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Schott PER70 Perfecto Review

Messages
16,853
Schott Perfecto PER70 just landed so here's a lengthy and hopefully objective review of this fine jacket.

Very little info on it around, mostly advertisement blurbs & IG photos but nothing useful. TBH, this jacket never particularly interested me due to lousy advertising and faux distressing. I bought it only 'cause I got a great deal on it. Figured I'd flip it if it sucks. It doesn't and I won't.

This is the Schott you (might) want and here's why.

Material...
Schott site promises heavy cowhide but y'all know this don't mean much. I have always been ignoring this model because it looked flimsy and thin so you can imagine my surprise when the courier handed me the box that had 3.2 kg stamped on the postage declaration. This jacket that weighs 3 kg at a size S!! For once, this absolute beast IS made of leather that could accurately be described as heavyweight. I think it's actually 2mm thick at places.
Naked, full grain, matte cowhide. Virtually no sheen whatsoever. Nothing that stands out - but - it's the kind of mega-sturdy, tough-wearing, indestructible leather you know can handle anything. I think leather industry's slowly moving away from heavy leather once again, as I see this kind of purely utilitarian hide on less and less jacket so it's kind of refreshing to see it again.

Lined in very thin & light 100% cotton plaid. Don't expect any warmth outta it but this should make the jacket wearable long into spring.

Hardware is all the usual stuff; Schott-stamped YKK, chain pulls for the pockets, snaps; Pretty much the same as on any Perfecto. Belt buckle stands out as it's really heavy. Might not be to everyone's liking. I dig it. But it's massive.

Fake distressing is another thing that definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea, I get that and I won't defend it because I too would personally like the jacket more if it was plain black. However, it really isn't as bad as Schott's photos make it out. It's quite tame, not overdone and doesn't stand out IRL.

Construction...
Serviceable. Regular stuff, nothing you would write poems about but as you can see, it's a well made jacket. Some fancier details than the regular 618/613 family, French stitching here and there, etc. Same as the hide, it feels quality and I'm sure it is.

Pattern and cut...
Y'know how you see that leather jacket that looks so perfect on some rockstar or whatever and then buy the same jacket and it just doesn't fit quite the same? This one does. People are buying Schott's main Perfecto line to get that certain look and fail, and Schott doesn't seem to get this as they still advertise the 618 to be doing what this jacket actually does, which is, give off that rock'n'roll / punk, but mostly trim fitting moto jacket vibe.

Some major differences from the 618/613 are much trimmer sleeves, more shape to shoulders, bit more straight in body, though still trim and higher arm openings.

Sizing...
Ignore the size tag & size down. I cannot stress this enough! Schott's own sizing recommendation thing will also tell you to. You know something's off when Schott themselves recommended someone who is 185 cm and 70 kg to buy a size S.

Conclusion...
In short, if you plan on buying a Schott Perfecto, ignore the 618 family and get this one. Does it cost too much money? Yeah, it does but... Because it's exactly what I've been hoping for all this time while buying Schott jackets, had I known before what I know now, I would've saved up on the 613/618's and gotten the PER70 right away.
That doesn't mean I agree with the price. On one hand, nothing about this jacket in particular stands out on its own and it doesn't look like a $1K+ jacket.
But on the other hand, what does? And does it ultimately matter if the jacket makes you happy?
Point is, if you're looking for the same thing from a Perfecto that I do, I can promise you that once you put the PER70 on, you'll know this is it. Doesn't get any more right and frankly, if you're not dead set on something really fancy like Shinki or whatever, no other jacket on the market really seems to justify asking anything on top of what this one costs.

In short, if it gets stolen, I'll save up some money and get another one sooner than any other Perfecto model.

I now strongly believe Schott ought to get rid of the old Perfecto family and replace it with this pattern, while keeping 'em at an $800 price tag. It's essentially the same anyway but with the aforementioned tweaks & upgrades that I can't imagine ANYONE will cry over, as they've basically fixed all the things people often complain about the current cross zip line-up.

Before all the whining about the fake distressing commences, I'll once again tell you to look past it & buy this jacket, together with a can of shoe creme for $4.99. Cover up those few faded spots as the leather will handle and welcome it, and have fun!

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Marc mndt

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,359
I love the distressing on this one. I like some jackets better when they look like they've seen some use. This perfecto style is certainly one of those. And Schott did a very convincing job with the distressing too imo.

Have you seen Schott's fit pic advertising on this jacket? Not much of a showcase imo. The Jacket looks 10x better on you. Congrats!

PER70_BLK_MOD_BCK1.jpg
 
Messages
16,853
I love the distressing on this one. I like some jackets better when they look like they've seen some use. This perfecto style is certainly one of those. And Schott did a very convincing job with the distressing too imo.

Have you seen Schott's fit pic advertising on this jacket? Not much of a showcase imo. The Jacket looks 10x better on you. Congrats!

PER70_BLK_MOD_BCK1.jpg

Distressing on my jacket was really nicely done. It's really as if someone just wore it a bit, though leather has not been excessively broken in.

Meant to add, those crappy photos are exactly the reason why I was ignoring the entire PER line of jackets. First off, there's always that exact same model that everybody and their dog seem to wear in those horrid Instagram photos of cuff fliping posers in the wilderness, and it objectively is an ugly jacket, the length of a pea-coat with sleeve openings the size of tunnels even when zipped up - And this jacket didn't seem any more promising, the way Schott advertises it but it simply isn't so. It's much closer to the 618, only trimmer wherever possible.

Only problem is getting the red one, now, since I think it's based on this awesome pattern. That's essential now.
 

jeo

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,079
Location
Philadelphia
There's nothing as badass as a Schott perfecto! All my jackets make me feel good when I wear them but when I wear my perfecto there's just something extra there that I just don't get from my other jackets. All of a sudden I'm walking with a swag haha!

This one is a beauty man! All the perfectos have the same basic design as far as the pockets, pocket location etc... but they don't all look identical of course. This one is perfect in terms of the size of pockets (especially the coin pocket), the location of the pockets and their relation to each other. Just very well laid out. I also don't mind the distressing on this one as it's not overdone.
 

TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,286
Schott fan boy here, not going to lie. I like this model, always have, but never went the extra mile to understand how it was different. Thanks for the highlights. I have the 519 which I think has some of the points you mention--slightly different more trim cut, etc. but more of midweight leather for sure. It's starting to grain and break in gorgeous. Very similar grain pattern to my FL Shinki but much softer and thicker. But I won't get the teacore and alas that's why we all have so many jackets to cover all bases.

And yeah the sizing is always tricky. Going down a size is obvious, the question is whether to go down 2 sizes. My 118 and 141 were 40s per the "suggested" sizing with a super slim selection. I think I could have eeked out a 38, albeit it would have been on the edge of sausage casing.

BTW, you see they released a naked aniline trucker, the famous 100 series leather? I don't like the buttons they used, but man, I'm going to be on the look out for some used models when they pop up on Ebay eventually.
 
Messages
17,511
Location
Chicago
Man that jacket looks superb. So much better than anything I’ve seen online! The photos on the Schott site had me thinking it was flimsy, they should photo the jacket better because clearly it is not! I don’t mind the distressing nor would I cover it up. To my eye it looks perfectly natural.
 

Kalmer

One of the Regulars
Messages
217
Cool jacket. I don't mind if they cut the pattern thinner, which I actually prefer, or distress the leather. However, I really don't get it why they also make the pattern longer. This one, too, seem to fall in 25''-26'' back length range.
 
Messages
16,853
Wanted to add a few more observation.
  • All zippers are IDEAL, not YKK as I automatically assumed. They've got IDEAL stamped on the back so yeah.
  • Useless patch pocket is gone and instead we got a neat old-school horizontal pocket with snap closure.
  • Belt buckle has a snap so it wouldn't dangle around though that doesn't seem to do much as the buckle is too heavy and it frees itself immediately. Lol!
  • Kidney panel is for once entirely doubled! You can see that on the lining photo but yeah, neat addition.
  • Last but not least, the jacket creaks. It doesn't squeak but it creaks in a deep tone, like an old rope on a pirate ship, which further adds to the badass...ness of the jacket.
Schott nailed it with this bad boy. May be my favorite thing by Schott ever.
 
Messages
16,853
There's nothing as badass as a Schott perfecto! All my jackets make me feel good when I wear them but when I wear my perfecto there's just something extra there that I just don't get from my other jackets. All of a sudden I'm walking with a swag haha!

This one is a beauty man! All the perfectos have the same basic design as far as the pockets, pocket location etc... but they don't all look identical of course. This one is perfect in terms of the size of pockets (especially the coin pocket), the location of the pockets and their relation to each other. Just very well laid out. I also don't mind the distressing on this one as it's not overdone.

Yep, I totally hear you about feelin' good in Schott! Pretty much the reason why all my jackets are Perfectos. :) And that's a great observation on placement of details. Wanted to mention something about how they always make it right in an initial review but figured that might just be my preference thus it ultimately doesn't matter, but it does!
TBH, I immediately thought of you when I put the jacket on as it reminded me of something you got, tho I can't think of what exactly. But either way, I think this jacket is absolutely essential for you!!!

Schott fan boy here, not going to lie. I like this model, always have, but never went the extra mile to understand how it was different. Thanks for the highlights. I have the 519 which I think has some of the points you mention--slightly different more trim cut, etc. but more of midweight leather for sure. It's starting to grain and break in gorgeous. Very similar grain pattern to my FL Shinki but much softer and thicker. But I won't get the teacore and alas that's why we all have so many jackets to cover all bases.

And yeah the sizing is always tricky. Going down a size is obvious, the question is whether to go down 2 sizes. My 118 and 141 were 40s per the "suggested" sizing with a super slim selection. I think I could have eeked out a 38, albeit it would have been on the edge of sausage casing.

BTW, you see they released a naked aniline trucker, the famous 100 series leather? I don't like the buttons they used, but man, I'm going to be on the look out for some used models when they pop up on Ebay eventually.

Agreed on all points. And yeah, it's hard to pinpoint just how are all these different Perfectos different and Schott isn't making it much easier (they seriously need to include more info on their products and with the passing of Gail, it's quite impossible to get any decent info on styles) so trying them on is essential. I love the look of the hide on 519 but again, hard to tell what it really is like. It's probably a lot different than what I imagine, same as it turned out to be on this jacket. Never in a million years would I think it's this heavy!

Re. sizing, hard to say, especially with letter designations. But whatever size no. you wear that corresponds to a letter size for this style, go down a size.

Just seen the trucker. It's cool! A bit long but looks great.

Congrats for the jacket @Monitor, now I want one! Bwaaaaaah!!

I was sure you had one! XD Well, whatcha waiting for! There are few in France, I think I saw 'em on Vinted. You'd love it, I'm sure.

Cool jacket. I don't mind if they cut the pattern thinner, which I actually prefer, or distress the leather. However, I really don't get it why they also make the pattern longer. This one, too, seem to fall in 25''-26'' back length range.

Agreed on the length tho my jacket is exactly 24.5" back. Does seem odd as even Schott says they're 26" but they may be talking about size L or something. I'm not complaining! :D
 
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TheDonEffect

Practically Family
Messages
623
Nice man! I always had a soft spot for Schotts, like you said, at the end of the day, if it makes you happy and you're able to spend it, do it. So often we get caught up on needing this or that, we get too caught up buying a list an forget it's a garment, and if it's a unicorn garment where you put it on and it feels and looks right, then that's worth the price of admission.
 

SilverKast

New in Town
Messages
44
Location
Canada
Thanks for the review! I thought about getting this at one point but wasn't sure about the distressing and if it was overdone or not. After reading your review now I want one too!
 

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