Langlitz

[smithcorona]

Howdy everyone,
Just curious, who out there has a Langlitz. I've had my Cascade for four years now and it looks like I just got it.
Heavy cowhide has taken a while to "break in" the jacket will still stand up on its' own, and feels like it would take gun fire.
Pretty basic jacket with a straight zip. The straight zip looks great, but if I rode more it would probably have been better to get
the offset zip.

smithcorona

 

[watchmanjimg]

I have a Cascade in black heavy cowhide with straight zipper and leather-lined pockets. I'm still not sure I like it as much as my custom Lost Worlds, but it's a damn good jacket and I'm happy to own it. I ran mine through the washing machine to break it in and this method worked quite well for me. The leather softened and developed a nice character, and the jacket molded to my body.

 

[Tommer45]

Hey Smithcorona (and yo Jimbo!), I have two Cascades.. one with the offset zipper and one with a straight zip. Love 'em both although I prefer the straight zip for asthetic purposes. But it's true that if you ride in cold weather the offset zipper does a much better job at keeping the cold out. If I ride with the straight zip in the cold (which has a 1" windflap behind the zipper) I definitely start feeling the chill much quicker. Love both the jackets though.. the straight zip might be my perfect jacket.

Tommer

 

[smithcorona]

Howdy Tommer,

The straight zip does look better for normal wear, I agree.
Your second jacket looks like mine, save the color and pocket angle. We've got the Cascade covered for sure. Any Columbia owners out there (we know you're out there).

smithcorona

 

[Tommer45]

There's someone on this forum with a killer horsehide Columbia... very nice looking.

 

[deeb7]

There's someone on this forum with a killer horsehide Columbia... very nice looking.

That would be Harlock, with the one posted here ...

viewtopic.php?p=25234#p25234

And my favourite Columbia ...

 

[Harlock]

There's someone on this forum with a killer horsehide Columbia... very nice looking.

That would be Harlock, with the one posted here ...

http://vintageleatherjackets.org/viewto ... 234#p25234

Hi -- Yeah, I love my Langlitz jackets. I have two: the horsehide columbia and also a goatskin cascade. The horsehide is definitely thicker than the goat, but not too heavy. I've only had it around a year, but it's already breaking in nicely and it's definitely the best mc jacket I've ever had. I also really like my goatskin cascade, which felt broken in right from the start. Great in warm weather and also a very cool looking jacket.

I had a friend who had a straight zip cascade in heavy weight cow. I thought it looked fantastic, but he seemed to think it was too heavy and wished he had gotten the mid-weight jacket. He had a kid a while back and I heard he stopped riding, so I guess it's a moot point now.

 

[smithcorona]

Harlock your HH Columbia is very nice.

Question, is it one of Langlitz's "Vintage Line" from the Japanese site? It looks like it's one of the '47 or '48 models with long collar points and a flat back?

smithcorona

 

[smithcorona]

I've noticed Langlitz's Japanese site is a little more in depth compared to their American webpage. I noticed in my searching the large mouton collar seems to be very popular in the Far East. Looked through the blog and a lot of guys over there seemed to have the padded pocket columbia complete with the large collar.

smithcorona

 

[Tommer45]

Yeah they've got a nice Japanese site. I had Dave do my elbow pads in the "hidden" style that I only knew about from the Japan site (meaning they are stitched into the existing leather of the sleeve, rather than an additional patch of leather being sewn onto the sleeve). I just liked the cleaner look. Photobucket isn't working for me right now but you can see the sleeves at the same thread Deeb posted the link for. I'm not sure why Langlitz hasn't updated their existing site.. perhaps they always remain busy and they just don't need to.

Smithcorona.. I like your Cascade. Dave suggested I keep away from the horizontal chest pocket (he prefers the slanted type like yours for ease of hand entry.. which he is completely right about) but I went with the horizontal for asthetic purposes. Yeah it's a little trickier to reach into but it's no biggie. What weight leather did you go with? My offest zip is heavy cow and the straight zip is mid weight cow, but after a few applications of Montana Pitch Blend the mid weight jacket already outweighs the heavy one!

Hey what do ya know photobucket is working....

Tommer

 

[Tommer45]

Almost forgot... this is the Cascade that made me fall in love with the style. The guy who owns this one used to be on the forum.. not quite sure if he still is. Love the jacket though..the two tone looks awesome. If I remember correctly he originally bought the jacket without padding.. and then years later had shoulder and elbow padding added and the leather was a different shade. Looks great though.

Tommer

 

[Harlock]

Harlock your HH Columbia is very nice.

Question, is it one of Langlitz's "Vintage Line" from the Japanese site? It looks like it's one of the '47 or '48 models with long collar points and a flat back?

smithcorona

Good eye. When I had the columbia made I asked them to include those old-style columbia details like the long point collar and the single piece, straight across back. I was initially afraid that eliminating the bi-swing would make the jacket too restrictive for riding, but I quickly discovered that this style really suits me. The jacket feels nice and snug, and the back looks a lot cleaner without the flared out bi-swing of my old jacket. For me, it's pretty damn near perfect.

It's not pictured, but also ordered the old-style mouton collar, with the extra chest piece, and a sam browne belt.

 

[smithcorona]

Very cool Harlock,

What does the "old style" mouton collar look like? I wasn't aware there was an older and newer style of this.


Im kinda tempted to try and get their 60 year book, too bad its in Kanji script though, gonna make actuallyreading the captions just a little tough.

smithcorona

 

[Harlock]

Very cool Harlock,

What does the "old style" mouton collar look like? I wasn't aware there was an older and newer style of this.


Im kinda tempted to try and get their 60 year book, too bad its in Kanji script though, gonna make actuallyreading the captions just a little tough.

smithcorona

It's pretty much the same except it has an extra snap-on piece, so when you zip the jacket up it keeps the upper chest area a bit warmer.

 

[smithcorona]

Tommer sorry I missed our question.

My Cascade is heavyweight cow. I remember being amazed at just how "heavy" it was when I got it. It still stands on its own after four years. The hid is absolutely gorgeous though. I came to this jacket from a Lost Worlds. I had one of their Raiders in goatskin which was another very nice jacket, but it just never fit right. I had been thinking about one of LW's Ryders, but thought for the same basic amount of money I could get something special. I made the right decision, the jacket is wonderful, the company just as good, their customer service is amazing. I think my next one will be a Columbia. The hardest part is that because Langlitz's customer service is so good, and they offer so many options figuring out what you want is actually kind of tough. I think a trip to the Portland store will be in order.

smithcorona

 

[Tommer45]

Hey Smithcorona.. yeah I made the mistake of going from a Langlitz to a LW. The quality of the LW is superb but the fit was all wrong for me. Why I didn't return it I'll never know. I do really like the Buco Ryder LW makes, but if I were to ever get another moto jacket which won't be in the next decade or two I'd probably go with another custom Langlitz and perhaps try to talk Dave into making me a Columbia with a Buco style "D" pocket. Nothing fits me quite like my Langlitz. I have an Aero on order and I'm a bit skeptical about how happy I'll be with the fit. Until I get it I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

My heavyweight Cascade is somewhere around 7 pounds if I remember correctly. A lot of jacket but the leather is pretty supple and is graining nicely.

Tommer

 

[mtds]

Almost forgot... this is the Cascade that made me fall in love with the style. The guy who owns this one used to be on the forum.. not quite sure if he still is. Love the jacket though..the two tone looks awesome. If I remember correctly he originally bought the jacket without padding.. and then years later had shoulder and elbow padding added and the leather was a different shade. Looks great though.

Tommer

Tommer is right about the history of this jacket. Here is a picture of me wearing it in the early eighties. It was cold and windy that day, but my upper body was warm!

I originally bought it in 1972...$78 delivered. I've had three other Langlitz jackets, but now I wear less expensive stuff. My son has my favorite, a Columbia from the late eighties. Medium weight black cowhide with only one custom feature, an additional inside pocket. IMHO, it is the individualized fitting that makes a Langlitz such a great jacket. I think this was the best jacket I ever owned:

FWIW, I'm the author of the "Inexpensive Jacket" series of posts on this forum. There is a series of five, but they have drifted off the current page.

 

[Tommer45]

Mtds... hey man I knew you were around here somewhere! 78 bucks huh.. what a deal. Aewesome jackets. Your son must be loving his Columbia.

And I'm a fan of the Inexpensive Jacket threads you post. I always enjoy checking 'em out.

Tommer

 

[eighty7h]

I received a new Columbia this week that I am very pleased with. It follows a goatskin Cascade that I got a couple of years ago. The Columbia is dark brown medium weight cowhide with contrasting tan thread. It's a standard model with the only additions being the elbow and shoulder pads. I've had it out riding twice so far and it is very comfortable on the motorcycle...just a bit stiff. I am going to try to add several photos so hopefully they post okay.

 

[Vcruiser]

Very nice,Mike..and great fit.
I also like the additions.
Van