Early 20th anniversary jacket decision

[Drifter]

Hey all

So I just recently looked at when I originally joined COW. 2003. This February it will be 18 years. That’s two years before it’s two decades! Now of course I have not been an overly active user. I think I’m still considered a digger or something lol. Even so I have observed quite a bit in the years I have logged in and out.

I first joined this site after seeing the Indiana Jones stunt show in Florida. I bought a Disney licensed Fedora, and then went online to see if anyone else had one. Found this site and was
Horrified to find out how inaccurate it was. “No problem” I thought, “ with this knowledgeable forum I will find an accurate fedora to call my own. Down the rabbit hole I went.

Over the years my interest has shifted from the fedora to the jacket. I have spent a lot of money on searching for the prefect version of both. Lol
This comes to the point of this post.. thanks to Steele and Jones who helped me craft “Indy jacket for short hipster with fat head” I have the perfect Raiders jacket. I would like to now find one final Indy jacket to acknowledge the almost 20 year odyssey this has been.

I have narrowed it down to three choices


Option 1. wested LC in Horsehide

Pros: all of the jackets I bought and later sold, my wested horsehide is the one I miss. I loved how it looked brand new. Shiny, felt like putting on a suit of amor.
Could layer underneath and wear comfortably in winter conditions.
I really like the hardware of wested jackets. They are bigger and seem of great quality.
Hand warmers are wide and I could fit my gloved hands in easily.

Cons: the collar.. oh how I hated the collar.
Jackets that I have ordered in the past with mods just haven’t come out right. I find with my wested experience, it’s better to stick to their classic cut and accept the differences.

Option 2. Steele and Jones LC ( horsehide if possible). Of all of the vendors I have tried, these guys really nailed all my measurements and silly requests. I know they will give me a great jacket and distressing will be spot on.

Pros: they are great to deal with, patient and produce high quality jackets.

Cons: not sure of their leather offerings at the moment, as I would like a thicker hide. Perhaps even a warmer lining.. which brings me to the controversial..

Option 3: Magnoli Vintage Adventure Jacket.

I’ve had many jackets made by Magnoli? The most successful being my Kirk ( Star Trek 2009) jacket which was my go to for years. I’ve always had my eye on his vintage adventure. It’s a hybrid of course but I find it very unique.

Pros: as long as you get your measurements right, Magnoli jackets are always well made.

Cons: don’t think he offers horsehide.
A lot of money on a pattern I may not like.
Not a True Indy and thus might not be appropriate for the occasion lol

Thoughts?

[Thee]

Sounds like you should just get a A2 jacket

[Charybdis]

Well, reading that pros and cons list, I think you have already made the choice overall: the S&J.

[Forrest For the Trees]

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. I would ask Steele and Jones if they have any horsehide in stock or if they can get some down the line. Order an LC from them in horse if you already have a Raiders jacket. I would think you are not in any hurry here, since you already have other jackets.

[Illinois_Jones]

Personally I'd go S&J, but if time (or money) were an issue I'd go Wested. The extra pointy collar on the Wested LC bothers some people but it never really bothered me, but the Hero LC has a better collar.

[zeus36]

Seems you have the Indy jacket experience covered.

Have you thought of looking into vintage horsehide jackets?

If you are still set on an Indy jacket, you already know the Wested Horsehide fit, feel and particulars. Call them up and request the LC but with a Raiders collar. And keep just the one single change for the order.

[The Character]

I’d ask Diego for a recommendation and they can send you samples ... probably worth it as if i had to pin my money on one vendor that’s would get it spot on first time it would be SJ. thats not because i dont like the others .. i love my Westeds but if it was an anniversary once in a lifetime purchase I’d go S&J’s

[Smithy]

Sorry late to the party here but don't rule out cowhide either if that's an option.

TBH in most cases differentiating between horsehide and cowhide is exceedingly difficult and nigh on impossible in many cases. For example it was only with scientific DNA testing that they were able to conclusively prove that A-2 jackets had been made in some cases and in some contracts with cowhide. Visually and in term of feel, heft and hand of leather the two are really indistinguishable.

My Indy jacket, a Wested Raiders is cowhide and I love the leather and how it ages. I've got other leather jackets from the likes of Aero, Eastman, etc and I have to say the leather on my Wested, although it's by no means my most expensive jacket, it's some of the most characterful and nicest leather on any of my jackets. It's their "soft seal brown cowhide" although I'm not sure whether this is still available or whether they've just renamed it.

Cheers,

Tim

[Forrest For the Trees]

Sorry late to the party here but don't rule out cowhide either if that's an option.

TBH in most cases differentiating between horsehide and cowhide is exceedingly difficult and nigh on impossible in many cases. For example it was only with scientific DNA testing that they were able to conclusively prove that A-2 jackets had been made in some cases and in some contracts with cowhide. Visually and in term of feel, heft and hand of leather the two are really indistinguishable.

My Indy jacket, a Wested Raiders is cowhide and I love the leather and how it ages. I've got other leather jackets from the likes of Aero, Eastman, etc and I have to say the leather on my Wested, although it's by no means my most expensive jacket, it's some of the most characterful and nicest leather on any of my jackets. It's their "soft seal brown cowhide" although I'm not sure whether this is still available or whether they've just renamed it.

Cheers,

Tim

Would love to see photos of your jacket!

[Smithy]

Would love to see photos of your jacket!

No problem! I live inside the Arctic Circle and it is pitch dark currently but when we get the brief window of daylight tomorrow I'll take some photos and post them here. Rather than cluttering up this thread, I'll start a new thread for "Smithy's Wested Raiders"

[Charybdis]

Wow! And I am having trouble adjusting to the fact that it starts getting dark around here at 6pm!!

[Smithy]

Wow! And I am having trouble adjusting to the fact that it starts getting dark around here at 6pm!!

Today sunrise was 0854 and sunset at 1438, and we lose around 8 minutes of daylight a day here so what they call "mørketid" (dark time) when the sun disappears is fast approaching!

[Forrest For the Trees]

Cool. Thanks! Well, you must have some long days of sunlight in the summer, then!

[Smithy]

Cool. Thanks! Well, you must have some long days of sunlight in the summer, then!

Yeah we do. Over the high summer months we have permanent daylight so the sun doesn't set. It's a very special part of the world. I'm not from here originally but I absolutely love it now and the whole "midnight sun" over summer and the dark days over winter with the Northern Lights. It feels very magical for want of a better word

[Drifter]

Update


First thanks for all the feed back guys

Of the three vendors mentioned, Wested is the only one who makes a jacket in Horsehide currently. They are not doing major modifications however due to Covid and I’m
Not sold that I will find a model where the collar doesn’t drive me nuts. I have ordered the Hero in the past and hated it.

Steele and Jones Horsehide supplier is sadly no more but they do have a nice
Thick cowhide apparently. Can’t say enough about these guys as they really went above and beyond with my previous raiders order.

I am actually leaning toward the vintage adventure jacket by Magnoli. Just seems like a very practical street wise hybrid. Has all the features I like on the Indy but without all of the features I’m not too fond of. Specifically the side vents which always flair out. It’s a very interesting jacket. Has anyone ever ordered one? Any pics?

Anyway, I’m going to take my time as I’m
Not in a position to purchase just let.

Drifter

[Indy Magnoli]

Don't forget, our jackets are completely made-to-order, so we can customize/modify existing styles, like the Vintage Adventure Jacket, any way you like. Also, though we don't have horsehide, we can source a thicker/heavier cow for you to get you the robust jacket you're after.

[Drifter]

Don't forget, our jackets are completely made-to-order, so we can customize/modify existing styles, like the Vintage Adventure Jacket, any way you like. Also, though we don't have horsehide, we can source a thicker/heavier cow for you to get you the robust jacket you're after.

Thanks Indy
Yes, I’ve had many jackets made from you. Still have the Kirk jacket you were able to fabricate for me. I actually like the design of the Vintage exactly how it is. Do you by chance have more
Pictures of it? Besides what exists on the website?


Drifter

[Indy Magnoli]

Here's a shot of me wearing my Vintage Adventure Jacket years ago:

[Drifter]

Here's a shot of me wearing my Vintage Adventure Jacket years ago:

Nice! What kind of leather is that?

[Indy Magnoli]

That's cowhide.