Fox Creek Leather Appreciation Thread

[apba1166]

I think that;s right (size). I usually wear over a light sweatshirt, anything more would be tight (not to mention of the rotator cuff drama of actually shrugging it on over it without pulling something--at my age). It's a comfortable jacket, once on. Doesn't feel bulky or as heavy as it is.

 

[53Effie]

New Fox Creek

Just wanted to mention that I received a new jeans style jacket today from Fox Creek. I was looking for more of a casual jacket and I think this one will fill the bill nicely. I agree with all that has been said here about the quality and nature of the leather. Very nice and pretty heavy too. I ordered a 42 and the fit is very good. They told me this jacket would be a little roomier in the chest and shoulder area than the bike dedicated jackets. They provided the basic measurements for the stock 42, which is also my sportcoat size, and it worked out well. Nice product and very nice folks to deal with too.

mh

 

[captaincaveman1]

Here's a pic of the Grayson with the vents open from warmer days. You can see the subtle but highly visible reflective strip in the kidney belt as well as the bi-action back.

Here's me doing my damndest to do a 1000 yard stare. No lid on my mug this time.

 

[Peacoat]

Nice looking machine. I'm glad I don't have one. I'd wrap it around something the first week I had it. 45 is about as fast as I want to take a 25 mph curve on my Harley Road King. That thing looks like it would take it at 55 with no problem.

I will admit that every time I see a yellow Ducati, my pulse speeds up a bit, and my eyes dilate. So far I have resisted the urge. If I brought one home, my wife would leave me. She knows the first, or maybe the second, thing I would do would be to take it to the Dragon and try it out on the mountain. At my age, the last thing I need is a rocket capable of 160 right out of the crate. Actually, that is the last thing anyone over 40 needs.

I take it your Grayson is the heavy cowhide cafe racer with vents in the sleeves, chest and back?

 

[captaincaveman1]

Nice looking machine. I'm glad I don't have one. I'd wrap it around something the first week I had it. 45 is about as fast as I want to take a 25 mph curve on my Harley Road King. That thing looks like it would take it at 55 with no problem.

I will admit that every time I see a yellow Ducati, my pulse speeds up a bit, and my eyes dilate. So far I have resisted the urge. If I brought one home, my wife would leave me. She knows the first, or maybe the second, thing I would do would be to take it to the Dragon and try it out on the mountain. At my age, the last thing I need is a rocket capable of 160 right out of the crate. Actually, that is the last thing anyone over 40 needs.

I take it your Grayson is the heavy cowhide cafe racer with vents in the sleeves, chest and back?

Yes that's right. Very cleverly hidden zip open vents.

Actually I don't ride this bike on the street anymore. I wobble around the race track and try my best not to get lapped. lol Incidentally I was at the Dragon twice in 2008 with the 955i.


As I've gotten older I found less hp is better. I get my kicks on the streets with this little bike. Guess it's self-preservation kicking in.

 

[Peacoat]

I've always like the Triumphs. I guess it comes from a time long ago when I was about 13 and a friend of mine had a Tiger Cub. For someone who had been fooling around with motor bikes, Cushman Eagles and scooters, that was a real motorcycle!

 

[RockBottom]

I rode a Triumph Bonneville from the dealer home for a friend who bought it last October. While it is only 65 HP, I found it "sneaky fast." Looked down on the Interstate once and found I was going 90 MPH and had no idea. Unfortunately my friend, who like me was taking up motorcycling in middle age, totaled it on his third ride.

On Fox Creek, though, I have one of their classic jackets and absolutely adore it. I think it's Vanson level quality for about half the price.

 

[Rider]

I have the Classic jacket as well as a pair of chaps. Fox Creek makes amazing products, and has excellent customer service.

I am a customer for life. I see no reason to consider any other.

 

[captaincaveman1]

Gotta get in another word in about FCL's customer service.

My grayson has a slight flaw in the right bi-swing pleat. The seam was sewn a bit crooked. It's a cosmetic flaw that I could live with but wanted to get fixed anyway.

I shipped it to FCL to be fixed under the firm's lifetime warranty. While it's down there, I also asked them to add another button to the waist cinch adjustment tabs. I offered to pay for this minor job but they wouldn't take my money! Shipping back to me for this repair job will also be free.

Now that's good customer service.

 

[Peacoat]

Good story Caveman, thanks for sharing. I too have had good luck with their customer service.

 

[felix03]

Love that Thruxton!

 

[garzo]

This thread has been very helpful. I'm looking at getting a new motorcycle jacket and have been considering Vanson and a Legendary USA horsehide made by Schott but came across Fox Creek and in terms of price and features (like protector pockets) they really seem the way to go.

Can someone offer a comparison between Fox Creek (I'm interested in the Grayson) and a Vanson model (Model A or B)? Those are the Vanson jackets I was thinking about but the protector pockets and price really make the Grayson appealing. Is Vanson leather much thicker? It sounds like the Vanson jackets run a bit smaller than Fox Creek.

I'm normally in between a 44 and a 46. I own a couple of Schotts size 44 but if I bought a Schott today I'd order a 46. I also have a Lewis Leathers Dominator size 46 that fits me very well.

 

[Peacoat]

The Vanson leather is a bit thicker and much stiffer; much more like a motorcycle jacket should feel. The Fox Creek is a softer, broken in out of the box type of leather. It is a thick and a nice hide, but not nearly as tough as the Vanson. While the Fox Creek required no break in, the Vanson took a month or so of steady wear to get it to a comfortable level. The Fox Creek has armor in the elbows, so the protection would be about the same in the event of a go down. [Edit Note: Actually I meant to say ". . . so the protection would be better in the event of a go down."]

My Vanson Enfield is sized pretty much on the money, while the Fox Creek is sized about two sizes too small for me. They recommend going up one size, which will work well if one doesn't want to layer under the jacket for cold weather. I went two sizes up, and it is still a bit tight with a heavy wool shirt and a vest. On the Vanson I went up one size, from a 42 to a 44, and I have room to layer.

Both are good quality motorcycle jackets, but if I had to have one moto jacket, it would be the Vanson.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Although I've never seen a Fox Creek, I've owned several Vansons; right now the Enfield. I totally agree with everything that Pea Coat has said.
THe jacket almost feells like it could stop a bullet, it's that substantial.
I've been riding with it almost every day since I got it (about a month ago) and it's only marginally more supple. Beautiful grain is starting to come out all over though.
Fit for me is perfect.
I'm really a 39-40 and I bought a 40.
There's just enough room to wear a sweater under it.
Everything about it is top shelf too from the thickness of the leather, to the beefiness of the zipper, to the leather lined pockets.
No provisions for armor though as this jacket is one of the more casual ones in the Vanson line-up.
But I did buy it to wear both riding and casually.
Finally, I think it looks awesome.
Lenny

 

[TheSnark]

Just a few things worth mentioning, imo...

By standard methods of grading, FCL jackets are actually higher grade leathers than Vanson (full-grain naked for FCL vs. top-grain finished for Vanson).

On the other hand, Vanson leathers acquire graininess with time, whereas the original grain of an FCL jacket disappears with time (which is both unusual and rather odd, since better quality grain is usually the primary motive for using full-grain naked leather). Given that unusual property of FCL leather, it's not too surprising that many would prefer the Vanson jackets.

Both Vanson and FCL have excellent reputations for toughness, and my guess is that any difference in degree of protection in a crash will depend much more on the jacket model you choose and the armor (or lack of) than any difference in strength of material or workmanship.

Unlike Vanson, all jackets in the Fox Creek lineup are quite obviously biker jackets. There are plenty of Vanson jackets that are primarily casual use or riding jackets that can reasonably double as casual wear, but casual wear just isn't in the FCL playbook.

Edit: To address your question about fit, the Vanson is a bit more trim than FCL, but not by much. If you have a Schott size 46 that just allows an underlayer, fitting the same layer under a Vanson of the same size would probably be too snug for most people.

As near as I can tell, there's hardly any objective reason to choose one brand over the other. Vanson and FCL are distinctly different, but both are fine choices and it's almost entirely a matter of personal preference. I have jackets from both (which is what I recommend), but if I had to choose between them, I'm sure I would wrestle with the decision for a long time and finally just flip a coin.

 

[Peacoat]

Well said, Snark.

 

[53Effie]

Yes, I own both Vanson and FCL and I agree with Snark entirely. Both are heavy, quality jackets that would likely be equally protective. There is quite a different feel to the leather as the FCL is much more pliable from the outset. Customer service with FCL is also excellent as Caveman has mentioned and I feel is the better of the two from that standpoint. That is an important factor for me.

Mike

 

[garzo]

Talking about service, I wrote Fox Creek with a question and they got back to me the same day. Vanson's customer service never replied to the email I sent them weeks ago. I had to call them on the phone with my questions.

I really like that grainy Vanson leather but will probably go for the Fox Creek. I really like the Grayson overall, not to mention the much better price, the armor pockets and FCL's customer service.

I also like the Grayson's long back. And riding this summer in the heat with my Schott I was really wishing I had vents. I prefer leather to textile jackets, although I recently picked up a nice old-style Australian wax-cotton riding jacket from Sunstuff that I wear with a padded protector jacket underneath.

 

[captaincaveman1]

Well said. But I have not noticed the grain on the FCL fading over time. Just as its name suggests, you can actually see individual skin cells in the naked grain. Well at least you can on my jacket. I don't really see how these could dissapear.

Just a few things worth mentioning, imo...

By standard methods of grading, FCL jackets are actually higher grade leathers than Vanson (full-grain naked for FCL vs. top-grain finished for Vanson).

On the other hand, Vanson leathers acquire graininess with time, whereas the original grain of an FCL jacket disappears with time (which is both unusual and rather odd, since better quality grain is usually the primary motive for using full-grain naked leather). Given that unusual property of FCL leather, it's not too surprising that many would prefer the Vanson jackets.

Both Vanson and FCL have excellent reputations for toughness, and my guess is that any difference in degree of protection in a crash will depend much more on the jacket model you choose and the armor (or lack of) than any difference in strength of material or workmanship.

Unlike Vanson, all jackets in the Fox Creek lineup are quite obviously biker jackets. There are plenty of Vanson jackets that are primarily casual use or riding jackets that can reasonably double as casual wear, but casual wear just isn't in the FCL playbook.

Edit: To address your question about fit, the Vanson is a bit more trim than FCL, but not by much. If you have a Schott size 46 that just allows an underlayer, fitting the same layer under a Vanson of the same size would probably be too snug for most people.

As near as I can tell, there's hardly any objective reason to choose one brand over the other. Vanson and FCL are distinctly different, but both are fine choices and it's almost entirely a matter of personal preference. I have jackets from both (which is what I recommend), but if I had to choose between them, I'm sure I would wrestle with the decision for a long time and finally just flip a coin.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Could somebody tell me about FCL's naked leather please?
Is it water resistant?
If not, what product would you use to give it water resistance?
Are there any benefits to naked leather over the kind that Vanson uses?
Thanks all.
Lenny