Here's what we really think about the Belstaff Trialmaster:gentl.mn/2kuILev
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Starting with a waxed cotton version, the original Trialmaster. In the US, it retails for $595, In Europe, for €495, in Britain, for £450. It comes in a greater color variety than most men's jackets including black, red, navy, olive, and a military green that they call capers. The Trialmaster's iconic design include four roomy patch pockets that have flaps you can push down with snap buttons, a belt, you have a throat latch, as well as pads on the elbows, and shoulder reinforcements. Unlike most outerwear jackets I tried on, I was surprised by the length in the sleeve of this jacket which comes down to 27 inches measured from the seam, that's about 16 and a half centimeters and quite a bit longer than what you get, for example, from Barbour. The size I chose for both jackets is a 44US, 54EU, or extra extra-large. I was surprised when I saw that because overall, it has a rather slim fit. If I compare that to anything from Barbour in the same size group, the Belstaff is a lot slimmer. At the same time, the same size has longer arms. Right now, I'm wearing a polo shirt underneath but I could add a thicker sweater and it would still work especially with the adjustable belt that has six holes. I really like the high cut arm holes which allow a great range of movement and I can see why they do that because when you're on a motorcycle, you have your arms up and you want to be comfortable even when you ride the bike.
So now, let's take a closer look at the Trialmaster panther jacket which is made out of leather. The retail price for this jacket is $1795, €1495, or £1350. If you do the math, that's roughly three times the price of the cotton waxed jacket. When we bought it at the Belstaff website, it was available in black, a black brown, and a cognac brown color which was lighter. It seems like they sometimes switch colors around especially the brown ones but you always should be able to find a black and some version of a brown. Even though they're technically not exactly the same jacket, they're very very similar so I just want to highlight the differences in those two jackets. Obviously, the biggest one is the leather. To my surprise, neither the website nor the hangtags actually tell me what animal this leather was made from. Seeing it in person, I don't think it's a calf leather, I also don't think it's a bison or buffalo leather but a regular cowhide. Based on the touch and feel, I think it's a chrome tanned leather. According to Belstaff, it is waxed and then polished by hand before it is tumbled to achieve this wonderful deep colorful look of the leather. I really like the waxy crackling finish, it's not as extreme as you might know it from some upholstery leather or some leather bags we covered in the past but it's just really beautiful to see the lighter texture of the leather, it's not top coated, it looks like an Aniline dyed leather that is just finished in a beautiful way which is really ideal for a leather jacket.
Is it worth it? The pros are it's definitely iconic, it has a rich history of over 70 years and it provides you with a debonair rebel look that a lot of people want when they get this jacket. It was worn by Steve McQueen and Che Guevara, it works, it's practical, and it is an attractive slim flattering cut. The leather is really nice, the Millerain fabric is very functional and they even offer a repair service which is something that is nice especially if you invest a lot of money into a product. On the flip side, the cons are that they're both more of transitional jackets; the waxed cotton jacket more so than the leather one. There may be only six weeks out of the year where you could wear the cotton jacket with the leather version that is a little heavier maybe you can wear it a little more often for longer but ultimately, it depends on where you're located.
5 сен 2019
