Sorry...I now understand the Talon zipper is a good, strong zipper.

[FredS]

Are the Talon #5 zippers rubbish and failure prone?

Just found out from Amanda at Alexander that they did not put in a YKK heavy duty zipper as main zip on my jacket as originally agreed.
Apparently they don't have YKK heavy duty 8 gauge. I feel quite disappointed now and if I had known I would have asked for the RIRI zippers
which are apparently very good and only cost 10 pounds more. Damn...I googled that Talon #5 zipper and found lots of terrible reports about that
particular zipper here on Fedora lounge. Apparently Talon is a rubbish zipper and the #5 is particularly prone to failure. Just my damn luck. I will return the jacket
and ask them to replace the Talons zippers with Riri zippers I guess. So now I still won't be able to take my jacket with me on holiday which is what I was looking forward too so much.
What a bummer. I have lost all enthusiasm now. Cannot understand why they use those Talons if it is a known fact that they are junk.

 

[Carlos840]

How about you use the jacket and see if the zippers do fail miserably first?

No need to make a big deal out of something that hasn't happened yet!

 

[resortes805]

YKK zippers don't look vintage. You are better off with the talon zips. Why pay all that money for a jacket with dead-giveaway modern looking YKK zips?

 

[ButteMT61]

Dude. You're worrying about a jacket you don't have and a zipper that hasn't failed yet?
Seriously, you need to mellow and wait for it to get there. I've got #5 Talons and they all work fine. I prefer a vintage zipper or the #10 big boys, but none of mine have failed. Have a beer. Get the jacket. Worry if it becomes an issue. I'm surprised YKK are being used - I always think of "Mall jackets" when I see those, but if it fails you can get it replaced I'd hope.

 

[Dinerman]

They're not junk.

 

[FredS]

Dude. You're worrying about a jacket you don't have and a zipper that hasn't failed yet?
Seriously, you need to mellow and wait for it to get there. I've got #5 Talons and they all work fine. I prefer a vintage zipper or the #10 big boys, but none of mine have failed. Have a beer. Get the jacket. Worry if it becomes an issue. I'm surprised YKK are being used - I always think of "Mall jackets" when I see those, but if it fails you can get it replaced I'd hope.

Maybe so but the fact is that according to what I have read about Talon zippers here on Fedora they are not very reliable at all and if I had known that Will was going to use Talons which I specifically did not want because of their bad reputation I would have opted to pay 10 pounds extra and have top quality reliable Riri zips put in instead. Now I have to send the jacket all the way back because it would not be nice wearing it expecting the talons to fail at any moment. I cannot understand how Talon got such a good reputation but at the same time it seems a known fact that they fail after a relatively short time.
Also isn't the #5 Talon a relatively light zipper? It's not a heavy duty one as far as I can see from photographs on the net. If it had to be a Talon I would have liked a heavy duty talon at least. That #5 looks like a very lightweight zipper to me.

 

[Capesofwrath]

Just found out from Amanda at Alexander that they did not put in a YKK heavy duty zipper as main zip on my jacket as originally agreed.
Apparently they don't have YKK heavy duty 8 gauge. I feel quite disappointed now and if I had known I would have asked for the RIRI zippers
which are apparently very good and only cost 10 pounds more. Damn...I googled that Talon #5 zipper and found lots of terrible reports about that
particular zipper here on Fedora lounge. Apparently Talon is a rubbish zipper and the #5 is particularly prone to failure. Just my damn luck. I will return the jacket
and ask them to replace the Talons zippers with Riri zippers I guess. So now I still won't be able to take my jacket with me on holiday which is what I was looking forward too so much.
What a bummer. I have lost all enthusiasm now. Cannot understand why they use those Talons if it is a known fact that they are junk.

You can always send it back for a new zip to be fitted if it does fail. Don't see why it should though. I'd take all these interweb reviews with a pinch of salt.

Zat way lies madness mon ami.

You have to imagine the French accent there.

 

[FredS]

Two Fedora threads about Talon zipper failures:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?71267-Oh-no!-Talon-zipper-on-Aero-38-1711-P-stuck
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?27466-Talon-Early-Demise-!!

There's another post I read here as well where Thorntons had to replace an entire batch of Aero jackets because every single one them had the Talon main zipper fail.

 

[FredS]

Double posted in error

 

[FredS]

They're not junk.

Well if that's true then why all the reports to the contrary here on Fedora Lounge?

 

[Capesofwrath]

I've had a few and it's never happened to me. Did break a fly zip once though when I was out socialising. Had to borrow a safety pin. Those big shoulder bags that girls used to carry had all sorts in them.

 

[FredS]

Is it true that Talon #5 zipper is the particular model that causes the most problems? And that it's a lightweight zipper that is better used on clothing like jerseys and vests instead of heavy leather jackets.

 

[Carlos840]

Well if that's true then why all the reports to the contrary here on Fedora Lounge?

You posted two threads, for a total of maybe 5 people having zippers that failed.

Out of the thousands of people on the forum using that zipper i think it is a pretty low number!

Maybe chill, enjoy the jacket and see what happens.

 

[FredS]

You posted two threads, for a total of maybe 5 people having zippers that failed.

Out of the thousands of people on the forum using that zipper i think it is a pretty low number!

Maybe chill, enjoy the jacket and see what happens.

I wish I could but I'm one of those people that once something gets into my head it makes me go ape...I just cannot handle it especially coz I specifically asked not to have Talon zippers and what did they do?
They put in Talon zippers and on top of it they put in the worst Talon zipper of all for the main zip, the #5 Talon which is a lightweight zip that will definitely fail on a leather jacket.
I am actually not even looking forward to receiving the jacket at all anymore because of the cheap junk rubbish zips they put in. It has spoiled the entire experience for me.

 

[Dinerman]

5 is not a model, it's a size. From the 1930s-1950s, it was the largest size used on jackets.

Larger gauges were designed during WWII, but didn't see much use outside of heavy industrial uses like tarpaulin hanger doors and gun turret closures. The bigger sizes of zipper didn't make it onto leather jackets until the 1960s. That's a good 30-some solid years of most leather jacket makers in the country using no. 5 Talon zips and doing well with it. (Those who didn't use the Talons used other companies zippers of the same size) Even after the larger sized ones were introduced, the smaller zippers remained very common because it was an extremely good and durable design. I've had dozens of jackets with this gauge and brand of zipper where they still works fine 70 years on.

Relax, do a bit of research and listen to all the people here with first-hand experience.

Is it true that Talon #5 zipper is the particular model that causes the most problems? And that it's a lightweight zipper that is better used on clothing like jerseys and vests instead of heavy leather jackets.

 

[FredS]

5 is not a model, it's a size. From the 1930s-1950s, it was the largest size used on jackets.

Larger gauges were designed during WWII, but didn't see much use outside of heavy industrial uses like tarpaulin hanger doors and gun turret closures. The bigger sizes of zipper didn't make it onto leather jackets until the 1960s. That's a good 30-some solid years of most leather jacket makers in the country using no. 5 Talon zips and doing well with it. (Those who didn't use the Talons used other companies zippers of the same size) Even after the larger sized ones were introduced, the smaller zippers remained very common because it was an extremely good and durable design. I've had dozens of jackets with this gauge and brand of zipper where they still works fine 70 years on.

Relax, do a bit of research and listen to all the people here with first-hand experience.

I appreciate your advice but I just found another thread here on Fedora where the weakness of Talon Zippers is confirmed once again.
Quote "The Aero branded zipper is really of excellent overall quality and was basically introduced as an option to the sometimes failing Talon zipper." Unquote
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?48258-Aero-Zippers-Antique-or-Not

Also I wanted to have a main zipper with large teeth, a nice robust zipper. As far as I can see the #5 Talon would be more suited for cheap lightweight windbreakers and cheap vests imo.
It does not look nice at all on a quality leather biking jacket. Much too lightweight with tiny small teeth and a tiny zipper box.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Man..get a grip..! You've been told here that Talon #5s are not 'junk' by members who know what they are talking about..yet you would rather believe the worse. Leads me to expect this jacket that you've researched(perhaps over-researched) stands little chance to meet your expectations in any event.
I can't understand why Amanda didn't tell that they don't use YYK. She's good at what she does.
HD

 

[Dinerman]

Hey, if you want to ignore facts and go in for paranoia based on selective reading of isolated incidents, we can tell you what you want to hear instead of the reality of the situation just as easily:

The Talon no. 5 zipper is the worst product ever made. Costume Quality. Even look at them and they'll fall into a million pieces. Their quality's so low that they'll probably infect the rest of your jacket and the seams will start to go.

 

[Dinerman]

If you're thinking of going with Riri, maybe you should read up on how they also break:
http://easyloungin.com/forum/topic.php?id=6469

And how YKK zippers fail
http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2008/09/15/my-very-stuck-zipper/

 

[Carlos840]

I appreciate your advice but I just found another thread here on Fedora where the weakness of Talon Zippers is confirmed once again.
Quote "The Aero branded zipper is really of excellent overall quality and was basically introduced as an option to the sometimes failing Talon zipper." Unquote
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?48258-Aero-Zippers-Antique-or-Not

Also I wanted to have a main zipper with large teeth, a nice robust zipper. As far as I can see the #5 Talon would be more suited for cheap lightweight windbreakers and cheap vests imo.
It does not look nice at all on a quality leather biking jacket. Much too lightweight with tiny small teeth and a tiny zipper box.

How does that confirm anything! "sometimes failing", a lot of things sometimes fail...

You are talking about a zipper here, not a parachute, not a life raft, not a hand grenade, a ZIPPER.
How are you ever going to enjoy this jacket?
How do you know the leather won't be to thick, or to thin, or to shiny, or to hard, or soft, or the lining itchy, or one panel showing more grain than another!

Stop thinking about it, wait for it to arrive, and wear the damn thing!