Modern Vespa

I will be in the Fall River, MA area this weekend. The Vanson Factory/Headquarters is based in Fall River. By chance Vanson is having a 15% off Sale plus no Sales Tax! http://www.vansonleathers.com/

I did a W search but there was only Vanson Mesh threads. Would appreciate any feedback from Vanson Leather Jacket owners.

Thanks,

Gianni

I had a Vanson jacket custom made a couple of years ago. It is a very high quality item and I anticipate years of use out of it.

I had never heard of Vanson, but visited their website and found a great deal on a woman's armored but flow through ventilation shirt for hot riding. I ordered one and will be ordering from them again. For real-sized women, they have real-sized gear - how refreshing!

Thanks for your feedback! Vanson has a great reputation and their Jackets are made right in Fall River, MA.

Cheers,

Gianni

Most Vanson jackets are 7MM cow hide leather and they are VERY stiff. You should get sized in the store and then decide if you want to add expanding impact foam inserts (increasing the measurements).

These jackets will last forever. You can get one made for about the same price as you pay off the rack and you customize it, as a one of kind.

My Vanson jacket is probably 6-7 years old and it is still increddible stiff to wear because of the leather thickness and re-enforced elbows, back and stitching.

good luck

Thanks! Good info.

I have one I've worn for about 10 years and it's very durable. If you get the armor (and vest liner) try it on with the armor installed. You won't be sorry for the purchase, it's a fantastic jacket. I bought my dad one when he came to visit a couple of years ago and he likes his too.

My impression is that they are one of the best in the safety/leather ATTGATT business.

Thanks all for the feedback!

G

my Vanson Mesh Vent 3 just arrived in mail today (ordered on the 15th and they never shipped it until the 23rd) - had a broken zipper and missing the shoulder armor. I called them up right away - and they are sending another out - hopefully much speedier than the first time. We'll see, they are very polite on the phone - I called twice to see where the jacket was since it was in stock and it was never arriving.
They are cut a bit odd - certainly for a riding position - standing upright it feels weird in the shoulders but as soon as you reach your arms forward, like reaching for handelbars, it feels quite comfortable. Arms are trim, and I think a bit too short. They are sending me the next size up so we'll see. Looks like it is a good alternative for having some skin protection in really hot weather when you are otherwise tempted to go without a jacket. Overall it looks like it is well made and certainly far better quality (and cooler) than my current First Gear all mesh jacket. If the Vanson fits your form, it is worth a look

For those of you that are closer to the other coast, Langlitz Leathers in Portland is another maker of quality custom leather riding gear. Great folks and they have been in business a long time.

I have a Vanson jacket - the Italia - which is fantastic.

http://www.ducatiperformance.com/vanson-italia-leather-jacket-exclusive-p-99948.html

While their leathers are all made in Boston, I have heard that some of their mesh jobs are made in China and/or Pakistan and are not up to the same quality...

I had never heard of them. I followed your link and I kinda love the Odyssey jacket for women. Nice.

I went to the Vanson Factory a couple of weeks ago. All of their products are tanned, Designed and produced in Fall River, MA which is 15 minutes from Providence RI. I should get my custom jacket in October.

I had a wonderful experience at Vanson! Ordered a Comet Jacket in Competition thick Cow Hide. Great quality that should last for a long time....

G

You will not be disappointed. Give it time break-in - that 7mm cow hide is stiff 8)

Thanks! Yeah I tried one on amazing leather....I think you could survive a stabbing with this jacket...

Nice folks at Vanson and the no tax and 15% off weekend made it a great deal!

All their leather products. Not textile mesh...

I love my leather Vanson jacket.

I had purchase a Vanson Vent Max Mesh jacket thru MotoLiberty and they were really great to deal with...when they couldn't find my size they called their other outlet and secure what I wanted.

I was very pleased with the jacket. However, when I washed it (per the washing instructions) for some reason the thread ran (bled).

I opted to go direct to Vanson to see if I could secure either a replacement or credit to purchase their new Super Vent Jacket and Vent pants.

I had emailed and called a number of times to finally get an answer and was told they never had a thread bleed problem and would discuss with the owner. No reply. I called again and was told the owner would not replace or provide credit.

Note: Prior to reporting this problem I was considering their new Super Vent jacket and Vent Pants. I had asked about customizing the pants of their new Vent Pants which they said they could and provided a Point of Contact @ Vanson. Sent email and never got a response...called and was I would get a response...never got a response.

Regardless, below is the link to their mesh line (jacket and pants)

http://www.vansonleathers.com/main_page/chapters/mens/textile.htm

You may still want to consider purchasing but I am concerned about the back end support it needed (i.e. warranty and repair).

Like ScooterBeagle...the folks on the front end (picking up the call in's) are really pleasant...once you get past the front line...somethings just not right.

Again, I had no issues with MotoLiberty (Dealer) nor the Vent Max jacket...however, per my personal experience with Vanson would be rated as "needs improvement".

I hope Vanson reads this thread - they will get some very helpful info!

Like TB the people answering the phone have been very pleasant. I too think their problems are deeper down in their customer service chain. From what I can figure, it is the person that is actually processing the orders (not the people that are taking them) that are really screwing things up. I ordered 2 vent jackets and the mens was 3 weeks backordered which I knew upfront. They said they would go ahead and send the women's one that was in stock, and that it would ship out the next day. A week later I called because it had not arrived and it had not shipped, they were waiting for the backordered one to ship together, BUT, they had charged my cc already. They apologized and said that they would send it that night if they could, it was the end of day and they might not make the truck, otherwise it would go out in the morning - that would be a Thursday. By Monday still no jacket so I called again... they said it just went out that Monday morning... Hey, what happened to LAST Wed. p.m. or Thurs. a.m.??? Anyway it arrived 2 days later with a broken zip and missing some armor pieces. I called right away and they said they would send me out a new one right away and it was in stock - guess it will arrive by the first snowfall.

I can't imagine ordering directly online from Vanson. Think you have to call and talk to them in person - they don't send email confirmations or tracking numbers or anything. If MotoLiberty or someplace like that has the Vanson that you want, I think you are much better off ordering that way.
In SHARP contrast to VAnson, I tried to order a pair of REV'IT gloves from a online store (supercyclestore.com) and they saw my internet order, called me up about an hour after placing it to apologizing for being out of stock (the internet made it look like it was available and ordered). He said he would call REV'IT directly and see if they could find what I wanted - it was now about 1pm.. At 2pm the store called me back to say that Rev"it warehouse or corporate or whatever did have them available and instead of sending them to the store first and then sending to me, REV'It would just ship directly to me. At 10a.m. the very next morning my gloves arrived - and with zero postage charged "due to the inconvenience of not having them in-stock" Outstanding customer service like that really stands out - Vanson could learn a few things.
Still, VAnson products appear to warrant serious consideration - it is easily one of the most durable and by far the coolest looking extreme hot weather mesh or textile jackets I have seen - After seeing in person, I am certainly willing to wait for the replacement rather than cancel the order altogether. Finding any jacket that you actually want to put on when it is 100 degrees is next to impossible - this is the 1st one I have seen that really looks wearable in such heat and would actually protect you too. It is cut trim, especially in the arms - the armor is also velcroed in - it does not slip around or rotate off your elbows etc.. (I will probably upgrade the armour to Sas-Tec for more flexible comfort and higher impact protection). I have an Olympia, J Rocket and FirstGear jackets (all tex, no leather) and I am certain that if I ever crashed, that the ultra-airy Vanson mesh would protect me far better than any of them (I easily see why people think that the V. leather jackets last forever and offer them outstanding protection).

I have heard that the dark leather dye can run onto the mesh fabric and stain the gray mesh. Not a problem with the black version obviously. Best defense is to wash jacket in icy cold water. Also heard that soaking / washing jacket in icy cold vinegar water may help set the leather dye from running.

ScootBeagle...thanks! I thought it was just me! You might want to go to MotoLiberty and see if they got what you want...they'll take care of you.

https://www.motoliberty.com/list_prod.asp?CatID=11&SubCatID=13

I wouldn't mind buying the new offering of Mesh from Vanson (jacket and pants)...but if I go and asked for a slight tweak (pant inseam) or down the road a repair under warranty...I don't want have to badger folks to just do their job.

Right now I'm seriously considering Motosport...

http://www.motoport.com/Home

I can't imagine ordering any leather riding jacket sight unseen. Fit is critical and cut varies widely among jackets. If you are willing to pay for a top quality jacket, you really want it tailored to fit. That pretty much means in person, of course.