Horsehide Leather Jacket with good zippers

[obwohl]

I am looking for a new leather jacket with good and long lasting zippers. Something in this style would be nice: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=60
Good horsehide leather would be very much appreciated as well. Any hints?

 

[Carlos840]

Hi,
Your question is a bit like asking "i am looking for a car, with a good engine, any hints?" everyone will have different opinions and ideas...

The jacket you posted is a belted D pocket, there are hundreds of variation of it, they started in the late 20s and were very common up to the 60s where they kinda became less of a thing.
The most famous one is probably the Buco J-24, but many other brands did them.

The jacket you posted is also made from Horween CXL which happened to be good horsehide, but there are many other good ones available.

I have a thing for D pockets:

Aero Bootlegger with custom D pocket:

Diamond Dave copy of a Buco D pocket with snap belt:

Legendary USA Trojan copy:

Freewheelers LaBrea (Leathertogs copy):

Lost world J-23:

Vanson Commando:

As you can see, there are many variations available, you need to decide if you want it with a full removable belt, a half attached belt, no belt, new or vintage, just a D pocket or a bunch of extra pockets and studs, only you can figure that out...

Regarding zippers, most people are happy with repro Talons, but you can go crazy and spend $250 on a NOS Crown if you feel like it... They are glorious!

 

[obwohl]

Thank you, the problem is, my Aero Elvis zippers are so bad, they failed two times after 3 years normal wear. So I'm looking for a company with better quality. I've heard Langlitz is quite good, right?

 

[Monitor]

Schott comes to mind. They do jackets in horsehide and always use a heavyweight, sturdy main zipper. Legendary, too, a brand that @Carlos840 mentioned. Brilliant jackets. Than there's Vanson, you'll also get a #10 YKK which guaranteed won't fail. For bespoke you've got Lost Worlds where I believe you can pick a zipper you want. . .

RMC too, of course, though I think they're using a smaller zipper for the main.

I'm not sure Langlitz ever did a D-pocket leather jacket, though.

 

[Monitor]

I stand corrected - Langlitz makes a D-pocket and then some!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Langlitz-Leathers-Politi-Style-Leather-Jacket-Heavy-Weight-039-size-42-Excellent-/193000145886

 

[Carlos840]

Thank you, the problem is, my Aero Elvis zippers are so bad, they failed two times after 3 years normal wear. So I'm looking for a company with better quality. I've heard Langlitz is quite good, right?

Have you tried contacting Aero see what they say?
I haven't had much luck contacting them recently, but most people seem to be able to get in touch with them.
Saying that i think they usually insist on using smaller "period correct" zippers, but you might be able to get someone to replace it with a bigger one, if you are in the US a lot of people use Johnson Leathers for that kind of things.

Now if you want a new jacket, IMO the best D pocket money can buy is the Freewheelers LaBrea:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/freewheelers-labrea.94219/

Followed closely by the Lost Worlds J-23

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/lost-worlds-j-23-review-evo.98274/

And i have to say the Vanson Commando is an awesome jacket, and probably the best value for money of the three, it is not really accurate though and doesn't have a belt:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/vanson-x-left-field-commando.98275/

The Legendary USA Trojan is also nice, but IMO not on the same level as the previous three:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/legendary-products-inc-trojan-horse.96661/

There is a Black Stallion for sale on the bay right now, i almost bought it but i think i need a 42 in that model:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Stallion-Horsehide-Motorcycle-Leather-Jacket-Size-40-Buco-J-24-Schott/113902156391?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2763.l2649


Here are the measurements of the black stallion straight from Legendary:
Length: 25.25"
Chest: 23"
Shoulder: 18.5"
Sleeve: 25.25"
Waist: 19.25"

 

[El Marro]

Thank you, the problem is, my Aero Elvis zippers are so bad, they failed two times after 3 years normal wear. So I'm looking for a company with better quality. I've heard Langlitz is quite good, right?

I experienced zipper failure on my Aero Bootlegger after only owning the jacket for one month. I had my tailor replace the original zipper with a #8 riri and I haven’t had a problem since then. If you like your Aero Elvis I would recommend you look into this option.

 

[JMax]

I stand corrected - Langlitz makes a D-pocket and then some!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Langlitz-Leathers-Politi-Style-Leather-Jacket-Heavy-Weight-039-size-42-Excellent-/193000145886

I love D-pockets and LL but this one has too much going on for me.

 

[Edward]

There were a lot of manufacturers had an issue with a particular Talon three or four years ago, I seem to remember - bad batch got to Europe somehow. Always worth asking Aero if they'll use something else. I know they won't put something comically big on their jackets (as was common on 70s and 80s bike jackets), but they might have some leeway.

 

[ton312]

Absolute luck of the draw with those #5 Talons. Broke all of them on my j-106 ( to Aero's credit they replaced the pulls without me even asking!) Ironically, the heaviest most DREADNAUGHT hide I've ever owned and likely the heaviest ever available from Aero (50's HB CXL Steer) hasn't had the slightest problem with the wee main zip...

 

[ton312]

There were a lot of manufacturers had an issue with a particular Talon three or four years ago, I seem to remember - bad batch got to Europe somehow. Always worth asking Aero if they'll use something else. I know they won't put something comically big on their jackets (as was common on 70s and 80s bike jackets), but they might have some leeway.

I get that they won't pop a 10 on a jacket but a number 8 riri is far from comical and much more functional...CXL is not historically accurate either TBH.

 

[Guppy]

I love D-pockets and LL but this one has too much going on for me.

Yeah, if they could drop about half of the pockets, it'd be better. That's a seriously over-built jacket.

 

[jacketjunkie]

What is comical is ordering a 1300 USD jacket and then having the zipper fail after a few weeks, lol.

@obwohl If you want to spend big money on a d-pocket style jacket, the Freewheelers linked by Carlos is arguably the bset thing on the market, pattern, construction and leather are all outstanding. Lost Worlds is great too, their horsehide is incredibly tough but not for those who want a jacket that after a season of wear looks like a vtg original. A LW will look like a vtg original in about 80 years from now and you can get them with larger zips, too.

Langlitz can make you a custom-fit Columbia in the 1500ish USD range, with your own choice of pockets, padding, etc. Their Cascade starts at 200 USD less, so you can probably go wild on custom options there and end at around 1300 USD. Langlitz uses cowhide though. Their horsehide is like 1000 USD upcharge, wouldn't pay that much extra for horsehide.

Johnson Leather can customize their standard designs at small cost and offer a variety of different leathers and zippers.

If you don't want to spend 2-3k USD, Vanson makes great product for the money. I own 5 Vansons and I don't think anything beats them in the bang for the buck department. No horsehide, though.

 

[Jejupe]

I am looking for a new leather jacket with good and long lasting zippers. Something in this style would be nice: http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=60
Good horsehide leather would be very much appreciated as well. Any hints?

I'd consider going with Simmons Bilt. They're widely disliked here due to historical reasons, but they make a good product with sturdy #8 zips and their jackets are great value for money. They're open to custom orders and they're pleasure to work with. Their veg tanned Clayton horsehide is really nice, but they have lots of nice hh options including Blattwerk hh, which is by far the softest hh I've handled so far. Just don't expect your new jacket to be a crowd favorite around here in TFL if you decide to go with SB.

 

[JMax]

I get that they won't pop a 10 on a jacket but a number 8 riri is far from comical and much more functional...CXL is not historically accurate either TBH.

Yeah, I asked a couple times for a larger zip on the CHP, but that wasn't meant to be. At some point the jacket will be sent to JL. After only a couple of weeks I have come to accept that fact.

 

[Jejupe]

I personally have decided to avoid buying new Aero jackets with zips. I have quite a few of those already and I notice that these jackets don't get the weartime they deserve because of my dislike for their poor zips.

I get the usage of repro zips in repro jackets, but most of Aero's jackets these days are more like modern interpretations of classic styles rather than re-productions of old jackets. Using proper (=larger) zips would only make the jackets better and more appealing to larger body of customers.

 

[ton312]

I think with the lighter hides like vic, etc the Talons are just fine...it's a real gamble though with the heavy stuff...

 

[Peacoat]

I personally have decided to avoid buying new Aero jackets with zips. I have quite a few of those already and I notice that these jackets don't get the weartime they deserve because of my dislike for their poor zips.

I get the usage of repro zips in repro jackets, but most of Aero's jackets these days are more like modern interpretations of classic styles rather than re-productions of old jackets. Using proper (=larger) zips would only make the jackets better and more appealing to larger body of customers.

My experience exactly. I had problems with the tiny zip on my Aero Thunderbay from day one, and I just didn't wear it much. Failed after a year or two, and it cost me $200 to get the zip replaced with a number 10. It needed at least a #8 to begin with. In fairness to the zip, though, it had been improperly installed, and that was the cause of the ultimate failure.

 

[Edward]

I get the usage of repro zips in repro jackets, but most of Aero's jackets these days are more like modern interpretations of classic styles rather than re-productions of old jackets. Using proper (=larger) zips would only make the jackets better and more appealing to larger body of customers.

It's a subjective choice, of course, though I iamgine if they're doing well enough to have a consistent waiting list, they probably don't need to change things much.

Everybody's got their preferences of course, though tbh the only Aero zip I ever had a problem with was because the jacket was simply too small for me.

 

[Mich486]

Every time I zipped/unzipped my CXL jacket fitted with a hookless I lit a candle.


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