Having a leather biker jacket is now an essential part of every man’s and woman’s who loves to commute or tour for short or long trips. Not only it looks good but it also lasts longer and can be used for different purposes. However, buying a quality leather biker jacket that is stylish, comfortable and durable is not an easy task because it will cost you a couple of hundred of bucks to buy, so you have to be very careful to wisely invest your money in buying a leather biker jacket for yourself. It is a complicated, baffling and a stressful process as many factors come into consideration such as quality, how much it will last, pricing, stitching, lining, fitting, and color, etc. in addition to it, the variety we have now makes it further hard to buy a leather jacket. If you are going to buy a leather jacket then this article is a must-read for you as this article discusses some of the prominent indicators of a quality leather jacket. Follow it and you will end up buying a quality jacket. So let’s start:
LEATHER’S QUALITY
Without a doubt buying quality is the ultimate goal of every buyer, however, finding and judging quality is not that easy too. To buy a long-lasting jacket stay away from the corrected leathers. As not only they are made of low-cost skins but also they are managed by chemicals for beautification. Chemicals help in presenting good looks for a short while but destroy the quality, in no time cracks and tears appear in the jacket. The best way to overcome this issue is to ask for the jackets made from pure leather of cows, lambs, horses, and goats. Let’s discuss these animals hide one by one:
Cow’s leather:
it’s the most used leather and some research statistics say that for around 60% of the leather products, the leather comes from cows. As its use is not bound to jackets only. In terms of winter jackets, cow’s leather is the obvious choice as none of the hides matches the softness, comfort, and warmness that it provides. Its leather is comparatively bumpy which helps in preserving its shape. Its closely-packed fibers make it more resistant. It resists heat, moisture, and dirt to a greater extent. It’s affordable, heavy, impenetrable, durable, long-lasting and buying it is an investment.
Lambs leather:
its lightweight, stretchy, feels soft, elegant and is liked by many. As time passes it becomes further soft. Not resistant as like cows as it can be susceptible to abrasion. It’s prone to stains too but its fine texture makes it the choice for many. It’s not that good at resisting moisture, heat, and dirt but still very better than many fabrics. One of the demerits of the lambskin is that stretch with time so it needs a bit extra care.
Horse’s leather:
although the leather of horse is rare now but still one of the best leathers for jackets. Its skin structure results in exceptional patterns. As compared to others, Jackets made with horse leather are often durable, heavier, and rigid and smooth, but can get softer with use. It’s highly-priced due to the rarity of the horse leather.
Goat’s leather:
like cows, goat leather is used on a huge level. If not more the durability is not less than cows leather. It’s soft, warm, flexible, breathable and water-resistant. The prominent ridges make the leather looks very good as it results in pleasing patterns on the jackets. It has high resistance against wear and tear. It can be expensive as a couple of pieces of leather may be used to produce a single jacket as the goat’s skin size is small. It is easy to maintain too.
Although it may cost you some extra bucks while buying a leather biker jacket made of these hides but mind you this stuff will last longer and will get better with more use.
STITCHING
It’s easy to find out a top stitched leather biker jacket. Almost every designer and well-stitched jackets are stitched with heavy-duty threads with no loose ends that attract attention. Mostly for well-stitched jackets, good quality leather is used (as discussed above, good quality leather comes from cows, lambs, horses, and goats). Besides good quality leather and thread, the top stitched jacket will always have precise details. These details can be in the form of some beautifying elements or stitching mostly on pockets and seams. This beautification adds extra punch to good visuals. As compared to quality stitched jackets the normal jackets are stitched with weak and cheap threads with no good designs and are prone to ripping too.
CUTS AND SIZES
Remember the only thing that counts huge while buying is how much it is fit. The quality jackets are flattering and are full of compliments and come with precise cuts and sizes. Quality cuts and precise fitting costs high too as adding more details within limits results in additional cost. These aspects aren’t associated with cheap jackets as generic cuts and sizes are focused as the brands want these jackets that can fit maximum peoples. For the jacket to look fit it’s important:
- To have the shoulder seams line very close to your shoulders.
- The armholes need to be comfortably high as it will stick to its place even if you move your arms. If the armholes are very huge and low then it will be hard to manage it while moving arms, the whole jacket and move and it shows that it’s not properly cut.
- Sleeves should be of normal fit as very tight sleeves will restrict arms movements.
- In terms of length, the ideal fit leather jacket’s length must cover your waist or hide the belt, the length, however, depend on the individual’s heights as it varies for shorter and taller guys. The main issue that can arise with the length is of the sleeves, especially with shorter guys.
LINING
This prominent aspect of any leather jacket counts a lot while buying. In lining two things matter the most, first, the fabric (silk and cotton wills are recommended) and the second thing is the number of the lining. Usually, a good quality jacket has two different linings for the body and sleeves. Low-cost jackets have a single lining which also is procumbent to wear and tears. A good quality jacket has an inner lining too which adds more value to the jacket as it brings smoothness. Also, the inner lining brings more softness, comfort, and warmness to the jacket.
ZIPPERS AND ACCESSORIES
The YKK and RIRI zippers are one of the best zippers currently used. These zippers bring strength and smoothness while zipping. The use of these zippers means that the jacket must be of good quality. Besides zippers the other accessories that count a lot are patches, studs, buttons, and eyelets, etc. checking out for the quality accessories before buying a leather jacket is important as it brings the additional charm.
Color selection depends thoroughly on one’s taste nonetheless mostly black, tan and brown are the obvious choices if you want to use the jacket daily. These both (black/brown) can be used with every color of shirt and pants. Both the colors have their omen. There is no prior yes or no to both the colors it’s just the feelings of selection once you see yourself while wearing both the colors.
WHAT TO AVOID
It is very critical to buy a perfect piece of a leather jacket as it’s a long term investment and it will give you many years to enjoy. We discussed many important factors above about good quality jackets. Here we will get insight into the factors you should avoid while buying a jacket.
- Don’t go for the jacket that is too short. It will look ugly no matter how good is the quality. It will be difficult to move freely with it. A leather jacket length should be around the waist or a couple of inches further. Standard length leather jacket is obvious for many but the long length jackets are also a good option if you want extra warmth and covering.
- Make sure you are buying it from a good and specialized brand. As leather production is a major field, many companies do different things with it. Select the company which specifically deals with leather jackets or company that is famous for it.
- Don’t go for the used jackets. It can either hurt you or please you but that pleasure seldom happens with used jackets. The used jacket may look good but you don’t know if it has completed its life, it may get wear and tears soon.
- Don’t go for the over pocket jackets. Many pockets give you storage spaces but it destroys the look. Go with the jackets having minimum pockets, ideally 3 pockets.
- Only good looks should not be the criteria for buying. Yes, good looks are important but more critical are how it fit in.
- You should not buy a multi-colored jacket. Having many colors restricts its usage. Although single-colored jackets are the best to go with however if you love multi-colored than make sure the jacket has not more than three colors.
CONCLUSION
Leather biker jackets are the upright selection for your biking wardrobe collection. Expense besides but it surely adds more value to your safety and style when riding a motorbike for short or long rides. The above-discussed factors: leather’s quality, stitching, cuts and sizes, lining, zippers & other accessories and colors are the most important to look for while buying a leather biker jacket, these will settle the price and quality of the jacket as well. And to make sure you don’t buy a wrong piece of leather jacket you should look at the following factors:
- The jacket is not short.
- The company is specialized in leather jackets.
- The jacket is not used.
- The jacket has fewer pockets.
- The jacket not only looks good but fits in well too.
- The jacket is not multi-colored.
We are sure this article will surely help you in buying your first leather biker jacket. If it helped you we will love to hear your thoughts, as your feedback will surely help us to guide more peoples.
