Lining quality for Aero Leather Jacket

[Chris7273]

Hello
I am considering to buy an aero leather jacket in horsehide.
For the winter, i will choose a wool lining and i wonder which type to choose : tweed, tartan or alpaca
My questions are :
- what about the thickness and will the thickest fabric add bulkyness to the jacket, is there an influence on the sizing ?
- which is the warmer ?
- which is the most durable ?
Thank you

 

[tnjyoung]

My only experience is with the Tartan, but I can tell you that I have worn it here in Germany recently (35-45 degrees F) in windy conditions and it has been wonderful. The leather/tartan combination blocks wind like nothing else I have owned, but the jacket still seems flexible and well-fitting. In some cases, like when I walk inside a store, I am even a bit too warm. As far as durability, I am only seeing very light, if any fuzzing on the wool tartan portion of my jacket and it is 7 months only and has been worn regularly for 2.5 months. Hopefully others will comment on the tweed and alpaca, as well.

 

[Rudie]

Lining is not very important for warmth, layering is. Unless you plan to wear it in extremely cold weather (then you should go for shearling) it is more important to have enough room to layer underneath. My goatskin half belt is lined with cotton drill. Worn with a chunky wool sweater I can easily wear it till about -5°C. Unless you only want to wear it in winter I would go for a medium tartan or cotton drill. You'll have a more versatile jacket that you can wear nearly year round.

 

[Sloan1874]

I'm with Rudie on this one. Though the alpaca is probably the warmest, tweed and wool are pretty much the same, I would go for a light weight tartan lining and layer from there. I suppose you could go with the heavy Strome tartan, but that would seriously limit how often you could use it. As for durability, it's all much of a muchness.

 

[Peacoat]

None of the linings you mentioned is bulky. All are relatively thin. I think the tartan and the tweed will be a bit more durable than the alpaca. My alpaca has some worn spots at the belt level where I carry a Leatherman tool, but the wear isn't anything to worry about. For Winter wear, I would eliminate the cotton drill as I don't find it adds much warmth to the jacket.

Also, you need to consider that you will be getting a closely fitted jacket, and there won't be room for much layering. Perhaps a thin wool vest or sweater, but that is all I have room for in my high end leather jackets. In my GW A-2 there is no room for layering, but then I didn't buy it for cold weather, and normally wear it unzipped. Same with my Eastman Luftwaffe jacket and my 1962 G-1, but I normally wear them zipped and unlayered.

When the temps drop into the 40s (F), I go with my Aero Highwayman in Alpaca, the Sheene in Tartan or my Johnson Leathers jacket with the quilted lining. In the 30s (F) and below, I go with my Thunder Bay with shearling or a peacoat. All of my jackets are closely fitted, without much room for layering, so I choose the jacket to match the temperature rather than layering under them. That's not to say I don't layer, because I do on occasion, but I prefer to pick the jacket for the temperature so I don't have much bulk under the jacket.

 

[Chris7273]

thank you all for your answers.
Tartan seems to be the good option for me.

 

[Fanch]

All of my Aero's are lined with cotton drill throughout with the exception of my Teamster which has moleskin body and cotton drill sleeve linings. If very cold l layer a Filson vest (moleskin or Mackinaw wool) underneath my Teamster. Both cotton drill and moleskin are very durable. Another very durable body shell lining would be corduroy.