Club Obi Wan

Hello Indyphiles!

I discovered your club quite accidentally, and I was immediately taken by the romanticism of dressing like the greatest adventurer. I've always loved the films, and I was very excited to see that I could have my very own Indy jacket (the most distinctive part of the Indy look, besides the whip, which I wouldn't be able to wear everywhere).

My question for you gearheads is:

Which leather would the real Indy wear, or which would you choose for your real life adventures?

I understand the quest to look screen-accurate, and you guys (and gals!) do look the part with the authentic lambskin. But which leather is best for adventures which may include rain, mild to cold temperatures (Indy wore his jacket in the jungle, the desert, and in the whipping snow), and occasionally being dragged by a truck or tank?

I know, I know, no one leather is perfect. I live in the southwest, and I love to travel to central and south america, so I need something light, yet rugged, and rain proof. I'm leaning towards the goat.

What do you think?

Bonus: As a thank you for your help, I'll tell a real-life Harrison Ford meeting story!

As you said there is no perfect leather... the one will be too warm in the desert or the jungle, the other one maybe is not tough enough. Although Indy wore his jacket everywhere (ice, snow, rain, desert, ...) this is not realistic I guess.

You might have to define where you want to wear your wested.

I went for lambskin (haven't got it yet ) but I'm sure this one will do just fine.

And don't forget - a leather jacket is not a rain coat!

I have the authentic lamb jacket. It's very nice and a very light jacket to wear as well. Goat is also a nice jacket and I think more durable than lamb, but the lamb can still take some beating on your adventures.

Please tell us your Harrison Ford storry.
Can't wait to hear it

Regards
Ace

- Hate to be the one to tell You the truth: Indy is a movie-character...

I realized that when I tried to wear my cow-hide jacket in a snowstorm. Even though its the heaviest and most durable of the hides (dont really know about horse?) its remarkable that Indy, in Nepal and snow, only decided to zip his jacket halfway up!

Well, small details like that cant spoil the day for real-life gearheads like us.
I have always had fun trying to imagine Indy as a reallife everyday man, and I think his choice of jackethide would be very much the same as Yours and mine, if it wasn't for the adventurepart that only the scriptwriter could know about. When Indy bought his jacket I guess he just looked for a nice leatherjacket and thats what he found at Wested. Lamb, durable but soft and not too heavyweight. At the time of purchase I dont think he asked Peter: "Well, nice jacket. How does it cope with being dragged under a nazi-truck?" or "If I should ever drop out of a plane in India, how will the sidestraps behave?". So my guess would be lamb at the time, but had he seen Peters goat today he probably would have asked for that.

...And welcome to COW BTW...

Cheers
Indy-K

Welcome to the site!!

Personally I have a goatskin - its really durable and slightly warmer than lambskin. You can also get it in the authentic colour if you wish. Its my everyday jacket and I really love it.

Ken

Hello, welcome to COW!

If Indy was real his jacket would have been goat or horse. But you must remember, that if Indy was real, he wouldn't have been wearing his jacket in the jungle or the desert of a day. No jacket is that cool. The goat skin is quite water repellent, but you must remember that no leather jacket is a rain coat. If your in a situation where you may be caught in a hard rain for a while you probably should wear a rain coat.

To add to what 'K' said above, leather has always been suited as a 'shell' coat, rather than a be all/do all type garment. When it gets cold, you layer a sweater underneath for warmth, and the leather keeps the wind from passing through. To depend on it along would only cause you to experience hypethermia if only worn in winter with nothing but a shirt underneath, as we saw Indy wearing in Napal. You want proof? check out what Ford was REALLY wearing when he did the 'Mystery of the Blues' on the YIJC segment in Wyoming. He had a sweater AND scarf underneath his leather jacket!

By the way, a big WELCOME to you!!

Regards! Michaelson

I've bought a brown leather-jacket on e-bay two years ago and I went through wind, snow, rain and dirt with it. I also never did leather-care on it and it still looks new!

Thanks for your comments, gang. I really enjoy all of the thought you put into this subject. As someone who over-thinks everything I do, I appreciate it.

Here's my Harrison Ford story:

I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at a bar with some friends. As we were leaving, I realized I hadn't gotten my card back from the bartender, so I went back for it while my friends waited for me. I was reading the reciept as I walked out, and I felt someone bump into me, hard. "Watch it, jerk!" I said, feeling ornery. "Sorry," he replied, quite nicely. As I walked up to my friends, they were looking at me with their mouths hanging open in shock. "Do you know who that was?" they asked. "Who, the jerk who bumped into me?" "Yeah, turn around and look." they said. And there he was, talking to the bouncer, Mr. Harrison Ford himself. And I had just called him a jerk.

That was the one and only time I ever met a celebrity.

OH my. Regards! Michaelson

Haha!!!! Talk about putting both feet in your mouth!

Oddly enough, in retrospect, I believe schorsch's reaction to the hard bump was more 'Indy'ish' than Ford's was! Regards! Michaelson

I'll bet Ford thought it was refreshing to be called a jerk. You didn't even look to see who bumped into you until after your friends told you and Ford probably thought "Hey I wasn't recognized! That's great!" Most people would fall all over themselves with apologies because of his celebritiness. BTW WELCOME!

I tend to agree with Michaelson on this one....decent response, under the circumstances.....if it were me and I had to pick the perfect fabric for an 'Indy-style' jacket...I would go with the horsehide....I have one....best of the lot! Truly durable...even in heavy rain. I was in San Antonio this last March...rained all day and night....my hat took a beating, but the jacket is great -- Wested builds great jackets and the horsehide is the most durable of all -- at least from what I have experienced! All regards! W>

I'm not an expert of leather, anyway WELCOME ON THIS WONDERFUL FORUM!

Great story. Have you been on the board before under a different name? Your story sounds so familiar. I know I've heard it (or a similar one) here before.

I have to go with WConley. HH is the most rugged (hey we're biased.... )It was correct for the period, too-20's & 30's. As far as what the "right" thing to wear may be, if you are going to central/south america, leather may not be your best option, although I haven't been there so I can't but speculate that its hot and humid barring areas at high altitude. Leather just doesn't want to breathe very well in high humidity/heat. Keeping covered for protection from the elements is one thing, but suffering to stay protected is another

No, I haven't been here before. Maybe this happens alot to Mr. Ford!

I go to central and south america during their winter, which can be fairly mild, but still cool enough to require a jacket, especially high in the mountains, which is where I like to go. Think of the peruvians with their llama wool hats. It's cool up there! Same with the southwest, namely Tucson, AZ, and the surrounding mountains.

I'm thinking of going with the goat, especially because it's exotic, and apparently authentic for the time period (though horsehide is also interesting, though maybe a bit too thick).

Thanks folks! If the jacket works as well for me, and I crave more of that "Indy feeling," I may need the bag...and the hat...hmmm...

A few years ago, during my PI days, I accidentally bumped a guy in a a bar. When I apologized, he pulled a knife on me and said "if you let one guy bump you, soon everybody bumps you". Last I heard, he's walking again. It's amazing what they can do with plastic.

schorsch wrote:No, I haven't been here before. Maybe this happens alot to Mr. Ford!

I go to central and south america during their winter, which can be fairly mild, but still cool enough to require a jacket, especially high in the mountains, which is where I like to go. Think of the peruvians with their llama wool hats. It's cool up there! Same with the southwest, namely Tucson, AZ, and the surrounding mountains.

I'm thinking of going with the goat, especially because it's exotic, and apparently authentic for the time period (though horsehide is also interesting, though maybe a bit too thick).

Thanks folks! If the jacket works as well for me, and I crave more of that "Indy feeling," I may need the bag...and the hat...hmmm...

As hard as you try, you can never stop after one peice of gear - trust me, you'll be in Peru and see all the felt hats there and that will make you iwsh you had an Indy fedora!

Ken

Hello All,

I too am a new member. And what an expensive membership this little club is turning out to have!! New AB hat, new Aldens, jacket....

Speaking of jackets, I have a brand-spanking-new Flightsuit Indy Jacket in goatskin. After reading the forum and getting a lot of information and ideas I went with the Flightsuit. In my humble opinion, I think Indy would have gone for the goatskin as well. As a world traveller and poorly paid archaeologist he would have invested in a quality leather that could go anywhere, last a lifetime, and take a lot of abuse.

I believe that something is expensive only when it's not worth the money...and the Flightsuit Goatskin is most definitely worth the money at $408.

In Adventure,

Nevada Jones

Hello Nevada, welcome on board!

You're quite right, membership could be very expensive if you start to buy every original piece of ingygear but it's not a RULE! The motto here is "come for the gear, stay for the people" or something like that (sorry if i made mistakes). We are just people sharing passion for indy gear but first of all about INDY world.

You dont need to buy every piece of gear to be part of us. You already are just because you're an indy fan

Have a nice staying

Thanks erri_wan. I do feel welcome. As an Indy fan AND gearhead extraordinaire it makes for a deadly combination. I read about the gear and then ABSOLUTELY MUST have it! It's like a drug! I bought my first fix with the Grail Diary made by Indy Magnoli and I was hooked. What a beautifully made reproduction. I blame him for starting me down this path and for my dwindling bank account!

Nevada

A drug is the precise definition of indygear

Yes, a drug it is. I'm already getting itchy for my first whip....

Nevada

Nevada Jones wrote:Yes, a drug it is. I'm already getting itchy for my first whip....

Nevada

About the whip if you're under budget there are a lot of cheap and good choises, just keep posting in the WHIP session and you will see

I'm not a whip expert but recenty i personally found an italian whip maker who produces cheap replica of morgan whips, he's in holiday now and he will be back in september but you can already see some of his creations in the whip session of the forum
ciao

Welcome to cow

schorsch and Nevada. Welcome to Club Obi Wan!

schorsch, that's an interesting story. Brave of you to tell it here.

Hey, I just want to put in my two cents regarding the leather choices. I've got a Wested lamb and an LLBean goat A2, and I've worn them both in the pouring rain. The goat definitely kept me drier. the rain seemed to seep thru the lamb after a while. The lamb is DEFINITELY easier to wear in warmer temperatures. Ironically the lamb is also more comfortable in colder weather because the goatskin gets very cold and stiff, at least in my experience. The lambskin stayed much warmer and more subtle to the touch. But the goat is definitely more durable as I've had my A2 for 17 years and it still looks new, where I've had the Wested for two years and the leather has faded around certain areas, as well as a few scratches and even a cut from a razor blade (don't ask). Not that I'm complaining...it looks more Indyesque with the blemishes.

Thank you all for the warm words of welcome! Incidentally Pagey, if I'm correct in thinking you live in Austria, I'm the guy that bought your Mark VII bag and gloves off Ebay recently!

Nevada

"Talk about putting both feet in your mouth" and swallowing them whole, as we say in Dixie.
I've never had any ill effects from getting my leather jackets wet, but I haven't had the misfortune of getting caught out in a prolonged downpour in any of them, either. I have four leather coats; a lambskin Wested Indy, A goatskin Avirex A2, an unknown cowhide A2 and a cowhide U.S. M65 field jacket copy. I just treated them all except the new Wested with Obenauf's Leather oil*, which did a beautiful job. This is expected to increase water repellancy My experience with leather tells me that even the lambskin coat would be okay if it got soaking wet IF it was allowed to dry properly, which would be either worn dry or hanging inside or in the shade at room temperature or ambient temperatures above freezing. It would be best to treat the coat for water repellancy before getting it wet.
*I used the leather oil with about 50% naptha to increase penetration and cleaning power. This worked out really well, leaving no 'shine'. The cowhide A2 was very soiled, so I worked it over with M.E.K. on a terry cloth before applying the oil mixture. This also turned out very well, producing a nice, 'flat' semi-distressed look. I just had the lining, knit cuffs and waistband replaced on this coat by 'Alteration Solutions' in Indianapolis, and I can recommend their work.

Hi, 191145 (which I assume stands for the M1911 .45 cal pistol)--what did those folks charge for a relined/cuffed/waist banded A-2 cowhide. I have an Avirex that may need a lining soon. Cheers--Lao Feng

And I had just called him a jerk.

Hey.. You be nice to our senior citicents, you hear

Best regards

JAN

Well, I guess the bug bit me a little, because I just got my WPG repro bag. And I got the TAG strap. I may post pictures of it to the correct forum. I'm using it for my insect collecting gear (yes, Indy gear is probably the least geeky of my hobbies.) Now to distress it just a little...

About the story: I realize that I was the stupid jerk, not Mr. Ford. I was just feeling a little off that day, i guess. It taught me to always be courteous, and to watch who I bump into!

imagine if you bumped into him in full gear =P

I was in Jackson Hole last summer, but didn't run into Mr. Ford. Do you remember which bar it was? Maybe he frequents it