This is my Aero A2 after 20 years of pretty hard use. I used it for many years as my primary motorcycle jacket and work jacket when the weather was colder. It has seen rain, snow, ice, hail, and the brutal Texas sun. I traveled around the U.S. and Europe with it and it is still hanging in there. I own 2 other Aero's that are not as old or worn. When the jacket was new it was pretty smooth and pretty stiff. Now it is pretty grainy and fits like a second skin. It is pretty heavy, but not as heavy as the Aero 1940 that I have. Anyway, this ol girl has been ridden hard and hung up wet, but she still looks pretty good.
After 20 years the:
Leather: Has held up extremely well. It is still smooth in some spots, and heavily grained in others. There are no holes or cracking. The leather is very soft and supple. I treated it once about 10 years ago. This jacket has seen some terrible weather on the bike and it seems to only gets better with age. The color on the leather is pretty worn in places and has lightened over the years, but all things considered, it still looks ok.
Liner: The color has faded and the ink stamps have pretty much worn away. The liner has worn through arounf the neck area but is still good in the armpit areas. Has held up well for the amount of wear time, excellent quality IMHO.
Wrist/Waist knits: Wrist knits are pretty well beat up, totally expected. Maybe I will replace them in the near future. Waist knits are still holding up well. They are holding shape perfect. There are a few small holes, I suspect some moths vandalized it.
Not much more to say except I love this Aero jacket. The quality top notch. It saved my butt in a motorcycle wreck and held up to everything mother nature could throw at it. I would not hesitate to recommend this jacket to anyone that needed a tough jacket that could be passed down for generations.
After 20 years the:
Leather: Has held up extremely well. It is still smooth in some spots, and heavily grained in others. There are no holes or cracking. The leather is very soft and supple. I treated it once about 10 years ago. This jacket has seen some terrible weather on the bike and it seems to only gets better with age. The color on the leather is pretty worn in places and has lightened over the years, but all things considered, it still looks ok.
Liner: The color has faded and the ink stamps have pretty much worn away. The liner has worn through arounf the neck area but is still good in the armpit areas. Has held up well for the amount of wear time, excellent quality IMHO.
Wrist/Waist knits: Wrist knits are pretty well beat up, totally expected. Maybe I will replace them in the near future. Waist knits are still holding up well. They are holding shape perfect. There are a few small holes, I suspect some moths vandalized it.
Not much more to say except I love this Aero jacket. The quality top notch. It saved my butt in a motorcycle wreck and held up to everything mother nature could throw at it. I would not hesitate to recommend this jacket to anyone that needed a tough jacket that could be passed down for generations.