Crush On Retro

[RoyGbiv8]

If you’re gonna take the risk, might as well get them from Taobao or Ally express for half price.

 

[Herrvallmo]

If you’re gonna take the risk, might as well get them from Taobao or Ally express for half price.

Aliexpress didn't have that model when I searched and cba with Taobao, the price is low enough and the service and shipping times were great so I'm happy to pay more for convenience

 

[Fiedi]

Hi, I just got the horshide sportsjacket of CoR you can find the comparevideo on youtube with a RainbowCountry jacket. My first impression for 280,-€ I paid is ok - darkbrown horsehide ~1,2mm not painted grain, smells not good nor bad but definitely not like my Simmons Bilt which is vegetabletanned, so I put on some wax (surfacefinisher of Warwickbasses, which smells nice and is ok with most leathers I tried so far) and the nourishing cream of italian shoemaker Fracap so the leather smells now better and got softer. The lining was told to be cotton for the body (it is actually a kind of moleskin, don't know which material cotton or wool or synthetic, blend? There was no info in the jacket about...) and polyester in the sleeves. Seams are ok and neat in a suitable colour, the zipper is a Talon 5 (maybe a chinese copy?) and is ok but doesn't work too smooth so far, knobs are plastic and the buckles are steel - everything like on the fotos on the homepage. Of course this is not an exact copy of any vintage or modern jacket at all but for me it's ok and the fit after exchanging infos with the shop by email is ok as I wanted it not too snug (I wanted to order size L but got advise XL was better after exchange infos about my size weight etc.). I am sure a 1500,-€-jacket probably would be better in any concern but as the discussion in this post makes clear not in any case... As soon as I got the time I will post some fotos.

 

[Motocann]

Hi, I just got the horshide sportsjacket of CoR you can find the comparevideo on youtube with a RainbowCountry jacket. My first impression for 280,-€ I paid is ok - darkbrown horsehide ~1,2mm not painted grain, smells not good nor bad but definitely not like my Simmons Bilt which is vegetabletanned, so I put on some wax (surfacefinisher of Warwickbasses, which smells nice and is ok with most leathers I tried so far) and the nourishing cream of italian shoemaker Fracap so the leather smells now better and got softer. The lining was told to be cotton for the body (it is actually a kind of moleskin, don't know which material cotton or wool or synthetic, blend? There was no info in the jacket about...) and polyester in the sleeves. Seams are ok and neat in a suitable colour, the zipper is a Talon 5 (maybe a chinese copy?) and is ok but doesn't work too smooth so far, knobs are plastic and the buckles are steel - everything like on the fotos on the homepage. Of course this is not an exact copy of any vintage or modern jacket at all but for me it's ok and the fit after exchanging infos with the shop by email is ok as I wanted it not too snug (I wanted to order size L but got advise XL was better after exchange infos about my size weight etc.). I am sure a 1500,-€-jacket probably would be better in any concern but as the discussion in this post makes clear not in any case... As soon as I got the time I will post some fotos.

Thanks! Yes, please post photos. I'm mostly interested in if they got the design-fit correct on their jackets. IMHO, that is the hangup on most knockoffs.

 

[Fiedi]

Thanks! Yes, please post photos. I'm mostly interested in if they got the design-fit correct on their jackets. IMHO, that is the hangup on most knockoffs.

 

[Fiedi]

Hi again, have to admit I was to fast with my last post on the CoR horsehide sportsjacket concerning the smell of the leather - the jacket had a special not extreme but noticeable chemical smell, especially after left it hanging overnight the room smelled not good and even after the treatment with the products I described in my last post - so I tried again and put on Saphir cordovan cream but did not help either and as a last extreme measure I cleaned the hole jacket yesterday with nail polish remover. The smell is better today but if you go near the leather still noticeable perhaps because I am a guy with a sensitive nose - the leather on the other hand gained by this treatment it has now a nicer look and color it became even softer, by this surfacecleaning I took of a lot of dark/black color off the leather I had not seen on the first glance, perhaps it was a smelling color or rests of the tanningprocess as there were also few spots with what I call saltblooming which are now gone aswell. So I have to say don't be to enthousiastic after my preceding post concerning the used leather, it needs at least some special care as I think.. I also informed Jimmy of CoR about this and asked him questions about the Talon zipper (original or copy?) and the material of the bodylining but did not get an answer so far. The service according advice on the correct size, the sending of the jacket and the communication with the shop by email was really very good and as another member mentioned I also think COR does not produce the jackets but is only trader. I am not disappointed by the jacket but I think you have to be realistic what kind of horsehidejacket you can get for 280,-€, which is 325,-$
Fotos will follow...

 

[barnabus]

Hi again, have to admit I was to fast with my last post on the CoR horsehide sportsjacket concerning the smell of the leather - the jacket had a special not extreme but noticeable chemical smell, especially after left it hanging overnight the room smelled not good and even after the treatment with the products I described in my last post - so I tried again and put on Saphir cordovan cream but did not help either and as a last extreme measure I cleaned the hole jacket yesterday with nail polish remover. The smell is better today but if you go near the leather still noticeable perhaps because I am a guy with a sensitive nose - the leather on the other hand gained by this treatment it has now a nicer look and color it became even softer, by this surfacecleaning I took of a lot of dark/black color off the leather I had not seen on the first glance, perhaps it was a smelling color or rests of the tanningprocess as there were also few spots with what I call saltblooming which are now gone aswell. So I have to say don't be to enthousiastic after my preceding post concerning the used leather, it needs at least some special care as I think.. I also informed Jimmy of CoR about this and asked him questions about the Talon zipper (original or copy?) and the material of the bodylining but did not get an answer so far. The service according advice on the correct size, the sending of the jacket and the communication with the shop by email was really very good and as another member mentioned I also think COR does not produce the jackets but is only trader. I am not disappointed by the jacket but I think you have to be realistic what kind of horsehidejacket you can get for 280,-€, which is 325!-$
Fotos will follow...

Hmm.

Nail polish remover is going to be made of either Acetone or IPA, isn't it? It's a solvent.

Acetone is not just going to clean the jacket, it's going to strip the surface treatment from the leather completely. That's why it removed a lot of the black colour from the jacket because it's stripped the dye. And I imagine the jacket is less stiff because it removed the oils/waxes from the leather.

You might want to recondition the surface of the hide now to replace some of that, otherwise the leather could be less protected from the elements.

IPA has a less aggressive effect than acetone, but it's still a solvent and will have removed part of the surface treatment of the leather.

I think.

 

[Jon Crow]

Hmm.

Nail polish remover is going to be made of either Acetone or IPA, isn't it? It's a solvent.

Acetone is not just going to clean the jacket, it's going to strip the surface treatment from the leather completely. That's why it removed a lot of the black colour from the jacket because it's stripped the dye. And I imagine the jacket is less stiff because it removed the oils/waxes from the leather.

You might want to recondition the surface of the hide now to replace some of that, otherwise the leather could be less protected from the elements.

IPA has a less aggressive effect than active, but it's still a solvent and will have removed part of the surface treatment of the leather.

I think.

Acetone Barnabus is extremely unforgiving, I hate the smell, grew up with 4 sisters doing nails, wife doesn't use it anymore thank god haha I'd hate to think what it would do to a jacket, I use Sapo leather saddle cream I'd dose that completely now

 

[Fiedi]

Hi, the smell of the nailcleaner is gone today and as I used the wax, nourisher and conditioner before which went into the leather it is ok in the rain as I experienced yesterday, no waterspots after getting wet and imo nice shiny surface after using a horsehide brush after drying...
I will give you some fotos today of the jacket in the look now and some fitpics as soon as a find a fotographer...

 

[Fiedi]

Fotos Crushonretro horsehide sportsjacket size XL bought for 280,-€ on the hompage

Fotos of the package with the unwrapped jacket on the box as I got it just in (foto 1 & 2)
and fotos after the treatment I described in posts before (rest of the fotos beginning with foto 3)
Best colorimpression of the hide now is foto 10, it's a nice redbrown shiny tone I really like - on the other fotos the darker color of the hide is like it was when I got it new without any "specialtreatment"

 

[Fiedi]

Hmm.

Nail polish remover is going to be made of either Acetone or IPA, isn't it? It's a solvent.

Acetone is not just going to clean the jacket, it's going to strip the surface treatment from the leather completely. That's why it removed a lot of the black colour from the jacket because it's stripped the dye. And I imagine the jacket is less stiff because it removed the oils/waxes from the leather.

You might want to recondition the surface of the hide now to replace some of that, otherwise the leather could be less protected from the elements.

IPA has a less aggressive effect than active, but it's still a solvent and will have removed part of the surface treatment of the leather.

I think.

I used the one with IPA as acetone is forbidden in the EU, but IPA might not be less harmful for your health, so use it only with a mask and good ventilation...

 

[Jon Crow]

I used the one with IPA as acetone is forbidden in the EU, but IPA might not be less harmful for your health, so use it only with a mask and good ventilation...

I'm actually glad pure acetone is forbidden haha the girls bedrooms stunk of it sometimes

 

[Fiedi]

I'm actually glad pure acetone is forbidden haha the girls bedrooms stunk of it sometimes

Yes my mother wahed colours off in her job as a printer with acetone although it was known to be carcinogenic and genetically harmful...

 

[Fiedi]

Fitpics COR horsehide sportsjacket

I actually wanted the jack not too snug to be able to wear an underjacket as my Filson mackinawwool liner or a wollknit
Foto 2 and 3 with closed zipper, all other fotos with open zipper

 

[Fiedi]

Hi, this will be my last post on COR and it's about last infos and a resumee on my buy.
I got now answers to my questions about unknown infos of the jacket by Jimmy, the voice of COR in the emailservice. First of all this onlineservice always made a friendly, open for criticism and professinell impression to me. According to my questions I got these answers: the zipper is a original Talon Jimmy told me and maybe needs some help too to work smooth like a bit "crease" one can find different substances on the market especially for motorcyclecombis... The lining is a blend (cotton/polyester). According to the smell of the leather and the waxy surface of the hide Jimmy answered the leather is vegetable tanned in Poland and no colors are added it is only waxed - I think this is probable as the hide seemed overwaxed without polishing and the wax had a chemical smell, which is now gone after my treatment of the hide... Jimmy gave me a 10% refund for this inconvenience, good service.

So after all - if you try to find a horsehidejacket in this style for this costs you won't have a lot of alternatives, perhaps you can find a used one in whatever condition and if you are lucky and invest time an even ok one which doesn't smell too bad as leather in my experience collects smells especially my old leatherjackets I wore in smokerpubs I cannot stand wearing today after having stopped smoking and the deep nicotinsmell has not vanished and is not to be removed after many years...
I'd say I like the COR jacket perhaps even more because I had to work on it - l think I will also change the plastic knobs for nicer hornbuttons - and I will make my experiences with it while I can save money to decide if I need a japanese made one. Non rien de rien je ne regrette rien

 

[Motocann]

Hi, this will be my last post on COR and it's about last infos and a resumee on my buy.
I got now answers to my question about unknown infos of the jacket by Jimmy, the voice of COR in the emailservice. First of all this onlineservice always made a friendly, open for criticism and professinell impression to me. According to my questions I got these answers: the zipper is a original Talon Jimmy told me and maybe needs some help too to work smooth like a bit "crease" one can find different substances on the market especially for motorcyclecombis... The lining is a blend (cotton/polyester). According to the smell of the leather and the waxy surface of the hide Jimmy answered the leather is vegetable tanned in Poland and no colors are added it is only waxed - I think this is probable as the hide seemed overwaxed without polishing and the wax had a chemical smell, which is now gone after my treatment of the hide... Jimmy gave me a 10% refund for this inconvenience, good service.

So after all - if you try to find a horsehidejacket in this style for this costs you won't have a lot of aternatives, perhaps you can find a used one in whatever condition and if you are lucky and invest time an even ok one which doesn't smell too bad as leather in my experience collects smells especially my old leatherjackets I wore in smokerpubs I cannot stand wearing today after having stopped smoking and the deep nicotinsmell has not vanished and is not to be removed after many years...
I'd say I like the COR jacket perhaps even more because I had to work on it - l think I will also change the plastic knobs for nicer hornbuttons - and I will make my experiences with it while I can save money to decide if I need a jananese made one. No rien de rien je ne regrete rien

The fit doesn’t look half bad. Looks like a really nice jacket for the price!

 

[Fiedi]

The fit doesn’t look half bad. Looks like a really nice jacket for the price!

Not half bad nor half belt - both is correct... for a halfbelt it is a bit too long and the buckles sit too low but I am no purist according to correct styles or exact copies of vintage jackets

 

[Fiedi]

I treated the COR horsehide sportsjacket at last with Mustang Paste Water, it's a japanese leatheroil and it softens leather sustainable in a unbelievable way - and that's what it also did with the COR sportsjackets hide, beside it gave the horsehide a nice darker tone... This product and the Mustang Paste are the best leatherfinishers I know and I have tried a lot of them. Even the last rest of the ungood smell the jacket had at the beginning vanished and in contrary it develloped a kind of nice smell. Anybody who has leathergoods to refurbish or imporove in a simple way I reommend to try these products you can buy at several onlineshops in Europe.

 

[Fiedi]

Hi again, you can mix Mustang Paste Water before using it with natural fragrace oil if you like to improve the smell of leather - I made a for my nose good experience with natural oil of the arolla pine

 

[Zaten]

I made a repeat purchase from COR and was satisfied with both jackets to date:

1- a 1.5mm horsehide Hercules copy that I found pretty close to the the RC version it was probably copied from.
2-a 2mm cowhide straight zipper trucker/biker jacket that looks like a slimmer Highwayman with a slightly different design.

In both cases, the leather was very decent: it smelled pleasant, looked consitent across panels and had a nice hand with lots of interesting grain. Thickness as advertized. It's not Shinki level obviously but didn't feel like a cheaper/value leather at all to me. Impressive actually.
The stitching and construction are hard to fault and the hardwear is on the lighter side compared to the japanese makers, but still seemingly solid enough to function reliably - time will tell.
I like the body lining, feels substantial and durable (wool blend?) and is tastefully paired with the leather. Similar feel of durability to the pocket linings.

For reference, besides these COR jackets, I own a Flat Head cafe racer / half belt hybrid, an RMC steinbeck, an Iron Heart rider jacket and a Simmons-Bilt roadster (all horsehide).

I may have gotten lucky both times but each of the COR jackets exceeded my expectations for the price I payed. I may get a 3rd one in the future. Definitely great value.

Downside / risk: returns are very expensive so you need to make sure you get the fit right from the first time. Luckily the patterns are friendly to non-asian types and, in my case at least, I easily found my correct size by comparing the size chart with the jackets I own.

I say keep your expectations realistic and with some luck you may be impressed with your COR jacket if you ever chose to pull the trigger. I'll may post some pics when I get the time.