Club Obi Wan

Hi Guys,

I love my Bantu Wind jacket, but after wearing it for little over a week, the zipper got ripped out. I guess it makes sense to never zip the jacket up as the zipper won't last.

D.

Awww, that stinks.
Mine seems to be holding up just fine.

Did the leather give way, or did the stitching come loose?

loose stitching. oh well...I never expected the jacket to last, but didn't expect the zipper to fail as quickly as it did either.

That's feels like a weak point in my new Bantu jacket. Plus, it's a 'wrong side' zipper, as in a woman's jacket. I'm sure it can be easily replaced by a tailor or seamstress.

BTJepson wrote:That's feels like a weak point in my new Bantu jacket. Plus, it's a 'wrong side' zipper, as in a woman's jacket. I'm sure it can be easily replaced by a tailor or seamstress.

In the UK a zipper on the left is a man's jacket and a zipper on the right is a woman's jacket. I know it's the opposite in the US, although I still have no idea why...

Joe

BTJepson wrote:That's feels like a weak point in my new Bantu jacket. Plus, it's a 'wrong side' zipper, as in a woman's jacket. I'm sure it can be easily replaced by a tailor or seamstress.

this is how the real one was. it is on the left side.

BTJepson wrote:That's feels like a weak point in my new Bantu jacket. Plus, it's a 'wrong side' zipper, as in a woman's jacket. I'm sure it can be easily replaced by a tailor or seamstress.

Them's fightin' words!

I don't like to zipper mine up regardless, but I can see the zipper not being a strong point.... Especially if it's tight...

　And I always figured that the US went with the opposite side for buttons and zippers just to be "contrary" to the "old-country"...Although I'd like to hear any more realistic ideas if anyone has them! (Or, you "guys" were all women in the first boats...... )

Dunross76 wrote:loose stitching. oh well...I never expected the jacket to last, but didn't expect the zipper to fail as quickly as it did either.

I'm going to tiptoe around the next "zippergate" here and say;

As long as the leather is intact, and only the sticthing gave out, it should be an easy and relatively cheap repair.

I think that the jacket itself is rather strong... Some threads have come away on mine, but to be honest, I get that happening on most of my off rack purchases sooner or later, and it doesn't necessarily mean that the jacket is "weak".. So far it's been nothing like that... I've worn it everyday since I got it, in both rain and sunshine (we're in "typhoon season" here in Japan.. Just kicked off with "number 1"), and it's done me proud...

Off course, it may be down to the differences between the jackets being sold, but I notice nothing weak in the jackets construction with the exception of a slightly loose lower zip thread... (Which, as Kwad points out, is an easy fix if it does get torn)...

(The jacket isn't as well made as my Wested....BUT, it is well made..And I'm sure it would take a lot more abuse than I've given it so far)..

Regards..

I still don't get the thing about the zipper being on the left or right... are you talking about the zipper pull placement?

Over here, all jacket zippers have the zipper pull on the left side.

Yep, it is the placement of the zipper pull.

Over here in the U.S., mens jackets have the pull on the right hand side.

As i posted in the other thread. I've got Nowak jackets, Wested and now Bantu Wind. I think Bantu Wind- despite that curved yoke- still screams Raiders and I am really happy with it. Zippers fail and luckily can be fixed.

I've been thinking this over while teaching actually...

I would hazard the guess that the left side zipper (UK style) was designed to cater for a right-handed person..Since pulling slightly to the right means that the zipper is "straightened" through the pull and can zip smoothly...Which would mean that the US pull was designed to cater for left-handed closers...Although, logistically speaking, that is rather obtuse...Since even in the US, I'd guess that a majority are still right-handed...(And certainly can't be put down to being "American")...

Maybe I'm over-thinking the whole thing....But it was what occured to me in class....The left sided zipper means pulling with the right hand and keeping the zip level...So a "smoother" pull...

Interesting difference anyway..

Dunross76 wrote:As i posted in the other thread. I've got Nowak jackets, Wested and now Bantu Wind. I think Bantu Wind- despite that curved yoke- still screams Raiders and I am really happy with it. Zippers fail and luckily can be fixed.

That a $99 jacket could compete with a $900 and hold its own. I think we needed a jacket such as this in the forum. It came around at a good time. It sorta IS Indy, the underdog jacket.

Are the jackets that are experiencing the zipper problems firsts choice or seconds?Or both? Just curious.

I believe the zipper pull was put on the left side to hide it behind the storm flap.

But that might be easier solved by just designing the Jacket all on "one side" as it were....So, if you wanted the zipper on the right, have the storm flap on the right too? No? (I'm sorry, this might have been discussed and worked out here previously...)..

If the jackets were made in the UK it would be understandable...But as I understand it the first jackets came from the US....Which makes the reasoning rather more unclear....

Anyone have any more on this?

fifthchamber wrote:I've been thinking this over while teaching actually...

I would hazard the guess that the left side zipper (UK style) was designed to cater for a right-handed person..Since pulling slightly to the right means that the zipper is "straightened" through the pull and can zip smoothly...Which would mean that the US pull was designed to cater for left-handed closers...Although, logistically speaking, that is rather obtuse...Since even in the US, I'd guess that a majority are still right-handed...(And certainly can't be put down to being "American")...

Maybe I'm over-thinking the whole thing....But it was what occured to me in class....The left sided zipper means pulling with the right hand and keeping the zip level...So a "smoother" pull...

Interesting difference anyway..

The buttons on male clothign are traditionally on the right. On women's they're on the left. Since women were seen as inferior or at the very least, as an aferthought, the left or "sinister" side was seen as providing them with an appropriate distinction. It actually means nothing so these days we can swap sides (no metaphor intended).

Zips were originally used on women's clothing only and as such sometimes ended up as left handed on men's gear.

I'm old enough to remember that "left handed" was considered bad and if you used your left hand to write in school, you were punished...

Texan Scott wrote:

Dunross76 wrote:As i posted in the other thread. I've got Nowak jackets, Wested and now Bantu Wind. I think Bantu Wind- despite that curved yoke- still screams Raiders and I am really happy with it. Zippers fail and luckily can be fixed.

That a $99 jacket could compete with a $900 and hold its own. I think we needed a jacket such as this in the forum. It came around at a good time. It sorta IS Indy, the underdog jacket.

I totally agree!!! We could have paid far more for it, so no complaints here. What I like about the jacket is the moment you take it out of the box, it screams Raiders. I will fix the zipper or simply replace it.

CM!
Thanks mate!

That explains it! So, inherently, when we use zips, we ARE all women, American OR English?! ######...At least that's a fair starting ground though eh?

I didn't know that zips were originally only used for womens garments? That's very interesting as well...And yeah, that explains a fair bit..So in the UK, zips were placed on the left hand side because it was traditional for the garments they were used for and no one changed it, and perhaps in US, the right side was still seen as "correct" for men to use so the change crept in there?

Great stuff...Thanks for the information Sir!

(And actually, when I was a kid we were told that...Although by then it was told as a joke, since my brother was left handed and I was right... Teachers then were telling us what they used to be told...And so I knew of the "devils side" ideas, but couldn't figure why that would affect the mens left sided zip pull....Great! )

Regards!

Just to add to the discussion about the zipper...
Actually it's only in the US where the zipper is placed on the right side for men.

In Brazil, specially the region I come from (with traditional shoemakers and leather garments) I was told once thet men's jackets always have zipper on the left side, women on the right side. In fact, all jackets there follow this rule.

They told me, the exception was the US.

Yeah....

Interesting all round....I asked a Canadian workmate and they have it on the left side too..And with all the rest it does seem as though the US is the one exception....

Cool stuff....(And another reason I love this forum..)

I've actually never seen a jacket with the zipper pull on the right. Even my Abercrombie Sentinel jacket has the zipper pull on the left side (well, as I remember)... or isn't A&F a US brand? I honestly dunno.

Being born and raised in the good ole US of A, I never saw a left handed zipper pull on a guy's jacket until I purchased a Wested. Being right handed, I find the zipper pull on the right easier to use. I can zipper it up all in one motion. With the pull being on the left I have to start the zippering with my left hand and then switch to my right to acutally zip the jacket shut. It's probably just b/c I'm not accustomed to the zipper pull being on the left. Then again, when I was a kid it took me a heck of a long time to learn to tie my shoes, so... .

I should be receiving my Bantu Wind XL some time this week. It's cold (for this time of the year) and rainy where I live (Central, Pa) so I'm hoping to get some wear out of it!

fifthchamber wrote:But that might be easier solved by just designing the Jacket all on "one side" as it were....So, if you wanted the zipper on the right, have the storm flap on the right too?

If you changed the position of the storm flap it would cause a difficulty for the right handed wearer. We would have to reach around the storm flap to get to the pull. Having the pull on the left side, under the storm flap makes for a smoother look while accomodating the right handed wearer. That said, however, being a right handed American, the left side pull takes some getting used to, especially for unzipping the jacket. I don't know why, but my zipper always gets stuck at the bottom when I try to go for a one handed unzip. I always end up having to switch the pull to my left hand and pull upwards on the right side of the zipper with my right hand. It's not a failure of the zipper, just something to do with the angle of my right hand in the downward motion.

Very sorry to hear about the zipper. Let me know if it can't be easily repaired.

My zip actually seems quite sturdy. More so than the zip on standard.

fenris wrote:I've actually never seen a jacket with the zipper pull on the right. Even my Abercrombie Sentinel jacket has the zipper pull on the left side (well, as I remember)... or isn't A&F a US brand? I honestly dunno.

Maybe even in the US there's no clear pattern. Dunno, or they have been changing the right pattern to left sided one...

afterthedog wrote:

fifthchamber wrote:But that might be easier solved by just designing the Jacket all on "one side" as it were....So, if you wanted the zipper on the right, have the storm flap on the right too?

If you changed the position of the storm flap it would cause a difficulty for the right handed wearer. We would have to reach around the storm flap to get to the pull. Having the pull on the left side, under the storm flap makes for a smoother look while accomodating the right handed wearer. That said, however, being a right handed American, the left side pull takes some getting used to, especially for unzipping the jacket. I don't know why, but my zipper always gets stuck at the bottom when I try to go for a one handed unzip. I always end up having to switch the pull to my left hand and pull upwards on the right side of the zipper with my right hand. It's not a failure of the zipper, just something to do with the angle of my right hand in the downward motion.

I wear my Indy jackets so much that when I put on another jacket I get confused about where the zipper pull is because I'm so use to having it on the left.

HDRnR wrote:My zip actually seems quite sturdy. More so than the zip on standard.

+1

Even if the zipper pull is on the left side, I've always pulled it up with my right hand with my left hand tugging on the bottom end.

I grew up knowing all zipper pulls on jackets were on the left side. Only now did I realize there were jackets with the zipper pull on the right side. What's weird about that is the fact that the US controlled the Philippines for a long time after the Spanish left and after WWII. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that the right-handed zipper pull would have been adapted to clothing here as well?

Unless your tailors were trained by U. S. tailors, no, I doubt they'd change their practices just because of who was 'controlling' the area. That kind of craftsmanship is usually passed from parent to child, and it's only been a few generations since the U. S. came TO the Phillipines in that capacity (1898, to be exact).

I had a little trouble getting used to the left hand zip when I got my first Wested....but after many years and multiple Indy jackets later, I find it a little odd to get used to using a NON-Indy jacket with the standard American right hand.

It's actually kind of funny.

Regards! Michaelson

Despite the zipper issue on my jacket and it's becoming "the jacket" for me. I love the way it drapes. I am glad it wasn't my 1st jacket in the hobby as I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I do. I concur with Holt, it reminds of the jacket from the Peruvian temple scene.

Actually, the "sidedness" of clothing fasteners (zippers, buttons, etc) has much older roots. Originally, they were on the left on clothing because people of sufficient stature to own clothes with fasteners were typically dressed by someone else. This made it easier for the "dresser" to do up the fastenings. Later, the sidedness (flip-flopping around over the years as fashions and wearer's ability to retain servants) changed several times. It eventually settled on the distinction between the sexes. However, some clothiers still use the "old style" sidedness to denote a sense of old-school craftsmanship and quality (whether it is true or not).