milwuakee crazy horse leather motorcycle jacket review

[johnnyjohnny]

[note: sorry about the typo, obviously should be milwaukee ]

just got this today and it's about as good as it gets. below are links to the youtube video on it, plus a link to amazon.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6itSoWYC-1c
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004C4448E/ref=ox_ya_os_product

HOWEVER, there is a mistake in the video on youtube saying there are two front chest zip pockets! when i got this those chest 'pockets' turned out to be vents, like are on the back. on the amazon copy it says there are two pockets in front and two 12" vertical vents both back and front...well, this is wrong, the chest zippers are vents not pockets, and are about 5", the vents in back are vertical, but also about 5". i went to the mmccleather.com website and the copy there states everything correctly.

that said, it's road-protective grade leather for riding, but with the liner coming out and the vents, it's a 3 season jacket. it's stunning. i'd say if you were going to get one motorcycle jacket of the upright collar type, this would have to be it. i love the collared jackets, so have a $1000 eastman ww2 luftwaffe replica jacket in thinner horsehide. i've also had the $700 aero highwayman, which has leather as heavy as this one has (it's not super heavy, but medium weight)...the quality on this milwaukee is definitely in the same league as the eastman and aero. however, it must be noted the eastman is a ww2 replica, which is above and beyond what the aero and the milwaukee are, but as for pure quality, the milwaukee stands among the best.

as with all motorcycle jackets, you might wish to get it about a size bigger than your actual size...i take a 42 long suit jacket, but needed an XL. so if you take a 44 suit jacket, and get the Large, which is made for a 44" according to sizing charts, you'll be probably be two sizes too small.

living in so california, and not riding a bike since a college accident where amazingly i got through with no injuries while my leg caused $1000 damage to a 1973 capris, i still love this look enough to wear motorcycle jackets as much of the year as i can. since this jacket has a zip out lining, and two vents front and two rear, it is definitely a three-season jacket, including possibly some summer nights along the beach.

if you want a true motorcycle jacket but don't want to look like you just stepped out of the 1953 production of 'The Wild One', and like the upright collar look vs. the regular collar, this simply has to be the one jacket for you. i can't believe i got it for under $200 on amazon (currently that price too on mmccleather.com) when the quality is in the $500 plus category. very happy.

lastly, i know my palz here on fedlounge will wish i took a pic to post, but i'll say this, the jacket is better than the pic on amazon or on the mmccleather.com website, and it's every bit as nice a jacket as shown visually on the youtube video (but again, do note that the chest zips are vents, not pockets)

 

[norton123]

Where is the jacket made? Do you have any idea? Looks like a Pakistan jacket to me.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

what's a pakistani jacket

funny you should say that.
i had a strong bias about current issue military jackets being made in the u.s. from my mil jacket collecting.

i carried that into my first purchases of motorcycle jackets, buying from the top makers of motorcycle apparel in the u.s., and paying in the $300-$400 for jackets made by these legendary companies, made here on u.s. soil.

what i got each time (and no, i'll not name names as the customer service was very courteous and i don't wish to hurt the few u.s. makers of motorcycle leather jackets still here) were major flaws. for one jacket i posted the flaws on this forum, and every respondent agreed this was not acceptable.

there were seams sewn in different places from side to side, pockets higher on one side or the other, and even pockets placed too high on the body to use comfortably. this was the case on jackets from several major u.s. leather motorcycle jacket makers, one on the east coast, one on the west.

having already gotten the perfect biker jacket, a $1000 eastman luftwaffe replica, i wasn't going to now look for more uber expensive biker jackets to find quality, and i gave up for awhile. one day, when i had a few bucks to spare, i purchased a few authentic current harley jackets from their authorized seller, and what i found blew me away.

the current authentic harley jackets i received (and many are) were made in indonesia. i wouldn't get a current spec A-2 from indonesia, or pakistan (here on the fedlounge i railed against an online supplier of u.s. mil jackets that were actually made in pakistan...while i sent the g-2 jacket back for full refund, i did note the perfect quality of the item) but i was willing to bend my prejudice on biker jackets.

with the perfect quality of the harley jackets, i was willing to accept foreign makers aside from the ultra costly english producers such as aero and eastman, whose quality is generally top of the heap.

when i saw this crazy horse jacket, i loved the look, saw the video, and purchased it.

now, when you say it looks like a pakistan jacket to you, i know you don't mean it as a compliment. but to me it means, no, it doesn't have any major flaws in it like the u.s. manufacturer jackets that i've been unfortunate enough to get. and no, it isn't three times the price of an American manufacturer made jacket.

it does have perfect sewing, no untied off ends sticking out where they shouldn't be, as i've gotten from u.s. union made leather jackets purchased from schott, excelled (leathercoatsetc.com) or uswings, all of which i think use the same production facility.

as for style or cut, i've had an aero highwayman, and this has the same quality and authentic classic cut and construction as that did. no, doesn't have some weird undefinable 'pakistani look' to it. the construction is as perfect and true to style and construction as my $1000 eastman luftwaffe, which is the most perfect leather jacket i can imagine. albeit, this milwaukee jacket is not some ww2 replica, it's just a nice styled classic biker jacket.

my answer then, more laconically, is that if you define Pakistan jacket as well-built, no flaws, as well-designed and as good looking as an aero highwayman, including stitching and fit, then yes, this does look like a Pakistan jacket. though i don't actually know the country of manufacture.

hope you didn't expect a short answer from me.

last, please don't anyone interpret this as a rundown of u.s. leather jacket makers...i've just posted what i've experienced. rather, it is an admission that the quality i've seen from harley and milwaukee biker jackets, though made overseas, is at the very least, on par with the u.s. maker jackets i've actually purchased and seen.

 

[Metatron]

Thanks for the review, it's good to see something that isn't based on a vintage pattern once in a while! I like that ribbing, and the leather looks nice and grainy.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

thanks meta...i think i know what you mean. it's not a replica of a classic pattern.

still, what attracted me to it were the classic lines. the main shell is really a luftwaffe style in the front, but it goes modern with having a windflap in front, and the cafe racer collar (upright). in the back it has a one piece back (none of this vertical divide!) with a yoke across the top, like the aero highwayman...yet it goes modern with the biswing back and the really cool feature of creased leather that expands on the sides, which one of my harley jackets has. and back to classic with the adjustable side straps, except with snaps.

the overall look and design is classic, with a lot of newer elements. it's remarkably form fitting, allowing me to cinch the waist, but others to let the waist expand with the creased leather if they need it.

the one thing that is for certain is that it is a true riding jacket, not a style piece or replica. the chest 'pockets' actually being vents, and the back vents, plus the windflap make this clear. even the creased expando leather and side cinching snaps on the sides are there to keep the jacked form fitting around the waist on a ride, so air doesn't get in...and to that end, it has the de rigueur forearm/wrist zips for the same reason.

oh yes, and as you say meta, the cowhide is very grainy, and would protect if a bike ever went down, but thankfully, it's midweight rather than the real thick stuff.

someday someone will appreciate the current stuff just as we do 50s styles today, so why not start appreciating the past while we're living in it.

thanks for the comment.

 

[norton123]

I didn't mean anything necessarily insulting by saying "Pakistan" as the quality of their made jackets have improved tremendously.

Usually when I see a jacket brand that advertises relating to American icons like Milwaukee/Crazy Horse, it sends up red flags to me of what are they trying to "sell".

Maybe you were burned by a couple of jackets made here in the US but I've owned a lot of jackets over the years and the major US brands have always been top notch made quality and worth, usually, the extra price.

I have seen several foreign made jackets that were sub par at best and the sizing so off the charts that you better not try and buy site unseen off the internet.

I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

i understand. but as 'made in japan' used to be subpar in the 60s, and 'made in china' is now breaking that stereotype in some areas, 'made in pakistan' suggests a stigma, not necessarily intended.

i certainly don't knock u.s. manufacturers, but i guess between the both of us we show that there is good quality and poor on both sides. i think the standards of the company selling the item is what determines the quality of what they'll sell.

with this jacket, i looked at the pix, and the youtube tape, and could see, unless they did a bait and switch, it was a very good jacket. and it is at the least as good as they represent, if not more so.

and still, i don't know the country of origin, but whoever did it, very very nice...especially the fit.

as for 'you get what you pay for', i think with certain things charging a premium price can be a trick to convince people of quality that is not there. i know this happened to me when buying a 'noble house' german ww2 leather jacket a few years ago at a premium price. no bad sews or anything, it just happened to be a $100 generic mall jacket that i paid $300 for. i was nicked by them a few bucks on the price they refunded to me, so wasn't happy. hope they improved their quality since then.

but with this milwaukee jacket, i got it for $200 including shipping on amazon, and milwaukee was having a sale on it for $200 plus shipping on their site, however i found many other sites charging much more for it, some $380. while that is a fair price for this jacket, i think it's overpaying when the company and amazon are selling it for much less. i'm a liberal democrat, but i'll go with what reagan said, 'trust but verify'. that saved me some bucks on this jacket.

thanks for the clarification tho norton...guess i'm a bit thin skinned when it comes to my jackets ;D

 

[Stearmen]

Free Harley Jackets

I have a Harley jacket I won in 1999, it was made in Pakistan. I couldn't get to mad since it was free, the quality is good and it has held up well. I have since won two more Harley leather jackets, both made over seas and both are real nice. Just wish I could win a Triumph leather jacket, since I have owned more of their bikes hands down then any other brand! I have only had two Sportsters, that ties Harley with Suzuki 2 all!

 

[apba1166]

To toss my 2cents into the overseas....I've found a wide range. 1. Correct about sizing...it can be all over the place and I've had problems sometimes; 2. As far as quality I have 2 leather shirts (cow) I wear when working in brush/forest because I need tough stuff that doesn't snag. These were made by Horten (Pakistan) and they are lot of value, same with their vests (you can find their stuff under a number of o.e.m. names in bike shops everywhere). I also have a deer jacket from Turkey that gives nothing away to the deer jacket I have by Lost Worlds. On the other hand I have had Schotts, Remys, Bean (USA), Bauer (China) and Coopers all lacking. Aero and Lost Worlds all good all the time, which is why we talk about and admire their products so much on this list--everyone else, the value game is always in play whether USA, China, Pakistan, etc.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

so true that the quality varies everywhere, all countries, except for the top manufacturers. i have seen a few posts here where aero made a minor mistake, and aero does correct them, but those posts are never upset, always with the understanding that these things do happen. and that's been at most 3 times i've personally counted in my 5 years here and the tons of aeros discussed.

my pinnacle has been the eastman luftwaffe (yes, ad nauseum from moi), but it's perfect in replication of the original style, and in excecution. i can't recall reading any even minor problems with an eastman, tho i certainly don't read every post here.

i will admit now that upon closer inspection of my milwaukee jacket, i've noticed a couple of minor issues, of the nature of the minor issues that i've read about from aero over the years. and, like aero, milwaukee guarantees their stuff, so i wouldn't worry.

but yes, the hanging threads, etc., on the schotts, uswings, and the like. you have to look at that stuff as endearing, since it's the same sort of lovable imperfections as in the authentic ww2 and later milspec jackets in this country. in fact, how authentic can an aero/lostworlds be when no u.s. issue miljacket made in ww2 (or after actually) would be as perfect as what you'll get at aero or lostworlds et al.

my eastman luftwaffe however, is accurate with no over-imperfection. the teutons were quite sticklers about the quality of their war garments. and, while the famous 'luftwaffe' style was mostly civilian purchases by pilots, what jacket purveyor would construct anything but the most perfect item for the third reich, where there would be consequences for not doing so.

thanks apba. and yes, stearman, i got some old indonesian harleys a few years back, sturdy and beautiful/beautifully constructed suckers.

 

[Jeff M]

The Milwaukee looks nice.
I'd be tempted but for the name stamped into the yolk on the back. Why did they go and do that?

 

[Seawolf]

Yeah, I wouldn't waste my money on that thing. Between the stamping of the yoke, and the "aging" they've taken the liberty of doing for you, it's certainly not for me.

 

[norton123]

Right now I would be happy to find ANY jacket that would fit me properly. They just don't make stock jackets for short stocky people like me and I can't decide on a custom jacket.