Hi everyone, hope your having a good weekend. I always go through my stats, which tell me what people are typing in to get to my little site here. That gives me a good idea of what people want to know. A lot seem to ask if a leather jacket will keep you warm. So I’ll explain a bit about that today.
Of course right now in the middle of summer you don’t need a warm jacket, but it will not be long before all you folks up north will be feeling cold. Since I’m from Vermont I know all about being cold! Plus I’m the type that gets cold easy, which is why my ass is down here in Florida. So, does a leather jacket keep you warm?
I wondered myself about that before I ever got my first leather jacket. Now as with anything, it depends on what kind of leather jacket it is, and what it has for a liner. Let’s just assume it’s a basic leather motorcycle leather jacket, or a bomber jacket. Those are the most popular and what most people are asking about.
Now, like I already made a post about, leather jackets can have a zip out liner or a built in liner. I myself prefer a zip out liner. If you want to read the pros and cons of that, check out my post about zip out vs. built in liners HERE. Lets talk about the leather jackets with built in liners first. A leather jacket with a built in liner tries to strike a happy medium.
They don’t want them really thick and warm, because then in the summer you’ll be too hot. But they want enough liner to try to keep you warm in the winter. Most always the built in liner goes through the sleeves also to keep your arms warm. Leather jackets like this are surprisingly warm.
One big thing about leather is that is really blocks out the wind. A lot of cold comes from the wind blowing on you and going through the fabric. Leather stops it dead, so you don’t feel any of that blowing wind. That alone helps a lot to keep you warm. So a standard leather motorcycle jacket or bomber with a built in liner can keep you pretty warm in the winter. Not as much as a down jacket, but warm.
Now then you can have leather jackets like fashion leather jackets that have no liner at all, those are damn cold! Then you can have a leather jacket with a fleece, shearling, wool or faux fur liner. Those babies can make you sweat when it’s cold out. So as you can see, it depends on what type of built in liner it has, if any.
Then you have the leather jackets with zip out liners. Most of them have a thinsulate liner, which is a brand name really. A good leather jacket will have the liner run through the sleeves to keep your arms warm. But some liners are cut like a vest, just covering your torso. I always get the type that runs through the sleeves.
Because you can take the liner out, most of the liners are very warm. So if it’s hot, you take the liner out. If it’s warm, you leave it in. You also can get different liners that are more or less warm, depending on what you want. A leather jacket with a good zip out liner can be very warm and toasty.
So as you can see, it all depends on the type of leather jacket, the liner and if it has a zip out liner. All that plays into if a leather jacket keeps you warm. A thin fashion leather jacket with no liner is cold, damn cold. A shearling sheep leather jacket is really warm. All the rest fall in between. But for the most part, a standard motorcycle leather jacket can keep you plenty warm.