Horsehide VS. goatskin??

[B-Man2]

What about a winterised A2, with a liner made with a wool blanket?

Actually not a bad Idea but then I can’t wear the jacket in warmer temperatures during cool nights where I live . So this is the best option for where I’m living . I’ve also thought about getting one of Shawn’s shearling vests to wear under an A2 in colder weather. I think that would be almost as good as a lined A2

 

[Jason22]

You guys any thoughts on veg tanned Vs chrome tanned? I'm having a look at AVI's goat which is chrome tanned where as Shawn's is veg tanned.

Awesome dubow @B-Man2 !!

 

[AllianceAAF]

You guys any thoughts on veg tanned Vs chrome tanned? I'm having a look at AVI's goat which is chrome tanned where as Shawn's is veg tanned.

Awesome dubow @B-Man2 !!

Here is some good info on this topic:

Full grain or top grain

The question was raised on one of FiveStar’s Facebook pages as to whether they use full grain or top grain horsehide. It led to a post that stated someone had emailed 5* and gotten the response in the attached screenshot. It all seemed a bit of marketing gobbledygook without really saying full...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

I'll add this.. I can't comment on AVI, but in the budget A-2 world you're speaking of, I had a Fivestar horse (veg-tanned) and still have a Headwind Bronco (chrome-tanned). I can say with confidence the Chromed Bronco has much better drape than the Vegged Fivestar. The Bronco lays better, with more bends and creases, if that makes sense. That's not to say that Fivestar's horse isn't soft, it is buttery for sure. But there was a rigidity to the leather that may have to do with how it was tanned.

 

[mulceber]

Yep, agreed. There are probably exceptions, but in general, my experience has been that veg tanned is prettier, while chrome drapes better and is more pliable out of the box. Over the decades though, it’ll even out: the chrome will become prettier, but also lose some of that buttery drape, and veg tanned will break in and become a bit more pliable.

 

[Southoftheborder]

I doubt that a lot of the less expensive so called vegetable tanned jackets are made of genuine veg tanned hide. Vegetable tanning is time consuming and so a lot more expensive - leaving aside that chrome tanning produces tougher and more water resistant leather. So I think a lot of modern vegetable tanned leather is combination tanned like Horween CXL is.

Horween say they do it as it gives a vegetable tanned effect with chrome tanned toughness. But I think a lot of other tanneries do it as well as for cost cutting reasons but don't admit to it. Chrome tanning first and then vegetable tanning as a finish takes a fraction of the time that real vegetable tanning takes.

I've tested some tiny slices trimmed off of what was sold as a vegetable tanned leather jacket and it reacted to the boiling water test like chrome tanned leather does. It looked like veg tanned but draped more like chrome.