Cal-Leather Jackets

It is a cow leather CHP or California Highway Patrol style jacket what they call an LAPD jacket from cow leather and we're gonna break down a little bit about the brand and then go into all the details about the Jacket One of the really interesting things about Jackets made in California for the highway patrol is that there are a bunch of small makers that kind of popped up after California added all these miles and miles of highway and They had police departments riding motorcycles and so those individual departments had their needs and a lot of local makers sprung up to meet the need and so Cow leather is based out of Ventura, California What is really remarkable is that they make these jackets in this California highway patrol style that are just absolutely beastly just so beefy Alright, so let's talk with this jacket's made of it's really heavy at around seven pounds and It is this really thick leather drives the majority of that weight Which of course drives the majority of the cost for the jacket. It's a leather jacket after all, so let's talk about it I don't actually know if it's cow hide or horse hide. It's one of the two Some of the markings and the nature of the leather makes me tend to believe it may be horse hide though either way It's heavy and it has a thick topcoat This is a leather that's intended to be a protective armor while riding So it bears those hallmarks of thickness and durability protective topcoat to protect against the elements and abrasion resistance and all that kind of stuff that you're looking for in protective motorcycle gear of the bygone era and The leather really is honestly phenomenal. It's beautiful It has an awesome texture that it's built up over time And one of the interesting things that Cal does is because this leather is thicker and they're using as much of the hide as they can They will end up getting these kind of Striations or thicker areas that some makers would simply just put to the side But they're perfectly functional and they can lead to some really kind of interesting beautiful looks In fact, what's kind of interesting about it is that there are brands It's apparent on the arms, but really becomes obvious on the back There's this huge panel that kind of has this awesome texture to it that is because of their use of the hide as much as they can get Now aside from the leather, what is this jacket made of? What are the components and everything? The interior is lined in a very smooth what appears to be rayon and there is a bit of fur at the ends of the sleeves that is part of the sleeve closing mechanism basically and There is Heavy-duty talon zips the center one looks it's at least a 10 maybe bigger The main zip is a huge brass zipper The sleeve zips are more standard. They look to be maybe a six or an eight style size zip and From what I can tell they appear to be the original zippers on this jacket This is a robust zip that has really stood the test of time really classic quality from talon zippers other things The jacket is made of really raw hide for the lacing for the side adjustment this jacket is a CHP or chip jacket and It has the kind of classic design elements of the style which are it has two slanted pockets for Handwarmer in the front and they have a kind of stitching that goes Horizontally across from top top on those zippers the jacket features snaps to put on a Mouton collar and it's kind of a standard inclusion for this jacket that this being a Used vintage jacket did not come with the jacket unfortunately. They also typically come with a Throat muffler or warmer so that you have the fur collar around the size and then a muffler in the front to create a complete Wind block system for around the neck for warmth and colder weather I mentioned one design element, which is the fur cuff That is interior to the end of the sleeve so that when its sleeves are zipped It can keep your wrists warm and not allow air in without having to have that really thick leather Too tightly cinched around your wrist kind of acts like a gasket in a way And I think it's a really cool feature on these jackets and then Asymmetrical main zip yeah kind of classic cross-it motorcycle style and then the waistband on this jacket is kind of the final iconic part of the design Which is it is this doubled up very thick leather That is stitched in rows to create a rather stiff waistband around the bottom and the jacket is actually Has three panels for the bottom which is to say there are two front panels Which are separated by the zip and then a large main back panel which there is some Leather that acts as a gusset between those the front that goes around the sides and then there'some gusseting between The back panel and the two side panels and so it allows for that stiff waistband to move without kind of impinging on your hips When it's all the way zipped, It's pretty squeaky. Just listen to this Could be a make-or-break kind of thing for some folks you can reduce it by Cleaning especially the area under the armpits and doing a little bit of conditioning that tends to reduce that noise The construction on the jacket is really solid and kind of reminds me of the work from shot However, I would say there are some areas of wavy or even stitching Especially in those super thick areas at the waistband where they just don't quite get the line straight But nothing's fallen apart and the jacket is really robustly put together with very thick thread. So out of these jackets fit Well, I am five foot nine a hundred seventy five pounds and this jacket has no size label That's because all cow jackets are custom-made and so it lends to this kind of thing where you really have to know your measurements Kind of but you also have to understand that these jackets are built as a kind of standard with a pretty wide Chest and shoulders especially chest and they taper rather dramatically so they tend to be a really kind of generous forgiving upper body fit and They taper to your waist size now. This is because these are intended to be practical jackets that are your one issue jacket while you're working for the California Highway Patrol and it needs to be able to essentially cover you throughout the year no matter what the weather is so they tend to build in a lot of space for layering and mobility hence the very large pit-to-pit and The wider shoulder and so those are really both functional features And of course that taper that sharp taper brings the jacket tightly and against the waist so that It can keep the wind out and stay on your body properly. So once again the film follows the function with this style but it can lead to some confusion as to what size really works for you and I would say and this is a very interesting thing that I found with this jacket now This particular jacket is a little oversized on me but The pit-to-pit is way Oversized on me. This jacket has a nearly 24 inch Chest I typically take at the very largest around 22 or 22. 5 inch So as you can see it is much bigger across the chest than would typically work for me The link saw match up very well for me and the hem size really matches well for me and has slightly large shoulders in this massive pit-to-pit Now I could probably use Maybe an inch or so or an inch and a half smaller across the pit But I want to take this moment to just say that you should expect a larger pit-to-pit on these cow leather jackets Then you might take in other sizes and I found that This is kind of comparable to what happened to me with the arrow highwaymen 5 Chest which is really bigger than I normally take but it just works And that's what I want to say about the cow is that the bigger pit-to-pit just works You have to break it in and I'm sure it took some time this jacket's from the 60s But you can expect larger pit-to-pit sizes to work for you in this particular style Okay, wearability. This is one of the things I think is most awesome about this jacket Which is that it weighs seven pounds and it just disappears when worn it is honestly Maybe the most comfortable leather jacket that I have ever worn Even considering that weight I've worn heavy jackets that you could feel it and it was not comfortable and After just an hour or so you could just start feeling the tension headache come on from your muscles Just fighting against the jacket this cow at its weight with this robust leather is So enjoyable to wear You can really forget about it except for the squeaking, I think when it comes to different types of styles It works with a lot of things, Or does it just look like a cow leathers and you're kind of hoping that's what you're getting and if you find a vintage cow in very good condition in A popular size like something between 40 and 44 and it has the Mouton collar and all the other fixings Or maybe even the service belt that these jackets were made with back in the day, That's more expensive for example than the rainbow country jackets that I have Reviewed if you just convert them straight to US dollars from their yen price And so you get to thinking is that too much? Well, I don't know There are some accessories that are included in that price that kind of drive it up Which it comes with a Mouton collar, which this jacket doesn't have it comes with the throat protector It comes with a hand-tooled service belt, I really love and have grown to love over time more and more this robust squeaky comfortable absolutely badass jacket and so It really totally makes sense why these cow jackets have such a kind of iconic Dedicated following in the vintage community. Do you have a cow jacket? Have you considered one? Have you gotten one from an alternate maker