Classic Aero seats, leather or synthetic leather ?

Leather is thicker and should stand up to being punctured with items in pockets etc.
Has anyone had durability etc issues with their synthetic leather material. There is a $300 dollar difference in price, is it worth it?

petersb said:

There is a $300 dollar difference in price, is it worth it?

Click to expand...

In my opinion YES. I have several scratches here and there in thick leather but nothing to worry about.

Neither - sheepskin.

Dave

One thing you may notice with the Classic Aero real leather is it tends to be more course and 'dries out'. The synthetic leather feels soft and much more like the really expensive real leathers in the corporate aircraft I fly
I talked to Luke at Classic Aero about this and he said it was a balance between quality and price. I completely understand and intend on getting our seats in the synthetic leather. IMHO.

The synthetic is better for vomit cleaning. Downside....you don't get the smell of leather. I love the smell of leather in the morning. It smells like.....money.

Real leather

Meguiars leather treatment - lanolin basically - do it twice a year.

I got samples from several manufacturers, I'm cheap and I'm going to go with the real leather for durability.

It has been a few years ago but when we visited Classic, Luke explained it something like this;

Advantages of synthetic ----lower cost, lower weight, and better abrasion resistance.

Advantage of leather-------it's leather.

We went with the synthetic.

We used synthetic

I made our seat covers out of Ultraleather (same as classic aero synthetic leather) and I can't come up with anything bad to say about it. Our interior is mostly black with some gray but you wouldn't know it on a hot summer day when you sit down on the seats because the Ultraleather doesn't get very hot like real leather. It's also super easy to clean and comfortable even on bare skin.

http://www.ultrafabricsllc.com/files/pages/sub_collections/sell_sheets/Ultraleather_SS.pdf

Hi Everyone,

This is a question we get a lot, so I thought I would chime in. The comments so far are all correct from my experience. First I should say that I don't think there is a clear winner when you compare natural leather and synthetic leather. It depends on what is more important to you. Here is a quick and dirty comparison in my view:

Leather:
- More durable in general
- People like the smell

Synthetic leather:
- Lighter weight
- A little softer

More details:

Synthetic leather is sometimes confused with vinyl. It does have some similarities. Both are made up of three layers, a face material, a foam layer (for body), and a reinforcement cloth backing. The main difference is the face material. The face material on vinyl is made out of PVC with plasticizers (chemical additives) that make the plastic flexible like cloth. The face material on synthetic leathers are made out of polyurethane (the same thing most flexible foams are made out of). My understanding is that it is inherently soft, and does not really need any extra additives. The vinyl will loose plasticizers overtime (out gassing), and become hard and crack. Synthetic leather should not.

Synthetic leather is very durable in terms of abrasion rating (In the industry this is tested by rubbing a piece of cotton on the material to see how long it takes to produce noticeable wear). It is not quit as durable when sharp or rough objects are rubbed against it. It is also not as resistant to punctures. Leather holds up better in these situations. This is offset by the advantage in weight though. You can expect a weight difference of anywhere from 2-3 lbs on a pair of seats (depending on seat style).

Leather is essentially a continuous layer of fibers. You might think of it like a piece of felt. It is about twice the thickness (on average) of synthetic leather. The leather fibers need lubrication to slide over one another. This is what makes soft leather drape easily over something. If this lubrication is depleted, the leather fibers will be stressed and break resulting in a crack. Leather conditioner every 3-6 months (depending on use and exposure to heat and sun) will keep the fibers lubricated and the leather soft.

I usually tell customers that if weight is your number one priority, synthetic leather is your best bet. If you can sacrifice some weight for some additional durability, leather would probably suit you better. Like I said, no clear winner. Hope this helps. If you made it this far, you must really like reading boring stuff about leather

smell!

uh, for me I am obsessed with the smell of real leather. sound funny? I bet someone would agree with me

I have to hand it to Luke and his team at classic aero, Although my seats were done by a local aviation shop he graciously did my arm rest and stick boots with some of the left over leather. They are MASTERS in their work.

Smilin' Jack Hunt