Club Obi Wan

It's funny how it seems that jacket collecting becomes an addiction. I have decided, though I'm not sure why, to get another Indy jacket. The ones I have already (a Wested lamb and a US Wings LE) are great jackets, but I want something that's not afraid of getting nasty should I wear it hunting, or outside in the elements.

I have been a long-standing fan of horse hide for its durability. I have a few original WWII bomber/flight jackets made out of horse, and they are built like a tank. Wested seems to have a very good offerring in this hide, and I am fairly certain I've read on here before that people have high praise for this particular Wested jacket.

Any thoughts or opinions?

I have nothing but good things to say about Wested's HH. I washed it to take off some of the shine and have been wearing it as often as I can. It's really growing quite soft and supple. I got everything with reinforced stitching so it's a really rugged jacket.

I recently got a horse hide A-2 and I'll never go back to any other type of leather.

I have 2 horsehide A-2's and let me tell ya it's one tuff leather and very very warm. Mine are really thick though, I don't know how thick wested's are, but horsehide is very warm over all.

I agree that it's warmer than you'd expect. I really like the look of it too. It seems to break in quickly and it has a great look to it.

I've got a Raiders-style Wested in HH (off the rack), and I can't say enough about how nice it is. If you where to go on a real adventure, I think Horsehide would be the way to go, not lamb!

Anyway, it's build like it's meant to survive WW3 and drapes very nicely. It's quite SA even in real life, not only in pics

I say: Go for it, you won't regret it!

I think if Indy had been a real person with a real jacket in the era he's depicted, the jacket would have been Horse, Goat or Cowhide, not Lamb.
If you want HH go for it.

I agree, in the mid to late thirties the USAAC had been using the new A2 jacket which was predominently made from horsehide, even though steerhide and goatskin were also used.
So I would think that Indy's jacket would most definately have been made from horsehide with it being a tough leather and readly available in large quantities.

Horse hide seems to be a good choice. Do you think it is as warm as cowhide or even warmer?

Can't go wrong with a horsehide. I own one several years now and it served me very well. I have to admit, I gave it a hard time "in the field" and it still is tough and durable as on its first day.

It's stiff in the beginning, that's true, but it shaped much faster than my older goatskin jacket and it lost the "shine" faster, too.
Though it is indeed much heavier than other leather jackets I never felt loaden or something like that, while wearing it - I didn't notice any additional weight at all.
Because of the thicker leather it's also noticeably warmer than let's say lamb and even goat ('though this might be a subjective impression) - making this a good jacket for the seasons "in between" (spring, autumn).

Since I also have worn it in the desert evenings and mornings I can confirm that a horsehide jacket does distress naturally very, very well. It loses its shine and stiffnes after a few days and develops a nice patina during time (with some greyish-brown undertone, where the leather surface is rubbed away ...).

There's only one choice for toughest Indy jacket (in my opinion). That's a G&B goatskin Expedition. The hide is tough as nails and that baby aint gonna come apart on you. The construction is just as important as the hide integrity.

Thanks, ya'll!

I'll be ordering one shortly!

Rundquist wrote:There's only one choice for toughest Indy jacket (in my opinion). That's a G&B goatskin Expedition. The hide is tough as nails and that baby aint gonna come apart on you. The construction is just as important as the hide integrity.

I concur.

Regards! Micahelson

If G and B came up with a HH jacket, you could run over trucks with them instead of just being dragged behind.

HAHA so true

Nibs

Could Indy's jacket, from the look of it on screen, conceivably been a different type of leather?

Remember most things in hollywood aren't what they are meant to be like styrofoam rocks or one wall'd buildings etc... it could have meant to be different


is horse hide comfy/soft?

Usually the wardrobe is pretty standard unless they have a harness or something underneath. The set designs are usually the things that "trick" the audience i.e. the wall on the left of Indy that shakes when he barely touches it at the "leap of faith" scene, the tree branch Indy hits over Dovchenko's head is rubber, the same goes for the rock that Pat Roach hits Harrison with on the conveyor belt in TOD. But as far as materials go, they usually stick to the norm. That's why they have so many pieces of each part of clothing.

Nibs

When I first saw the movie and became interested in the jacket (some time before the internet was created and all this great info was readily available), I always believe the jacket was cow for all 3 movies.

So technically the jacket could be what you believe it to be onscreen. But knowing the reality makes it tough.

I am surprised the OP doesn't think the US Wings LE jacket would not take a beating. I have an LE and it is a quality jacket.

It isn't horsehide but I bet it takes to the elements and abuse just was well as a Wested simply because the construction (ie stitching and reinforcements) would be better than the Wested HH.

I have two horsehide jackets, one Wested, one Schott, and I have to say that I think that Horse is the best hide for a jacket bar none.

I have owned (breifly) lamb and for several years goat. Goat is nice, and certainly tough for it's thickness, but Horse is traditional, durable, and just has the right look as it ages. Like a good pair of jeans, it just gets better with age. The more fragile Lambskins will look older faster, but they will not 'endure' like Goat or Horse.

I also think 'old' cow/steer hide is excellent; however modern tanning techniques are making these hides more 'user friendly' wih better 'hand' and 'drape' while sacrificing toughness to do so. I am quite frankly scared for those who would go into a Harley-Davidson dealer to get a jacket. What they come out with is expensive, ugly, and will not offer the protection of a traditionally made jacket of (OLD) cow hide or horse. If you just want the biker look (and HD logo on your back) more power to ya!

These are generalizations, and my opinion of course.