Nothing will match the comfort of a good leather jacket and the feeling of security it inspires when you wear it. And furthermore, despite the variety of styles in Boneshia, a leather jacket always affirms the look and identity of the biker.
It also gives it all its charm: the leather evolves, adapts to each morphology, and acquires a patina. In short, she is alive.
Let's take a quick look at the different varieties of skins and their characteristics.
What type of leather do we find in motorcycle jackets?
All skins can be tanned. That said, ruminants are the most represented in motorcycle jackets for the availability and quality of leather.
Cowhide leather: Also known as “bovine leather,” it encompasses several types of skins, and not only cowhide. Bovine leather offers the best resistance/flexibility/price ratio for the manufacture of motorcycle jackets.
Buffalo Leather: This leather has an aged look and is ideal for use in vintage-style jackets. But depending on the thickness chosen by the manufacturer, it can also be very protective. It should be noted that buffalo skin is larger and provides more leather, which lowers its price.
Goat skin: This skin is scarcer because more pieces are needed to form a garment. Therefore, it is mainly used in the manufacture of motorcycle gloves.
Kangaroo Skin: This one comes from a little further afield than the others. Praised for its unsurpassed lightness and flexibility, it is generally reserved for certain parts in high-end suits and some racing gloves.
Lambskin: A soft and pleasant skin, but less resistant, which limits its use to jackets and jackets intended for urban use, as long as it is reinforced with a protective textile. Sometimes this fur is turned inside out and worn with its wool, thus acting as a fixed insulating lining, get the best halloween jackets made with Lambskin upto 70% off.
The Different Qualities Of Leather
Full-grain or full-grain leather: Motorcycle jackets are traditionally made with this type of leather; It is extracted from the outside of the epidermis.
Aniline leather: Clearly the best of all. Only the most beautiful leathers can qualify as aniline leather. They must be free of any visual defect (scar, scratch, etc.). It does not have any surface treatment and must not present imperfections. Aniline leather offers the best flexibility of all and a natural grain for a unique feel. It is coated with a thin protective layer that aims to limit impregnation. Its flexibility and beauty explain its price. It requires regular maintenance but acquires an excellent patina over time.
Semi-aniline leather: This leather has some imperfections that are masked by a thicker layer of pigments and wax.
Pigmented leather: This lower-quality leather has a surface treatment to eliminate appearance defects. It is covered with a layer of opaque pigment and then with a transparent protective layer that will prevent impregnation (water, grease, etc.) blocking any porosity. Sometimes the grain is added mechanically. In general (but not always!) the cheapest motorcycle jackets use this type of leather.
Split: It is a leather filed on the surface, which gives it a suede appearance and a particularly soft touch. It suffers more with humidity. Nubuck leather is the finest of all, while suede is a bit coarser.
How thick should the ideal motorcycle jacket be?
Thick leather is more resistant to abrasion, tearing, cuts, etc. But it is not interesting to have an excessive thickness either, because then we would lose a lot in flexibility and comfort. Here are the main thicknesses that you will see in the technical sheets of our jackets:
From 0.9 to 1 mm: It is the fine and flexible leather of jackets intended for urban use, in which a little more thought is given to the look than to protection.
From 1.1 to 1.2 mm:
Good compromise between flexibility and resistance. Most motorcycle jackets use leather of this thickness.
From 1.3 mm onwards: More resistant but less flexible. You cannot have everything!
Textile linings can accompany fine leathers to achieve the objectives set by the protection regulations (pocket for reinforcements, fixed lining).
Does waterproof leather exist?
Most leather jackets can take a bit of rain, especially when you're short on time. But when they are no longer so new, the water suits them very badly, at least on long journeys. If they get completely soaked, they risk warping, take a long time to dry, and can become as stiff as cardboard. If this happens to you, you can try to save it by treating it with a maintenance lotion before you get rid of your jacket.
Some smoother grains of skin is less sensitive to moisture. Surface treatments with waxes, for example, are very effective, but not indefinitely.
For added comfort, some manufacturers line the leather with a waterproof membrane. This does not make the leather waterproof, but the association of the two layers will protect you from contact with water. There are multilayer membranes in some jackets and leather jackets designed to be used throughout the year.
Even though your halloween costume jackets has it if it starts to rain, I would recommend putting on a waterproof jacket over it, which will protect the skin from moisture. He deserves it! And it will also reduce the frequency of its maintenance.
