Kindly share your opinion on this jaket?
Sorry fellas, been too busy to do up a proper review with pics and details, so I haven't done one at all. I don't know when the busy factor will change, so I suppose I can tell you most of what I know in just a few sentences.
First off, in the interest of full disclosure, the seller told me that if anyone mentions my eBay name (southerncelt662) when they buy one, he'll give me a cut. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna tell you the truth about the jacket so you'll all tush out and buy one, but if you do, it'd be nice of ya to mention me.
The jacket shipped here from Dubai in about 4 or 5 days. here are a few small pics of how it arrived. HQ ones to follow, one day.
My first impressions were that the jacket was pretty sweet, and it needed some abuse to break it in.
I took it out for a good drag up and down the driveway a few times to give it a little character. Worked beautifully. Sorry I don't have any decent pics of it, I'll get a few soon.
Let me get to the point...
I. Cons:
1. The armor is pretty much wack. It looks like the jackets come pre-lined, then when an order for an armored jacket comes in the armor is sewn in with another layer of liner material held on with a single stitch in like a "pocket" of sorts that is closed with a 1" square of Velcro. The shoulder and arm pads aren't positioned in the most ergonomically correct places, and make the sleeves kind of tight on me. I pulled all the padding / armor out of my jacket within a few days and the comfort level went up a million points. Bottom line: skip the armor.
2. The zipper pulls. Just because somebody in Abu Dhabi stamped "YKK" into them doesn't make them strong. I've already broken two of them - the main zipper and a pocket. Pulled them slap off while zipping closed. Here are a couple of pics. The first one shows what the alleged "YKK" zipper pulls look like on top, and the one I broke on the bottom. The second one shows my main zipper with my makeshift keyring pull in place.
II. Pros:
1. This jacket is frickin cool. I feel like a street walkin cheetah with a heart full of napalm. I feel like Darkness on the Edge of Town. If I found it in a thrift store for $150, I'd buy it in a minute after putting it on, jank zippers, wack, throwaway armor and all. It feels, smells, wears and looks killer. without the armor in it and after having been broken in good, it fits like an old t-shirt. Soft but tough. No doubt the leather is quality. Too bad they didn't give the same attention to the zippers, and maybe they will in the future if their potential customers hold their feet to the fire over it.
III. Conclusion:
Look, if you want a Joe Rocket jacket with top-quality armor and zippers and seams, etc. go buy one. If this one appeals to you aesthetically, grab one. Go horsehide, it's tough as nails but it breaks in soft. IMO, forget about the armor. Be prepared to replace a few zipper pulls. If you like the look of it online, you'll be stoked on it in person.
Ill try to post some pics of me wearing it, soon.