American motorcycle leather gear is built from several different hides, each with distinct properties that make it better suited to certain applications. Deerskin, horsehide, cowhide, lambskin, and sheepskin all appear in the domestic gear market. This roundup covers the best domestic hides in current motorcycle gear and the specific products in the Legendary USA catalog that use them.
Deerskin: Best for Gloves
Deerskin is the best hide for motorcycle gloves made in America. It is naturally softer than cowhide and horsehide, breaks in faster, and has a natural lanolin content that keeps it supple with minimal conditioning. The grain is tight, which means the hide maintains its surface integrity through regular use without cracking at the knuckle flex points where cowhide alternatives often fail first.
The best American deerskin motorcycle gloves currently available are the Legendary USA Short Wrist Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves. For riders who want interior reinforcement: the Aramid-Lined Deerskin variant. For maximum airflow: the Fingerless Deerskin Gloves. All are American-made from domestic deerskin through the Legendary USA American-made glove collection.
Horsehide: Best for Jackets and Vests
Horsehide is the most demanding and most rewarding hide in the American motorcycle leather market. It is denser and tighter-grained than cowhide, which means it resists surface abrasion better, takes longer to break in, and develops a more pronounced patina over years of use. Horsehide gear is not the right choice for riders who want something that feels immediately comfortable. It is the right choice for riders who want gear that performs better at year five than it did at year one.
The best American horsehide motorcycle jacket currently available through Legendary USA is the BECK TM-732 Northeaster Flying Togs Horsehide Jacket. Also available in chestnut brown. For horsehide vest construction, the BECK 566 Horsehide Motorcycle Vest carries the same material and construction quality in vest form. Both are American-made.
Lambskin: Best for Military-Heritage Flight Jackets
Lambskin is a softer, more supple hide than cowhide — lighter in weight, with a fine grain and excellent drape. In the motorcycle and aviation jacket market, lambskin is associated with military-heritage G-1 and A-2 flight jackets. Cockpit USA, available through Legendary USA, uses antique lambskin in their G-1 and A-2 reproductions. The antique finish is applied to the lambskin to produce a weathered, broken-in appearance from the first wear.
Cockpit USA's full flight jacket lineup is built in the United States. The lambskin used in their G-1 and A-2 jackets is domestic, and the antique finishing process is part of what distinguishes Cockpit USA from offshore military-heritage jacket producers who use the aesthetic without the material or manufacturing authenticity.
Sheepskin: Best for Cold-Weather Bomber Jackets
Sheepskin is the hide of choice for the B-3 bomber jacket — the cold-weather flight jacket worn by American aircrews in WWII. The wool-on lining provides exceptional insulation. The outer leather shell is pliable and tough. Cockpit USA's B-3 Sheepskin Bomber Jacket is built in the United States from sheepskin, following the same construction specifications as the original military issue. This is not a fashion jacket styled to resemble a B-3 — it is a reproduction built to the same functional standards as the original.
The Complete American Hide Roundup
For riders building a domestic leather kit: start with deerskin gloves for daily and touring use, add a horsehide jacket or vest for long-term durability, and consider a Cockpit USA flight jacket if aviation heritage styling is part of your riding aesthetic. All of these are available through the Legendary USA complete gear collection.
Every hide on this list is American-sourced, processed through domestic tanneries, and built into finished gear by American workshops with documented manufacturing histories. That's the standard the domestic hide market sets, and it's the standard Legendary USA's catalog reflects.