Himel Wolverine Grizzly Inbound!

[dudewuttheheck]

Some of you know that I went to my first Inspiration this year with my fiance. It was a blast and we are definitely going to spend more time there next year. However, my real reason for attending was to meet the great David Himel and try on some of his incredible jackets. The Frobisher, Kensington, and Heron were all amazing and I was especially loving the Frobisher.

On a whim, I tried on a grizzly he had and almost laughed at how much I actually liked it on myself. to my even greater surprise, my fiance said she thought I looked amazing in it! She's generally quite conservative with clothing, so this was a sign in my mind. Dave and I took a couple of pics together and talked about how terrible BK is .

For the past couple of months I have not been able to get it out of my head. My fiance even encouraged me to get it (yeah, I know I chose well haha). Well, I didn't need anymore telling and today I made the order for one with the medium brown waxed Shinki HH (still the only leather I will get a jacket in), dark brown fur, and the new Stewart brushed cotton flannel lining. The lining may be a bit warm, but my silk lined RMC A2 will be the go too for warmer weather jacket wearing.

I am way too excited to get this! It's not something I ever thought I would get, not only due to the price, but also the uniqueness of the piece itself. I'm not sure I have even seen any forum member (here or on any other clothing forum I visit) that owns one. Obviously, not everyone is going to like it and that's totally fine. Either way, it is without doubt Himel's flagship jacket, taking nearly twice as many man hours to create as anything else as well as being the jacket he wears himself to promote his own work.

I have a dark brown A2 when I want to be relatively conservative and it feels nice to finally be a part of the more than one jacket club. Of course, I am far from the coolest/best looking dude in the world, but I felt like a rock star wearing that jacket and have never really felt that with anything else before.

Anyway, here is a pic of me in the size 38 I tried on (I ordered a 40) and the fur that will become my jacket. If everything goes well, I'm going to try to get my girl a nyla or lady kensington next year. She's starting to lust after a leather jacket herself thanks to my influence

 

[ProteinNerd]

The grizzly is definitely not my cup of tea but the both of you look pretty damn cool in it in the pic!

Did you need to size up? The 38 looks like a good fit and the sleeve is already longer and a bit proportional fatter than Dave wears his.....is that customised?

 

[Benj]

Man, I look great in that jacket.

Awesome choice man, looking forward to it. I agree with PN, I think the 38 looks awesome. I think Himel is a proponent of sizing up though, I tried on a 40 Kensington which he said was definitely my size, but it felt slightly too roomy and I wouldn't have been happy with it in the long run.

Damn phone was dead so couldn't get a pic of that one!

 

[handymike]

rockin' Dude!
I can't wait to see it on you and the full review.
Great choice.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Thanks for the kind words guys! The 38 was close to fitting, but it did not actually zip up. The sizes are actually pretty close to each other when you look on his website. I'm still talking about exact sizing with him.

And yes Ben, you are looking quite sexy in this jacket

 

[Benj]

As we all know size is super personal, but if it was up to me, I think I would ask for a size 38 with an inch bigger body and half inch shorter sleeves. For my tastes, Dave's sleeves are absolutely spot on. And i think the proportions of the rest of the jacket are perfect, especially the length of it.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

As we all know size is super personal, but if it was up to me, I think I would ask for a size 38 with an inch bigger body and half inch shorter sleeves. For my tastes, Dave's sleeves are absolutely spot on. And i think the proportions of the rest of the jacket are perfect, especially the length of it.

Yeah I definitely don't want the sleeves longer, but the shoulders are actually slightly small as well. The only major difference in size is the chest between the 38 and 40 which is where I need the most difference.

 

[Superfluous]

Congrats Dude. This will be an epic jacket.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Congrats Dude. This will be an epic jacket.

Thanks! I appreciate your help and advice in this as I'm sure does Dave haha

 

[nick123]

Not over the top one bit. Great x 100000. Congrats!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Not over the top one bit. Great x 100000. Congrats!

Thanks! I'm quite excited

 

[dan_t]

Hi dude, I think Super is right with the use of the term 'epic'!
I wish I could pull this off like you do in that first pic. Looks awesome!!!

 

[ton312]

Man, very cool design on that grizzly. I love the hair on hide take on it and the shawl collar totally suits the style. Suits you very well too. Very much looking forward to your write up when it arrives. I don't think I've seen reviews of this jacket. It really just looks so damn cool. So please when you get the jacket do us a favor dude and

 

[bn1966]

That is one lovely jacket Dude.....

 

[Grayland]

The sleeves look very "wide" to me, especially the lower sleeve area.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

haha thanks guys! Don't worry, the dude will abide
I have no doubt that my write up will be annoyingly long and thorough. I have also noticed a lack of reviews/pics of this jacket from Himel's customers. I know it's a little more out there, but I am surprised it isn't at least a little more popular.

Grayland- yes I notice that too in the pic, but I think it's partly due to how I was standing/where my arms were. Dave's jacket which is broken in doesn't have that issue.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I noticed the large width of the sleeves on the 38 as well......I'm assuming the one Dave is wearing is custom made for him though, maybe thats why its a tighter sleeve cuff? It definitely looks better on his jacket, I'd bring it up wth him if I was spending that amount of money on it.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

I noticed the large width of the sleeves on the 38 as well......I'm assuming the one Dave is wearing is custom made for him though, maybe thats why its a tighter sleeve cuff? It definitely looks better on his jacket, I'd bring it up wth him if I was spending that amount of money on it.

Yeah I mentioned that to him. I'm not even sure how this jacket I treid on conforms to his size chart... this jacket was made years ago I believe.

 

[BobJ]

Hey dude, does Dave's jacket have the pocket flaps? It almost looks like his is just a curved slit opening, like on some of the old cowboy shirts. Could just be the angle though. I agree with everyone here - it's an awesome jacket and you wear it well. I think we don't see more of them because it takes courage to be different and not follow the herd.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Hey dude, does Dave's jacket have the pocket flaps? It almost looks like his is just a curved slit opening, like on some of the old cowboy shirts. Could just be the angle though. I agree with everyone here - it's an awesome jacket and you wear it well. I think we don't see more of them because it takes courage to be different and not follow the herd.

Thank you for the kind words!

I believe that Dave's jacket is the same as mine, but he may have the pocket flaps tucked into the pockets themselves which I know is something you can do. He designed the pocket flaps to have the ability to be tucked in.