I still have a few months before I’ll get my bike and can’t offer any sage riding advice, so I’ll try to make myself useful and leave this gear review for those of you out there that may be considering a like purchase. Two caveats; I have not yet had the chance to ride with this jacket so I won’t be offering any ride-related comments here. Also, I don’t have any other leather jackets to which I can make comparisons; I’m getting back into riding after 25 years away from it so I’m having to buy all of my gear again. Even if I still had my riding gear it d@mn sure wouldn’t fit now, if you know what I mean. My goal was to buy a U.S.-made quality leather jacket at a decent price.

Ordering and price: I ordered the jacket on a Sunday night, after reading a HDForums thread that Fox Creek Leather had a sale going on (thanks to user pottsy!). The jacket was on sale for $362 ($50 off normal price) including shipping. I selected the snapped (vice laced) sides. Fox Creek sent me an order confirmation e-mail immediately after I placed the order. I found the Fox Creek web site easy to use. It’s interesting that they asked for several measurements (chest, height, weight and stomach) given that I ordered a stock jacket. I was happy to oblige since it seems that the more information that they have the better.

Customer service: Though I had to make an exchange, I give two thumbs up to Fox Creek customer service. In addition to sending the initial confirmation e-mail on the day that I had placed the order, the very next day Fox Creek shipped the jacket and sent me a shipment confirmation e-mail. The jacket was waiting for me when I returned from a business trip, which was a week to the day after they shipped the jacket. High scores to FCL for this.

Jacket: My initial impression was jacket’s weight; seven pounds. The leather is heavy, pliable and not shiny (which is a plus, for me). All of the zippers, including those for the vents, are heavy duty and the sewing/stitches throughout the jacket appear to be strong. The zippered front has a wind break inside the jacket, behind the zipper. The jacket back extends down over the lower back to help protect that area. The one issue with this jacket --- and I knew this when I bought it --- is it does not accommodate armor. Other FCL jackets do accommodate armor, but not this one.

Liner: The liner is easier to remove than it is to install, but the wife had no problem. The liner body zips into the body of the jacket, and the liner sleeves fasten to the inner end of each jacket sleeve by means of a button-type fastener: the liner sleeve has a button which you insert into the fastener/receptacle on the jacket sleeve. The liner has a neck protector attached at the rear of the neck area; I guess you can break it out and put it around your neck in cold weather.

Fit: The jacket fit like a too-tight glove. I could breathe but the jacket was a tight fit even with the liner removed. It was clear that I ordered at least one size too small (40). I am 5’11”, 168 pounds, 39” chest and 36” stomach, about a 33” waist. With the exception of the waist, those are the measurements asked for during the online jacket ordering process. One thing I noticed is the collar is pushed up under my chin when in I’m in the sitting position with the jacket fully zipped up in front. It’s a small annoyance and I hope that, as the jacket is broken in and the leather becomes softer, it will have more give and the collar will not push up like that.

Quality: I was bummed to see several marks on the most visible part of the jacket, the upper back. It looked liked a heavy, sharp item had lain on the jacket for a period of time (perhaps the leather was exposed to the zippers during shipping?), leaving deep indents that looked like they wouldn’t be coming out. Even if FCL were to offer a discount, I just couldn’t keep the jacket looking like that. I wrote an e-mail to Fox Creek to let them know about the marks and the size and to request an exchange. At their request, I filled out a one-page return form and put the jacket back in the mail to them (I paid the postage/insurance, about $19) in the same box in which it was received.

The replacement jacket: FCL shipped the replacement jacket after they received the one that I returned. The new jacket fits perfectly with room for layering.

Overall: 4 of 5 stars. I can’t give it a higher score until I have had the chance to ride in it, and because of the collar. It gets a high overall score because of the quality and appearance. I would definitely buy from Fox Creek again.

Pics this post: Jacket front, jacket rear, inside left pocket, inside right pocket, adjusting side snaps.

More pics next post.

 

Pics this post show the removable liner and how it attaches to the jacket. The liner body zips into the jacket. The liner sleeve attaches to the jacket sleeve via a receptacle (pic 2) inside the jacket sleeve and a button on the liner sleeve (pic 4) that slips into the receptacle (pic 4). I don't have much of a problem removing and installing the liner.

The hide-away neck liner is shown in pic 1. The neck liner can be detached from the liner and stored in a small velcro pocket located on the inside back of the main jacket (pocket not shown in any pics, sorry).

 

The final pics show the chest vent open (pics 1 and 2), the sleeve vent open, the main (front) zipper, and one a vent zipper. The zippers are all YKK; the front zipper is heavier than the vent zippers.

This is the last post for this review. Thanks for looking.

 

Fox Creek is about an hour from me ....had great experience with them,sizing is a little off on some jackets so I went with a long not reg....fits great.