind. Below 5°C/40°F it works well for shorter times or with a thin wool sweater it's nice down to maybe -4°C/25°F. After that it's a little too tight for me to put on a lot more clothes underneath and so far we haven't had colder than that.

Another thing I noticed the first days I wore it that has proven true is that it wears in slowly but when it gets wet in a rain it takes a giant leap and gets a lot nicer the next day. It just takes a new shape over the shoulders and sleeves and the wrinkles on the sleeves gets deeper and more pronounced. It also gets softer and more flexible, or simply it bends in new places perhaps.

I'm really really happy with the jackets and I think it's developing perfectly to a nice worn in jacket that fits me better and better!

A question though. Aero says that their jackets don't need to be waxed in several years after they are new. I carry a shoulder bag and where the strap sits the shiny surface gets worn off a little and it looks a bit dry dry there... I've got a bit of experience with leather of all sorts and it surprises me that it should be left in that state. What do you guys say?

It depends on how much you wear it, really. If it's worn only a few weeks a year, sure, no point in treating it any time soon. If it gets worn daily and also is exposed to rain very often, you may want to treat it frequently. I make it a habit to treat my more worn jackets once a year. The summer jackets in winter and the warmer, winter jackets in summer. Not treating a hard-worn jacket for 60 years is possible, but not a smart idea, imho. If you want to maintain something, you don't want to wait with caring for it til the damage is there, you want to care for it frequently to prevent the damage in the first place.

 

[Rickard_H]

Well, I'm totally with you Jacketjunkie. My wax and oil reflexes are strong from leather boots, bags, sheaths and all that I use when I'm out in the nature all seasons both walking, photographing and hunting. However Areo writes this in the text for their carnuba wax:

However, an Aero jacket shouldn't need any treatment until its 30 or 40 years old. Right now, do nothing, absolutely nothing. Do not pamper it, do not oil it, don't treat it with hide food - not even this one, this product is for old steerhide jackets and dried up old vintage horsehide jackets from the 1930s and 1940s, not for your Aero, well not until maybe 2035.

My fingers twitch and want to wax it, but I'll trust them and leave it unwaxed. I bet it'll develop a nice finish after a while. I'm just not used to treating leather like that. And after all, waxing and oiling leather often makes it a lot darker so in time I guess it'll be pretty black in time if I keep waxing it.