Aero Universal zippers and other feasible options

[mvilla]

Hey, guys

I will have to replace the main zipper on my Aero HB. I live in UK, so first place I contacted was Aero themselves. They told me they'd recommend replacing the Talon zipper with their Universal one. So, I'd like to know your opinions, as you're much more experienced than I. How are these Universal zips? I tried to Google them, but obviously a bunch of non sense comes up with such a generic name...

On another question, I've also contacted Jules Bloom and Donna Howard. Do you guys have any opinions on them? Do you recommend anyone else to talk to? Aero and Donna had better prices, but their turnaround time is of about a couple months, so I was thinking about waiting until summer to send the jacket to one of them. I'm leaning towards Aero, as they made the jacket themselves (and I'd want to have the sleeves shortened by 1in). On the other hand, Donna (and Jules) accept me to send my own zipper, so I could use a beefier one (#8 or even #10). I don't know how good they'd look on this jacket design, though... What are your thoughts?

Thanks for your attention!!

 

[Aloysius]

I'd go for the Universal zipper without hesitation. It has a repro slider but the zipper itself is much more robust than the repro Talon.

 

[mvilla]

I'd go for the Universal zipper without hesitation. It has a repro slider but the zipper itself is much more robust than the repro Talon.

Do you think these would hold up to the CXL steerhide? I'd rather keep the smaller zipper (such as the Universal), but I've read some horror stories here in the forum of multiple failures and whatnot.

 

[Aloysius]

Do you think these would hold up to the CXL steerhide? I'd rather keep the smaller zipper (such as the Universal), but I've read some horror stories here in the forum of multiple failures and whatnot.

There's been a bit of exaggeration about that. The size plays a role but the particular weaknesses of the repro Talon zipper likely play a bigger role. No such issue with the Universal, which has all of YKK's newest machining/tech upgrades.

 

[mvilla]

There's been a bit of exaggeration about that. The size plays a role but the particular weaknesses of the repro Talon zipper likely play a bigger role. No such issue with the Universal, which has all of YKK's newest machining/tech upgrades.

Great to know! I'll most likely send the jacket to Aero, then... But I'll wait until summer, when I won't be able to wear it for a while hahah

 

[MrProper]

My Talons were / are annoying to close, whereas the universal work perfectly. With my CXL and Badalassi steer I also do not have the impression that the universal would be overstrained.
I will only order universal.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Aero Universal will work better than their Talons; they‘re basically repro pulls on modern ykk teeth. I’ve switched over to Universal zips for all my Aero jackets this past year. Haven’t had any issues, even on the thick CXL ones.

Other small and mighty zips to consider are Conmars and Riri. They’re even better than the Universal on Ykk imo. The little swivel helps a lot. If your leather shop carrys these check them out.

Don’t cheap out on the main zip. It’s the smallest part that does the most important job.

 

[mvilla]

Aero Universal will work better than their Talons; they‘re basically repro pulls on modern ykk teeth. I’ve switched over to Universal zips for all my Aero jackets this past year. Haven’t had any issues, even on the thick CXL ones.
View attachment 499321

Other small and mighty zips to consider are Conmars and Riri. They’re even better than the Universal on Ykk imo. The little swivel helps a lot. If your leather shop carrys these check them out.
View attachment 499322
View attachment 499323
Don’t cheap out on the main zip. It’s the smallest part that does the most important job.

Cool! I don't have a leather shop, unfortunately... And I don't know many professionals here in UK who'd tackle this type of job in a satisfactory way. The only ones I know here in UK are those two I mentioned on OP - and only know them because I saw them mentioned here in the forum. Alas, neither of them offer zippers (I'd have to supply them), and I couldn't t find a good place to get zippers around here (yet!).

I like the Riri look... Is this a #8?

 

[Canuck Panda]

Cool! I don't have a leather shop, unfortunately... And I don't know many professionals here in UK who'd tackle this type of job in a satisfactory way. The only ones I know here in UK are those two I mentioned on OP - and only know them because I saw them mentioned here in the forum. Alas, neither of them offer zippers (I'd have to supply them), and I couldn't t find a good place to get zippers around here (yet!).

I like the Riri look... Is this a #8?

No it’s only a number 5. Riri is small and mighty.
in that case Aero repair with Universal is probably your best option. saves you the hassle of sourcing the zip. Plus Aero does the main zip a bit different than other guys they are bury inside the channel, so they’d probably know their jacket best.
post after photos!

 

[mvilla]

No it’s only a number 5. Riri is small and mighty.
in that case Aero repair with Universal is probably your best option. saves you the hassle of sourcing the zip. Plus Aero does the main zip a bit different than other guys they are bury inside the channel, so they’d probably know their jacket best.
post after photos!

I will, for sure. It might take a while because the job would take like 8 weeks and for now I'm too busy enjoying every single opportunity I have to wear this jacket haha
I'll send it to them in Summer.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I will, for sure. It might take a while because the job would take like 8 weeks and for now I'm too busy enjoying every single opportunity I have to wear this jacket haha
I'll send it to them in Summer.

It’s busy season for most leather shops because everyone wants their gear ready now for the riding season. My local leather shop has a longer lead time than normal. if the zip is still working just wear it until this rush season is over. if The zip tape has frayed a bit and teeth have popped out a few emergency stitches can stretch the time a bit until the full repair.
this is not an Aero jacket but a Talon zip that had some issues. It would need a full zip replacement but my amateur stitch fix will work for the time being.

 

[mvilla]

It’s busy season for most leather shops because everyone wants their gear ready now for the riding season. My local leather shop has a longer lead time than normal. if the zip is still working just wear it until this rush season is over. if The zip tape has frayed a bit and teeth have popped out a few emergency stitches can stretch the time a bit until the full repair.
this is not an Aero jacket but a Talon zip that had some issues. It would need a full zip replacement but my amateur stitch fix will work for the time being.
View attachment 499618 View attachment 499619 View attachment 499620

Yeah, initially I thought about stitching, but the rip is too close to the stitches, so I have no material on the other side. I just bought one bottle of that Fray Check thingy, so I'll give it a shot.

 

[photo2u]

It’s busy season for most leather shops because everyone wants their gear ready now for the riding season. My local leather shop has a longer lead time than normal. if the zip is still working just wear it until this rush season is over. if The zip tape has frayed a bit and teeth have popped out a few emergency stitches can stretch the time a bit until the full repair.
this is not an Aero jacket but a Talon zip that had some issues. It would need a full zip replacement but my amateur stitch fix will work for the time being.
View attachment 499618 View attachment 499619 View attachment 499620

Friend, those fake sunrise are terrible. Replace with a mid 50's NOS Talon or Scovill. I will send you one "on the arm" of course. LOL.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Yeah, initially I thought about stitching, but the rip is too close to the stitches, so I have no material on the other side. I just bought one bottle of that Fray Check thingy, so I'll give it a shot.

Those would work well too (fray check liquid glue). Just have to keep the tape and teeth in tact long enough until the zip replacement. It's really the cloth tape that fails and the teeth no longer work well and jams. Just gotta give it something to keep it stiff enough so the puller can run through it.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Friend, those fake sunrise are terrible. Replace with a mid 50's NOS Talon or Scovill. I will send you one "on the arm" of course. LOL.

Haha, I know I am no fan of those sunrise either. I am actually replacing it with the rectangle Talon I got from you. But my leather is running on longer lead time right now being spring so I might try to do it myself. Thanks!

 

[jglf]

Aero Universal will work better than their Talons; they‘re basically repro pulls on modern ykk teeth. I’ve switched over to Universal zips for all my Aero jackets this past year. Haven’t had any issues, even on the thick CXL ones.
View attachment 499321

Other small and mighty zips to consider are Conmars and Riri. They’re even better than the Universal on Ykk imo. The little swivel helps a lot. If your leather shop carrys these check them out.
View attachment 499322
View attachment 499323
Don’t cheap out on the main zip. It’s the smallest part that does the most important job.

I thought I read on Aero’s website that the universal zippers uses a cotton zipper tape vs poly blend. Is this true, and has anyone had issues with tape failure since cotton is more susceptible to tear/rot than poly blends?

 

[photo2u]

Cotton is a proven winner. If you take care of your jacket a quality cotton tape zipper will last for a long time. Poly blend zippers are ok but not my first choice.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I thought I read on Aero’s website that the universal zippers uses a cotton zipper tape vs poly blend. Is this true, and has anyone had issues with tape failure since cotton is more susceptible to tear/rot than poly blends?

I've only had the Aero Universals since last fall, around September ish. Out of the box they've been better than the repro Talons in terms of ease of zipping and unzipping. That's my personal opinion, I don't quite like the sunrise Talons because I had to replace a few of them, not just Aero, and they were costly repairs. That's why the minute the Universal was available I jumped on that wagon. Time will tell. So far so good.
I also agree with Photo about the material. I believe the Talons that failed me wasn't so much the material cotton or poly cotton but rather they were just faulty from the zipper factory. The way I see them is the metal teeth are "punched" onto the cloth tape by a special feeding machine. My best guess is that the machine timing or tension wasn't within spec when my failed Talons were made, but everything looked good enough for visual QC, only to fail very shortly in the wild. All of my Talon failures has the same issue, teeth pulling away from the cloth tape. I get these on the cheap plastic ykks too so I am assuming it's a zipper manufacturer thing.
The positive side is I've had some Talons fails within a month of use, and the Universals has so far past that point and still no fail. Let's see how long they can go.

 

[mvilla]

In the case of my jacket, I believe it was a weak material issue, indeed... Nut much to do with the teeth. The rip is right next to a stitch line, so I'm taking it couldn't handle the stiff leather

 

[photo2u]

In the case of my jacket, I believe it was a weak material issue, indeed... Nut much to do with the teeth. The rip is right next to a stitch line, so I'm taking it couldn't handle the stiff leather

The damage looks from the male pin section? I do not think you need a new zipper. Just repair the tape. Remove several stiches from top and bottom and reinforce the tape with several available products. I use five star super glue-cyanoacrylate (basically a industrial grade super glue). Also, there are another products use to repair fabric strands. Here is a link with excellent zipper male pin repair. https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...ad-behind-the-male-insertion-pin.86432/page-3

Yours do not look that bad. Make sure you reused the previous needle holes. Remember to start and finish your thread at the bottom of the leather. I will also use glue to secure the older thread with the new one. Please remember to use tiny amount of glue in the hole before you start and finish your thread so the old thread will meet with the new.