LeatherUp vs Schott
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,913
Likes: 87
From:
Take a look at the Vanson Cobra Mark 2. It has a perforated front that can be sealed up tight for colder weather as well as zipped vents at the bicep area and exhaust vents in the back. A little more racer than a cafe racer but a really tough jacket. I really like it. The thick, stiff and tough leather is great. You will have to layer up though for winter. When I get a chance I think I will ride with mine with the FXRG insulated liner under it. That should make it as warm as the FXRG except no kidney belt. You will need to get it two sizes larger than what you normally wear. Or at least one size up.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,120
Likes: 192
From: Lakeland, FL
buy the schott and don't look back. Their prices are going up very soon (just got an email from them about it). I had a leatherup jacket for a while. The lining eventually fell apart, and I was constantly repairing zippers. I only wore it on the bike. I got a Schott easy rider and wear it everywhere. I LOVE this jacket. Made in the US is a bonus, too. I think my leatherup jacket came from Pakistan.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,202
Likes: 5
From: Hudson Valley, NY
really you're over thinking it, schott, vanson, fox creek are all great jackets, each one will break in nice and keep your skin on if you hit the ground. as for me the vanson model - b is the best looking jacket out there hands down.
just buy the one that fits best.
Last edited by babalu; Feb 5, 2011 at 12:40 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,118
Likes: 1,145
From: Directly above the center of the Earth
A LeatherUp/Jafrum buy *WILL* be a 'regret buy'. It might take 3 years or maybe with luck 5 years, but it'll mess up on you far sooner than a respectable company's product will.
How happy can someone be buying 4 or 5 jackets in 20 years when one *good* jacket will do and it will literally last a lifetime? You'll spend the same amount of money in the long run, plus, you won't be embarrassed by wearing a cheap PoS jacket that you can't identify the critter the leather came from and that 50 different thicknesses of it are used all over the jacket? That's a description of my Jafrum PoS (along with the zipper escapade story)...parts of it are paper thin and parts are as thick as I expected...but none of it is good looking leather, at all. It doesn't even make any of the noises good leather does and is supposed to when you move in it!
Yeah, go ahead and buy what fits. Do I get any money if you're back here in a few years crying about that cheap one you got because it fit just a little better or (and this should be embarrassing for those of you who worry about this kind of thing, all you who can't walk past anything that reflects your image)...looks better on you (*NOT* the jacket looks good...makes *you* look good)?
How happy can someone be buying 4 or 5 jackets in 20 years when one *good* jacket will do and it will literally last a lifetime? You'll spend the same amount of money in the long run, plus, you won't be embarrassed by wearing a cheap PoS jacket that you can't identify the critter the leather came from and that 50 different thicknesses of it are used all over the jacket? That's a description of my Jafrum PoS (along with the zipper escapade story)...parts of it are paper thin and parts are as thick as I expected...but none of it is good looking leather, at all. It doesn't even make any of the noises good leather does and is supposed to when you move in it!
Yeah, go ahead and buy what fits. Do I get any money if you're back here in a few years crying about that cheap one you got because it fit just a little better or (and this should be embarrassing for those of you who worry about this kind of thing, all you who can't walk past anything that reflects your image)...looks better on you (*NOT* the jacket looks good...makes *you* look good)?
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,808
Likes: 3
How happy can someone be buying 4 or 5 jackets in 20 years when one *good* jacket will do and it will literally last a lifetime?
unfortunately, in our consumer driven culture, we are taught to be unhappy unless we are buying something. So people would rather buy 5 cheap jackets with pre-distressed leather, instead of buying one really good jacket and wearing it honestly for a decade or two so that it shows age because it's OLD.
I also agree with what you said about money in the long run. Buying cheap foreign made junk is false economy. It costs YOU more in the long run in more than one way. And it costs everyone else that lives in this country too.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,268
Likes: 507
From: Florida
That makes you a hippocrit.
babalu,
totally got on board with the model B. Went to my store and placed the order. On the way home I get a call. Vanson sold out this week and it will be 3 months : o. Sold the FXRG and the Schott Perfecto I did not like. Need a jacket and cant wait. Any thoughts on the Model A vs B. I like the side buckles due to beer playing 15 pounds up and down every six months.
Worst case I guess the Schott or Fox Creek. Dang it!!
totally got on board with the model B. Went to my store and placed the order. On the way home I get a call. Vanson sold out this week and it will be 3 months : o. Sold the FXRG and the Schott Perfecto I did not like. Need a jacket and cant wait. Any thoughts on the Model A vs B. I like the side buckles due to beer playing 15 pounds up and down every six months.
Worst case I guess the Schott or Fox Creek. Dang it!!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,202
Likes: 5
From: Hudson Valley, NY
babalu,
totally got on board with the model B. Went to my store and placed the order. On the way home I get a call. Vanson sold out this week and it will be 3 months : o. Sold the FXRG and the Schott Perfecto I did not like. Need a jacket and cant wait. Any thoughts on the Model A vs B. I like the side buckles due to beer playing 15 pounds up and down every six months.
Worst case I guess the Schott or Fox Creek. Dang it!!
totally got on board with the model B. Went to my store and placed the order. On the way home I get a call. Vanson sold out this week and it will be 3 months : o. Sold the FXRG and the Schott Perfecto I did not like. Need a jacket and cant wait. Any thoughts on the Model A vs B. I like the side buckles due to beer playing 15 pounds up and down every six months.
Worst case I guess the Schott or Fox Creek. Dang it!!
this is what i did and i found one a guy was desperately trying to unload. i paid a low price for my vanson model - b (made in USA), the guy was closing shop and clearing inventory.
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Plan C...
Half the dealers I called dont carry the Model B only Sport Versions. The other half did not call back or answer the emails I sent out (about 10 stores).
Time to see how Fox Creek does.
By the way the folks that mentioned the BMG Montana, Its made in China.
Half the dealers I called dont carry the Model B only Sport Versions. The other half did not call back or answer the emails I sent out (about 10 stores).
Time to see how Fox Creek does.
By the way the folks that mentioned the BMG Montana, Its made in China.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,913
Likes: 87
From:
Just ride over to Fox Creek and check it out in person. Nice weather up there now for riding without a jacket. 
I would call Vanson directly. They might give you a different story than the dealer got. I think all the dealers go through a regional jobber.
I would call Vanson directly. They might give you a different story than the dealer got. I think all the dealers go through a regional jobber.