Are Zip or Velcro-type closures for Lifejacket Covers preferable?

A

alan_d

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I would be interested to hear if other people have had difficulty with the lifejacket covers not staying closed after they have been re-packed after inflation.

I have a Seago Olympic 180N auto-harness lifejacket which I have had for 4 or 5 years, and ever since I carried out its first annual service there have been problems with the hook-and-loop closure of the cover staying closed. I have re-packed it repeatedly, made sure that the bladder was completely exhausted of air and cleaned any lint or threads from the mating surfaces of the Velcro-type strips, but the problem is getting worse. Now just putting the jacket on is enough to start bits of the bladder poking out, while after I have reached into a cockpit locker or squeezed through a cabin door the gas cylinder and firing mechanism have usually emerged as well.

Is it a problem specific to this particular model? (It does have a rather narrow stole to contain a 180N bladder, sprayhood and 38g gas cylinder.) Do other people have similar problems? Are lifejackets with zip closures better or worse?

Thank you for reading this far.

Alan
 
Zips do seem that bit more positive to me, but for what it's worth the velcro-edged jackets I also have aren't coming open all the time.

Pete
 
I suspect seago have found that Velcro is either less effective, or if you are cynical more expensive, as the most recent Olympic 180N, we bought in the spring, has a zip. Having said that, the one we got 2 yrs ago, with velcro, stays packed up as it should. Interestingly they have also swaped the side the firing mechanism is located on.
 
alan_d said:
I would be interested to hear if other people have had difficulty with the lifejacket covers not staying closed after they have been re-packed after inflation.

I have a Seago Olympic 180N auto-harness lifejacket which I have had for 4 or 5 years, and ever since I carried out its first annual service there have been problems with the hook-and-loop closure of the cover staying closed. I have re-packed it repeatedly, made sure that the bladder was completely exhausted of air and cleaned any lint or threads from the mating surfaces of the Velcro-type strips, but the problem is getting worse. Now just putting the jacket on is enough to start bits of the bladder poking out, while after I have reached into a cockpit locker or squeezed through a cabin door the gas cylinder and firing mechanism have usually emerged as well.

Is it a problem specific to this particular model? (It does have a rather narrow stole to contain a 180N bladder, sprayhood and 38g gas cylinder.) Do other people have similar problems? Are lifejackets with zip closures better or worse?

Thank you for reading this far.

Alan
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some years ago while teaching a sea survival course I used a zip type life jacket of my own as a demo of setting off a life jacket , I pulled the cord and as it inflated the zip only opened one side , I had to physically pull the zip to open it and let the bellows inflate , I wasn't overly impressed , it wouldn't be easy to do in the sea, I suspect that this problem was rather wide spread - if you look at high end life jackets now they have a special zipper made by YKK that have a patch of yellow teeth that don't hook together, they just guide the zipper, they then have a small velco flap holding that gap together , its to aid the zip bursting open as the bellows inflates from inside.

I've tested these jackets at work and they operate without fault , so if looking for the zipper variety go for the YKK zip would be my advice........... or stick with Velcro - pardon the pun .

IMG_1970.jpglj spares.jpgout of date lj spares.jpg

service equipment is one of the factors id consider when replacing my own jackets next year as I've had trouble getting parts for two of my personal life jackets outside of the UK
 
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My Olympic (velcro fitted) seems to be OK after a unpack/re-pack. Have not had any of the problems described by the OP.
 
Giblets said:
My Olympic (velcro fitted) seems to be OK after a unpack/re-pack. Have not had any of the problems described by the OP.
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Hmm. My Olympic was a fairly early one and I wonder if they were using substandard hook-and-loop stuff at the time. I certainly have not had the same problem with Baltic jackets, but their h&l tapes seem broader and they are not trying to stuff as much stuff inside a narrower stole. I had been wondering about replacing it by something with zips, but after reading post #5 I am not so sure now.
 
Velcro s holding power depends entirely on the area of overlap and the condition of the hooks. OP has cleaned the hook tape so he is apparently not getting the overlap or area of contact. Meaning the internals are too bulky. Yet he has tried hard to repack to get the original squeeze. I can only suggest perhaps sewing on more velcro or moving the existing velcro to give more contact area. Or send it back to the manufacturer for service. good luck olewill
 
My Olympic 180 really annoys me as the Velcro on the gas cylinder side continually comes apart. I think the problem is that the Velcro is too narrow so there really is not enough overlap to give enough grip. I have contemplated putting a narrow strip of 2-sided Velcro around the whole of that side to keep it shut.
 
andyo said:
My Olympic 180 really annoys me as the Velcro on the gas cylinder side continually comes apart. I think the problem is that the Velcro is too narrow so there really is not enough overlap to give enough grip. I have contemplated putting a narrow strip of 2-sided Velcro around the whole of that side to keep it shut.
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I am relieved to hear I am not the only sufferer.
 
andyo said:
My Olympic 180 really annoys me as the Velcro on the gas cylinder side continually comes apart. I think the problem is that the Velcro is too narrow so there really is not enough overlap to give enough grip. I have contemplated putting a narrow strip of 2-sided Velcro around the whole of that side to keep it shut.
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What an interesting(brilliant) idea. I got double sided velcro from a haberdashery. Chandler also has it. Sold as cable tidy. It has hook on one side pile on the other. I actually use it for holding the mainsail clew tot he boom with 4 wraps. Anyway this stuff inserted between the 2 partts of the LJ that are supposed to hold together may just give enough additional overlap and attachment. The beauty of it being if does not work just pull it out again. good luck olewill
 
Boathook said:
Testing this winter will be an experience with repacking the zip one.
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It will be! I repacked my Deckvest yesterday and had to resort to phoning Spinlock, who, it must be said were very helpful. Their repacking video and manual leave a lot to be desired, though.
 
I have a marinepool LJ with zips about 10 years old and still perfectly serviceable. I bought a Seago last spring which had velcro. It kept opening and when I tested it last winter it had actually perforated. They replaced it free of charge, great but of little benefit had it failed in use. The new one is zip fastened. Apparently they are now made by Marinepool. (No connection to any LJ company)
 
alan_d said:
I would be interested to hear if other people have had difficulty with the lifejacket covers not staying closed after they have been re-packed after inflation.

I have a Seago Olympic 180N auto-harness lifejacket which I have had for 4 or 5 years, and ever since I carried out its first annual service there have been problems with the hook-and-loop closure of the cover staying closed. I have re-packed it repeatedly, made sure that the bladder was completely exhausted of air and cleaned any lint or threads from the mating surfaces of the Velcro-type strips, but the problem is getting worse. Now just putting the jacket on is enough to start bits of the bladder poking out, while after I have reached into a cockpit locker or squeezed through a cabin door the gas cylinder and firing mechanism have usually emerged as well.

Is it a problem specific to this particular model? (It does have a rather narrow stole to contain a 180N bladder, sprayhood and 38g gas cylinder.) Do other people have similar problems? Are lifejackets with zip closures better or worse?

Thank you for reading this far.

Alan
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I had XM and Plastimo pilot Velcro closed in the past. After a short while it becomes difficult to keep the Velcro closed and 'lined up'. Now have invested in 2* deckvest type Ergofit 190 with YKK zips and Hammar units. Edit: (crewsaver 190 OS)

Used them on a 1 month voyage to Baltic and back this year. Very happy with them. I took them apart to fit AIS MOB sender units in auto-deploy mode. No problem with refixing the zips and they look just as good as when I unwrapped them. Edit: (McMurdo S20 is the AIS sender)

I wouldn't go back to Velcro. The only caveat is that the deckvest lifejackets take up a little more space when stowed. But they are more comfortable to wear which is what counts.
 
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I have had a pair of Seago 180N Olympics. Find them very comfortable and personally prefer them to the Crewsaver Ergofit. So far, no issues with closure fail but I have only re-packed once.
However:
I have just purchased MOB1 and PLB1 to fit in LJ's, and found that the Seago's can't accomodate them - insufficient room on the inflation tube and doubts about the velcro closure. I ended up buying a pair of Crewsaver Crewfit 180's which have the new-style zips and juuust have room for the MOB devices inside the stole (never realised what that was called).
I think my wife still prefers the comfort of the Seago, though.

And now I see that YM have just published a survey of lifejackets. Great timing :-/
 
alan_d said:
I have a Seago Olympic 180N auto-harness lifejacket which I have had for 4 or 5 years, and ever since I carried out its first annual service there have been problems with the hook-and-loop closure of the cover staying closed. I have re-packed it repeatedly, made sure that the bladder was completely exhausted of air and cleaned any lint or threads from the mating surfaces of the Velcro-type strips, but the problem is getting worse. Now just putting the jacket on is enough to start bits of the bladder poking out, while after I have reached into a cockpit locker or squeezed through a cabin door the gas cylinder and firing mechanism have usually emerged as well

Alan
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Exactly the same experience. Resorted to holding mine together with some not-very-sticky tape. A pair of zippy ones are on the shopping list for LIBS.
 
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