Club Obi Wan

Hello all! i'm in the market for another indy jacket and wonder what you would recommend as the WARMEST and most DURABLE of all the available offerings? thanks much!

You're looking at cow, horse or goat. IMO, you can't get any tougher than horsehide. Some will arge goat is the toughest, its a matter opinion at that point. As for warmth, you live in VA, so it won't get too cold, go for the cotton lining. Its comfortable in most weather. None of the Indy jackets are that warm really, you have to layer underneath for any real protection from the cold.

Thus far i've had the Expo in goat, Wested in Goat and Wings VIP in Cow. The Wings was by far the heaviest of the lot but not the most durable. I am sort of leaning toward the Vintage Cow from Wings but don't know if it meets the need.

An old member sent Wested some flannel to use as a backing to the leather. That might be a good idea.

I've worn my Wested lamb here and I was fine. I don't spend too much time outdoors, so as long as I layered it, I would be fine. There were only a handful of times where I more a heavier coat b/c I was spending most of the time outdoors.

You're looking at cow, horse or goat. IMO, you can't get any tougher than horsehide. Some will arge goat is the toughest, its a matter opinion at that point. As for warmth, you live in VA, so it won't get too cold, go for the cotton lining. Its comfortable in most weather. None of the Indy jackets are that warm really, you have to layer underneath for any real protection from the cold.

I got one just like this for the same reason.

I've mentioned before that I use a Wested cowhide with satin liner as a winter jacket, and I'm usually fine. It gets to -30 Celsius during Ottawa winter (Great White North, eh!) so an undershirt, cabela's safari shirt, and cowhide can be enuff, except for the exceptionally cold days.

Mr. Das wrote:An old member sent Wested some flannel to use as a backing to the leather.

Whatever,,,,,,,,,,,, happened to,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, MIKEY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, BTW?

Based on my own experience, I'm just not convinced that any leather is really much warmer than another. Some are just heavier which doesn't always equal warmer. It's just not an insulating material. I strongly recommend layering both inside and outside. When it comes to cold, the week points of the jacket are the open cuffs and action back. I bought a thinsulate sweater that fits under my jacket and is mostly invisible. It closes all those openings and keeps me quite warm. Add a scarf for the neck, just like Harrison Ford did in that Young Indy episode. For more serious cold, I wear a bomber style shearling coat over my jacket. The greatest thing about layering is that you can peal it off when when you start to warm up.

VP wrote:

Mr. Das wrote:An old member sent Wested some flannel to use as a backing to the leather.

Whatever,,,,,,,,,,,, happened to,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, MIKEY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, BTW?

He's still around......

Regards! Michaelson

Whoever he is he seems to have stopped using gazillions of commas.

He's a reformed man, and become a valuable asset to the site in his reformation.

Regards! Michaelson

WW2 A-2 jackets that were made out of goatskin are in better condition than their horsehide counterparts. If you are planning on wearing the jacket for 60 years, then that info might have some bearing. I don’t think that it really matters. Go with what you like, just stay away from lambskin if you want the jacket to be durable. My warmest Indy jacket is my deerskin Expedition, which you can’t get anymore unfortunately. Cheers

I've also observed that goatskin tends to stay more pliable in really cold air, where horsehide gets even stiffer...so if you're wanting to remain 'flexible' in cold weather condition, you might want to factor THAT into your equations.

Regard! Michaelson

My former US Wings in the Distressed Cowhide was extremely warm as it was a thick hide (nice lookin' too) and had a cotton lining. Great winter leather jacket. However, I sold it as our "stable" of jackets was getting crowded.

I have a vintage 1960's cafe-racer leather jacket with a removable 'fur type' lining inside. In the warmer months, I remove the lining and zip it back in again for cold weather. Perhaps something like this could be incorporated into a custom Wested?

Michaelson wrote:

I've also observed that goatskin tends to stay more pliable in really cold air, where horsehide gets even stiffer...so if you're wanting to remain 'flexible' in cold weather condition, you might want to factor THAT into your equations.

Regard! Michaelson

Have you found this to be true even with the Wested horsehide? Isn't Wested's horsehide said to be a bit softer than most? I was thinking about building a 'winter' Wested, and this was one I was considering.

TR

Good point. The sample I've had from Wested was a LOT more flexible than any other horsehide materials or jackets I've handled or owned....so you may have a better horsehide source here than other makers.

I was speaking in a more generalized area that just about ALL goatskin, regardless of jacket maker, is more flexible than horsehide. Of course, you CAN find horsehide that varies in tanning and flexibility, and that all OVER the scale. It just depends on the tannery and who it's sourced from.

You're right. Wested's horsehide is very soft.

Regards! Michaelson

Some people also kicked around the idea of using a Military Surplus liner and getting buttons sewn into the wested after the fact.

http://www.uscav.com/Productinfo.aspx?p ... CatID=5230

Cheers
Craig

The liners are VERY warm but unless the sleeves are as loose as a field jacket I'd remove them.

Here's tip I've learned over the years wearing leather jackets. Instead of grabbing the jacket and throwing it on. Don the jacket at least an hour prior to leaving. When you put on a jacket and leave immediately the jacket stays cold thus your body loses bodyheat. Whereas when you put it on sooner the leather warms up and forms an insulation barrier inside.
Don't remember if I read it or some old timer told me but it does work. Now, it probably wont keep you that way in Arctic climates but for normal winters you should be comfy.

An hour?! I'd say about 15 minutes. If ya wear it for an hour indoors, not only will you acclimate to the temp with a jacket on indoors, but you may even work up a sweat, and then you'll REALLY freeze outside. 10 or 15 minutes would be sufficient to warm up the jacket. Just my 2 sense.

TR