Rain vs jackets

[Juanito]

I recently read of someone else having a problem with his Eastman A 2 that got rained on as well. In his case it stiffened and darkened and was ruined when it dried out.

That may have been me with my Eastman Warhorse Rough Wear. Got completely soaked in a heavy rainstorm, let it dry and it felt and sounded, with no exaggeration, like cardboard from a corrugated cardboard box.

It shrank some and got the wavy zipper syndrome. No amount of time in the dryer with towels (no heat) would soften up the majority of the jacket. What I will say is that while the jacket was compromised, it did come back to life after using petroleum jelly on it as JC would recommend.

Yes, chrome tanned leather will withstand water better than veg tanned, but the main issue is whether the jacket is aniline finished or pigment finished.

 

[jeremiah]

Even aniline finished chrome tanned leather will be better the elements than aniline finished veg tanned leather.

I have a pair of Alden’s which use the chrome excel and they are aniline dyed. Soak up water if worn in heavy rain but always soft when dried.

Thinner veg tanned leather like what ELC uses will always get stiff after drying out from rain as that’s how you can wet mold veg tanned leather and not chrome tanned. But with some hydrating with conditioner or simply massaging the stiffness will tend to soften up.

I guess when people use “cardboard like” as a descriptor it is subjective. I know what I feel when I touch cardboard and my monarch never feels like that. But the sound of say some of the creases on the arms when touched does press in and then pop out like say cardboard might that’s quite thin. But, this happens with the highest quality of veg tanned leathers when exposed to the wetting and drying from water.