A long wait that proved to be well worth it! This might get a little long, I’ll try to keep it short! First off, my sincere thanks to Aero, who have yet again brought a huge smile to my face. This jacket was made by Julie, the undisputed master Jedi of machinists at Aero. I believe she has made all but one of my jackets. Her work, as usual, is flawless.
After buying and really enjoying the fit of two different jackets I wanted to mash them together and create a real workhorse feeling utility jacket. The first was psant’s brown zip sleeve HWM and then this vintage excelled 50’e era HB (the original ass kicker) I purchased from robinray.
I really liked the feel of both of these. Particularly the vintage jacket, which was a true Halfbelt but with the adjusters placed at the waist. The wheels were turning!
My original idea was to take the zip sleeve HWM and move the belts up 5”, remove the waist band, storm cuff and throat latch. The more I thought about it, the less convinced I was that it would yield the result I wanted. So it occurred to me that an extreme waist taper on the 50’s HB would be the better route. Plus I get to keep the actual false belt which the excelled had (and the adjustments straps where I wanted them anyway). I went with a standard size 40” and cut 2” off the waist. Which is probably very close to what the standard HWM does.
I also subtracted 1” of body length from my typical 50’s pattern spec. From 27” to 26”. I likely wouldn’t be able to zip it if it were any longer, and I think it was a good call for the overall look (as long as it doesn’t shrink
) I’ve got the belts cinched in pretty tight in these pics. Still trying to find the sweet spot. One thing to note, the 50’s HB has zero front drop. It’s almost as if the finished jacket is cut at the hem with a table saw.
Lined in brown cord, sleeves in OD with OD knits, throat latch and my go to back config. silver nickel zips with the same puller. I do plan on finding something to personalize the chest pull.
This s my 3rd Aero in midnight blue. The hide this go round has much more green than the last batch I had, and much more everything than the first. It’s a lovely dark evergreen. It’s definitely blue but there is a really strong green undertone. It’s a beautiful chameleon. I think with some wear it will really be special. I plan to be the person to give it that wear...FOR ONCE! I wanted to get some outside shots but it’s just too damn cold. Now commence the selling it when jokes and have a great weekend y’all
After buying and really enjoying the fit of two different jackets I wanted to mash them together and create a real workhorse feeling utility jacket. The first was psant’s brown zip sleeve HWM and then this vintage excelled 50’e era HB (the original ass kicker) I purchased from robinray.
I really liked the feel of both of these. Particularly the vintage jacket, which was a true Halfbelt but with the adjusters placed at the waist. The wheels were turning!
My original idea was to take the zip sleeve HWM and move the belts up 5”, remove the waist band, storm cuff and throat latch. The more I thought about it, the less convinced I was that it would yield the result I wanted. So it occurred to me that an extreme waist taper on the 50’s HB would be the better route. Plus I get to keep the actual false belt which the excelled had (and the adjustments straps where I wanted them anyway). I went with a standard size 40” and cut 2” off the waist. Which is probably very close to what the standard HWM does.
I also subtracted 1” of body length from my typical 50’s pattern spec. From 27” to 26”. I likely wouldn’t be able to zip it if it were any longer, and I think it was a good call for the overall look (as long as it doesn’t shrink
) I’ve got the belts cinched in pretty tight in these pics. Still trying to find the sweet spot. One thing to note, the 50’s HB has zero front drop. It’s almost as if the finished jacket is cut at the hem with a table saw.Lined in brown cord, sleeves in OD with OD knits, throat latch and my go to back config. silver nickel zips with the same puller. I do plan on finding something to personalize the chest pull.
This s my 3rd Aero in midnight blue. The hide this go round has much more green than the last batch I had, and much more everything than the first. It’s a lovely dark evergreen. It’s definitely blue but there is a really strong green undertone. It’s a beautiful chameleon. I think with some wear it will really be special. I plan to be the person to give it that wear...FOR ONCE! I wanted to get some outside shots but it’s just too damn cold. Now commence the selling it when jokes and have a great weekend y’all
