Belstaff Vanguard jacket in black

The new for 2024 Belstaff Vanguard jacket is a beautifully made and shaped leather jacket.

 

Belstaff does all kinds of gear. They do T-shirts, jumpers, gloves, trainers, beanie hats, and so on. But at its core Belstaff is a motorcycle clothing company, and what it still does best is wax cotton. The Brooklands, the Crosby and the Trialmaster are all iconic styles; the styles that other brands always try to copy. And always fail.

 

But they do some pretty nice leather jackets too. Their hand-waxed versions of the above three jackets are the stuff of many a biker's bucket list. They are absurdly expensive, but exquisite. Some might say they're too nice for the bike, but those who actually own one tend not to agree.

 

But Belstaff does more traditional, leather jackets that are also a bit special. We're talking about jackets like the Mistral and the Outlaw Pro. And then there's this jacket: the new Belstaff Vanguard jacket.

 

It's made from a 100% washed, calf leather; and all I can say is that it's good to know that they finished the job. A 75% washed calf leather jacket simply doesn't sound anywhere near as attractive.

 

The leather is super supple, and has a natural, wax coating, which gives it a degree of protection from the elements, but don't go thinking that it's waterproof. It's light showerproof, at best.

 

What makes the jacket so comfortable, other than the softness of the leather, is the accordion stretch panels that run up its flanks. You also get some accordion-stretch bands above the elbows. The result is, indeed, one very accommodating and cosseting jacket.

 

Yet even though the Vanguard is about as comfortable as a leather, biker jacket gets, this is still a properly protective bit of kit. It's rated AA under EN17092 for abrasion resistance. And comes fitted as standard with vented, D30 in the elbows and shoulders. There's a pocket for a back protector. 

 

A lot of the detailing is what you'd expect from a Belstaff jacket. So, heavy duty, brass zips everywhere, including at the ends of the sleeves. Corduroy in the collar. Strangely, Belstaff thinks their collars are lined with corduroy because of the material's resistance to oil! They're wrong. Actually, there's corduroy in the collar because it's comfortable against the skin, and because it doesn't do a bad job of absorbing the rain as it tries to run into the neck.

 

Most of the other stuff is pretty straightforward. Three external, zipped pockets. One internal one. A poppered, neck fastener. A leather flap over the base of the zip to protect the bike's paintwork. A slightly lowered tail. A diamond-quilted lining, and so on.

 

Finally, you get a nicely honed a Belstaff badge on the left sleeve. It's prominent enough to be seen by those who care about such things, yet is discrete enough to be ignored by those who don't.

 

It's still a Belstaff jacket so it's expensive, but what would you expect; although the price is definitely less outrageous than some of the company's offerings.