RMC J100 vs. Aero J100 Black Jerky

[Tom71]

I thought that TFH used YKK made Universal branded zippers

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Wow, I am sure, you are right. I must have mixed this up with Rainbow Country.

I stand corrected.

Plus I agree with you: at least in terms of hardware, this is a huge bonus.

 

[Leathergato]

I thought that TFH used YKK made Universal branded zippers

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My TFH Delraiser has the Universal zipper.

 

[Dasher]

Thanks, everyone — I’ve already learned quite a bit of new information!

From what I’m reading, there definitely seems to be a risk that the Aero J100 might not fit me properly, even though it’s “made to measure.” That does make me a bit doubtful about Aero.
I do know that Aero accepts returns for jackets that don’t fit, but to me, that still sounds like quite a lot of hassle and effort.


I think I’ll wait for the opportunity to try on an RMC J100 instead.

Since I have a relatively “normal,” athletic build, there’s a decent chance that size 40 or 42 could fit me.

As for the price:
Yes, the RMC is very expensive. But since this jacket is meant to be my one and only, and I’ve already been waiting for over two years, the price isn’t really that important

My way of looking at this is that for the difference in price - at least €1000 then I would get a flight from Germany and visit Aero. Before doing so I would use their measurement chart, get measured up at home, and have a phone discussion with them. They often have Blue Label or Apprentice stock in 40 or 42 Cafe Racer - you just might be lucky and find a super one that you walk away with. In my experience, especially with Aero, there is no substitute for visiting them. If it's your once in a lifetime jacket then go visit. If nothing on the rack (or even on the pre owned rack - which is great for determining what works and what doesn't) fits thenget measured at Aero whilst you are there and go bespoke. Worryingly though you then have a set of Aero measurements and your once in a lifetime jacket will want its own friends!! I've had many internet sourced Aeros over the years but in the time since visiting and learning what worked they have all left me - and all that have been bought post that first visit have stayed. There's a lesson to be learned in this.

 

[Kenan]

I own the RMC J-100 and have tried the Aero version in Jerky Horsehide several times. In my opinion, the two can’t really be compared.

Pattern

The Real McCoy’s updated the J-100 pattern in 2021, and the results are excellent. The fit is slim but still allows for comfortable movement. With Aero, the pattern feels completely off. The weight of the jacket sits on the neck, and the upper arms feel tight and restrictive. Even sizing up doesn’t solve the problem, since the restriction in movement remains. The pattern really needs serious refinement.

Leather

Jerky Horsehide is a good leather, but it doesn’t come close to the Shinki used by The Real McCoy’s. Jerky feels spongy and lacks structure, while Shinki has real depth, firmness, and character.

Final thoughts

If the J-100 is your grail, it’s worth saving a bit longer and choosing The Real McCoy’s version. The Aero falls short, and it’s hard not to come away disappointed.

 

[Edward]

I like the Jerky better as a leather but what it comes down to is which pattern (if either) actually fits you.

Exactly so. Different makers will render different styles in different ways.... at this level, it's all subjective.

I know you did research or whatever but think on this. A lot of people for some reason think their ideal jacket will be a cafe racer (and specifically a J-100 if they've spent time online) because they assume it's simple and versatile or something, then find out that it doesn't really work on them, the simplicity actually makes it bold in ways that can't be dressed up, etc.

Agreed entirely on this. I've just started seriously looking at the Cafe Racer style again after over twenty years. Owned one for a year or two around 2003, and sold it on in the end because I just was not wearing it with any frequency. I found partly with a lot of casual stuff I just preferred a lancer front. Mainly, though, I'd bought the cafe racer to have something simpler, something that looked a bit less statementy for non-blazer days in the office. Back in those days, things were simpler and more confused when it came to unspoken office dresscodes, as Jimbo Morrison once said. Very quickly I realised the limitations of the cafe racer... the mandarin collar just didn't look at all right to my eye with anything with a tie or even a collared shirt or polo shirt of any sort. That was the end of it. Then I "discovered" shirt-collar type jackets...

Didn't look at a CR for years. Then a couple of Summers ago I bought a few striped t-shirts I liked. First time I'd worn anything without a shirt-style collar as outerwear in over a decade.... and the simplicity of the CR with two chest pockets and no handwarmers (I'm not really a fan of handwarmers - I only have them on any of my jackets as decoration ,really. They never get used). I know if I get one again it will have limited use, so GoldTop are probably gonig to be my choice there.

Wearing a cafe racer makes me feel like i would if i had to wear a fully buttoned up shirt wihtout a tie or something like that...

I find it more limiting a style too - though what put me off it way back when was that I don't care for the look of one with a collared shirt of any sort. Which kinda matters, as I'd say I wear a tie a good 80% of the time when I'm out on a normal week, particularly (though not exclusively) at work, during jacket season. When I go for a cafe racer again, it'll be exclusively won over t-shirts and collarless stuff. Definitely much less flexible than a cross-zip of any sort. As @Aloysius says, that simplicity is indeed deceptively bold. It looks great with the right stuff.... and just... odd with the rest. I've never quite been convinced by a crosszip more MC in style than a Bootlegger or similar with a collar and tie, but I'd opt for that far ahead of a cafe racer in that context.

This argument doesn’t land. Both are about the same price in Japan.

I would take a Johnson Leathers or Vanson cafe racer over an RMC even if they were the same price. In some cases a company reproduces an unusual enough pattern that you go through them to get it, even if there are compromises.

I think the Western prices with RMC are as much as anything about perceived value. "Made in Japan" is an intangible that many now, especially in the workwear niche, will pay a significant premium for, in much the same way as some will only buy Made in USA Fenders, or Made in England Harringtons* and Docs. For me that sort of thing has gone way beyond any consideration of what added value is (or is not) implicit in those locations, and has just become an article of faith. Add to that that RMC are of course a known brand who do make good stuff. Then there's the Shinki thing... I've handled product from the Shinki tannery and it's very nice, but not any moreso to me than Vicenza, or Horween, or any other, nice leather I've handled. It has. however, developed a big brand reputation as a premium product which allows the price to be driven up.

*I once bought - and quickly returned - a cheap, Made In England Harrington that was really poor, far below the quality of any acceptable, Chinese made such jacket. Proved a point to myself, though, that it's all about ingredients and process, not location, with these things. It was well constructed, though not appreciably moreso than the imports, and had decent enough hardware, but the cloth, particularly the lining, was alarmingly poor. Suitable really only for costume usage.

A cafe racer is so simple that paying the RMC tax for an inferior pattern sounds mindless.

I can't comment fairly on the RMC patterns, but I lean to your line of thinking re paying out such big money for utilitarian design... There's only so far quality can take you, imo, before the law of diminishing returns kicks in hard, and then you're either into paying just for the brand, or deciding you can find the same design you like elsewhere for a lot less. Each to their own and all that, but tbh for me personally a lot of RMC's prices here in the West (if I was in Japan anyhow and I got the chance of a pair of their Engineer boots, assuming those fitted me fine, for Red Wing money that's another story...) feel like.... well, like going to Saville Row and having Henry Poole make me a pair of jeans for £1500 rather than buying a pair of my regulars for under £100, or even, if I wanted to go that way, the likes of Ironheart at £300. Jeans is jeans, and the way I wear them, I'd get nothing out of the big money I didn't from the cheap stuff. But hey ho, we all pays our money within what we can afford and takes our pick....

They closed it down! The funny thing is they used to claim the costs of running a London shop is why their web prices are so high, but they closed the shop and increased their prices!

Completely unconscionable because rent alone would have been at least half their costs, having spoken to tailors and other shop owners in that part of London.

Kind of a shame. I used to love looking in there, same as when ELC did their popups. It was always a safe browsing experience for me because I knew the prices would be just so far beyond what I could justify there was no danger of me having a moment of madness and splurging on something I really couldn't quite afford or justify.

So I share your preference for a slowly ageing topcoat, even though I like Jerky better as a hide itself, but generally the people who come on here wanting "tea core" and "Shinki" want super fast fading.

Assuming that the accelerated aging is purely cosmetic and doesn't compromise the leather in any other way, I think what divides us into teacore-lovers and those who, like me, don't care for it on their own jackets, is down to being one of two types of people who like vintage style leathers. There are those of us who aspire to a fully vintage look, whose ideal jacket is one that looks like it was bought new in ,for the sake of argument, 1949; it's now 1953, we've worn it regularly, but it's broken in, not worn out. That's our look. Then there are those who grew up gonig to airshows or bike shows, seeing all those cool, old, original vintage jackets that have been through a lot, have that beaten up cool to them. That sort of 'a bit broken down' look that Johnny Depp has favoured in recent years. Those cool, old jackets might not be available in their sizes, or if they are might be beyond affordability. The same way the repro A2 market took off in the 90s when originals started to dry up and become unaffordable. (I remember hearing from Ken Calder some years ago that when Aero first got started it was all about the civilian market because back in the early eighties you could still buy a good original for a fraction of what it would cost to make a decent repro.) Those guys tend to be more likely to prefer the teacore look, as that's the quickest way to the look of a cool original the way these jackets look now, rather than wanting to dress like folks did when those jackets were newish styles. I sometimes compare it to the different markets for Fender's reissued vintage-spec guitars and their Relic series, though the big difference there is you don't tend to get guys who prefer their jackets not to look 'distressed' falling all over themselves to accuse anyone wearing a teacore jacket of being a "faker", claiming "stolen valour" with a jacket the wear on which "they didn't earn". Some people have too much time on their hands...