Foxcreek Leather Triple Stripe Vented Jacket
The jacket is a clearance sale item. $247 for the size 40. As the size gets larger, it is a few dollars more. I have a long torso, so I decided to order the 40 Long version, $272.
The long is 2 inches longer at the body. The sleeves are also 2 inches longer. The Foxcreek web site said the long is for guys 6’1” or taller. I am 5’10”. I was worry that it may be too long. Then I remember that this jacket does not come with shoulder, elbow, and back armor. If I add shoulder pads, and wear a back protector, the jacket will sit higher, by say, another ½ to ¾ inch. So, add that to my long torso, it may not be bad. That leaves the sleeves. I assume motorcycle jackets are already comes with longer sleeves. Will the extra 2 inches make it too long? Well, if things are too short, I cannot do anything about it. If it is too long, I may still have the option of getting it shorted at a tailor. Besides, coming from a ¾ length Tour Master Cortech fabric jacket, I was concern that a shorter jacket will not give me the coverage I was accustom to. I tend to ride deep into the winter and very early in the spring. It gets cold. Peak of summer … I don’t ride.
I pulled the trigger and ordered the jacket Thursday morning. Normal ship time is 2 days so the ETA is Saturday. Since UPS don’t deliver Saturdays, I got it Monday morning.
UPS tracking & info indicates that the package is 9 pounds! Opened the box and pull the jacket out, it was heavy. Immediately felt the thickness of the leather. I was already impressed. Then I put the jacket on. Perfect fit. Almost perfect fit. All the important spots anyways. I am 5’10”, 165 pounds. No beer guts. Chest is 39” and waist is 35”. The body is fine, not too tight, not too loose. Enough room for a thick fleece jacket, even with the rather thin zipped in liner. The sleeve turned out to be perfect length. At riding position, the sleeve comes right up to the bend of my wrist. The torso length is a tad longer as I like it that way. Once the shoulder pad goes in, the torso length will be perfect. The zippers are nice and heavy, not a whimpy thin easy to cross zipper.
The jacket as a whole is conservative in style. Something you can wear into a restaurant without the whole place staring at you. Vents are plentiful and pockets are plentiful. The locations of the pocket and vent zippers are “toned down” so they don’t draw too much attention. Unlike some styles that have one or two big ass zippers going across the chest. General construction is good. A feel of “heavy duty”. The thermal liner is thin. It is not as thick as liners in other jackets I have owned. Maybe the material is special and more windproof? I’ll have to use it to find out. If it turn out to be junk, there are plenty of high tech and low tech options. There is no sense going into all the details of different features of the jacket. You can find all that in the Foxcreek web site. I think my review of the general construction of the jacket can be apply to their other models.
Now, on to the complaints. My wrist is 7 inches in circumference. The jacket sleeve cuff is 10 inches! OK, my wrist is on the small side but 10 inches at the cuff is too much for a motorcycle jacket. It suppose to be tight fit so when you land your forearm while in a crash, your arm will not slide forward and out of the sleeve and grind on the pavement. A smaller narrower sleeve opening will be better. A feature I saw in other jackets are cinch straps at the cuffs. With a cinch strap, the cuff zipper can be open for air intake and not have to risk the arm sliding out in a crash. Right now, the cuff zipper can be closed and I can still put the jacket on and off without difficulty. I’ll have to find a solution. Alteration to narrow up the lower sleeve, or add cinch straps, or add a snap button. The most elegant solution is the most expensive.
The jacket is advertised as a 1.4 mm to 1.6mm thick leather jacket. The orange portion of the jacket is about half that thickness at 0.7mm. I used my extremely sensitive and precision fingers to squeeze the double layers of leather at the sleeve and did the same at the orange portion. Definitely about half as thick. I am a bit disappointed. In the end, the construction of the seams and stitches is the most important. Foxcreek does have a good reputation. I would have gladly pay a bit more if all the pieces of leather are 1.6mm. I would also prefer to have single large piece of leather panels at the back rather than multiple pieces. More pieces means more seams. More seams means more weak spots.
I have a 15 inch neck. The jacket neck opening is also a tad big. The collar is not as tall as your mandarin collar but not as low as the racing “no collar” style or the Vanson race jackets with the low collar. I find this acceptable because in the summer, it’ll let in a bit more air down my back. In the winter, I hear a high collar fleece jacket and will need the extra room when I zip all the way up. Current Tour Master Cortech gets tight around the neck when I bundle up with multi-layers. I will also have a neck gator in the winter. So, the collar as is will be fine. I’ll know for sure when I use the jacket.
Saw a half inch thread sticking out at the bottom edge of the jacket. Pulled it. One stitching comes off! Pulled again, another stitching comes off! Pulled the third time, another stitching comes out! I better stop! Got my very sharp tiny scissor out and cut the extra length of thread below the level of the leather, inside the needle hole. I hope it is OK. Seems minor. Hate to have to ship it back for repair for a little thing like this.
The built in fleece neck warmer hidden in the zipped in liner is a great idea. Problem here is that the Velcro closure range goes from 18 to 20.5 inch. Maybe this jacket was built for a big ass no neck guy with Popeye arms. I’ll have to get my mother to relocate the Velcro pads. I consider this to be very minor and easy to correct. Tucking the warmer back into the liner pocket may cause a lump at my back. The material is thin, so, it may not be bad. Having it out, I have to fish around for it as I put on the jacket. Maybe I am not used to the jacket yet. At this time, I feel it would be easier to pull my neck gator out of my pocket and pull it over my neck. We’ll see as I get to use the jacket more.
I suppose, no jacket will be perfect unless I get it customer measured and made. For $272, I suppose this jacket is as close to perfect as I can expect. Here are the reasons. It is all leather instead of “hybrid” leather and fabric. Minimal number of leather panels instead of 50 pieces of multi color scraps stitches together and call it fashion. The style is old school, like me, and will not make me look like a Power Ranger. My friend Kevin races at the tracks, and he can look the part because he is good. I ain’t that good! The leather is thick instead of 1.1mm to 1.3mm that you normally find in most jackets. The price is great. Other models of Foxcreek are well over $400 since they are not on clearance sale. Vansons is slightly higher price than Foxcreeks. The jacket is well made. Thick and heavy duty. Makes me feel a sense of confidence and “permanence”. I like the feeling of something that can take a beating and won’t give up on you. I am hoping I can pass it on to my grandson someday.
Topic: Foxcreek Leather Triple Stripe Vented Jacket (Read 8810 times)