Snaps versus Zippers?

    • 40 posts
    December 3, 2012 2:00 AM PST
     Ok, so I riding this past weekend going on the highway doing 75mph when all a sudden there was a gust of wind and my  leather vest snaps popped open. nearly, lost my colors, had to stop re-snap on my vest and continue. then it happened again. My wife had to hold my vest down all the way  back home. I just wondered what would have happened to my colors if I had lost  them on the road? I would have to drive to the next town which was 20 miles out, then make a turn and try to look for my vest . Has this happened to anyone out there, and what steps did you use to secure the snaps? does anyone out have zippered vests and have they experienced anything like this with the zippered vests? Thanks please reply with a solution or suggesstion.
    • 2 posts
    December 3, 2012 2:32 AM PST
    rpalacios wrote...
     Ok, so I riding this past weekend going on the highway doing 75mph when all a sudden there was a gust of wind and my  leather vest snaps popped open. nearly, lost my colors, had to stop re-snap on my vest and continue. then it happened again.   .   .   .   .
    Has this happened to anyone out there, and what steps did you use to secure the snaps?  .   .   .   .   Thanks please reply with a solution or suggesstion.

    Has this happened to anyone out there - Ne
    what steps did you use to secure the snaps - If it was me would either a.) Go to the fabric store & get some hook-and-eye closures then use my stitching tool to attach them or ask the shoe maker to add some

    Shoe maker MIGHT be able to remove snaps & add zipper but probably real spendy.

    • 844 posts
    December 3, 2012 2:53 AM PST
    Well I don't think it is possible to actually loose the vest while you are riding - unless you took both hands off the grips and let it slide off your arms - don't do that :-) But I imagine it would be pretty annoying to have it flapping in the wind.

    I always ride with my vest even in pretty nasty wind and weather and never had it unsnap, even when I where it over my jacket with extenders letting lots of wind in and have never had even one snap open.

    Sounds like you might have weak snaps, maybe getting old and worn out. Might want to take it to a leather shop and have them put some heavy duty snaps on there, something you have to really push to close!
    • 5417 posts
    December 3, 2012 3:04 AM PST
    Sounds like your snaps may be worn out. I have had my vest blow up like a parachute at high sped in heavy wind and never had it pop open!

    I had to put new snaps on the bottom of my chaps because they kept poping open.  Think I paid $20 at a leather booth to replace 8 snaps total with heavy duty snaps.
    • 40 posts
    December 3, 2012 3:06 AM PST
    99savage and GoFur, thanks for the great input. really appreciate getting feedback from more experience bikers.
    • 40 posts
    December 3, 2012 3:07 AM PST
    Lucky thanks, man.
    • 1 posts
    December 4, 2012 2:48 PM PST
    Bungee cords can fix that
    • 85 posts
    December 4, 2012 5:08 PM PST
    My vest has never unsnaped, but the other day the string holding front and back together came untied and nearly blew out before I noticed, I guess a feller needs to check regular and make sure those knots are tight!
    • 1 posts
    December 5, 2012 1:03 AM PST
    well mine has so i opted for metal extensions...then i superglued the male part into the female part on one side. the other way to prevent it is harder..it involves losing weight...and that means taking a DIE--at.......and thats not likely to happen ever...maybe a bigger vest with a zipper just like on sons of anarchy....I wonder would the women flock to me if i was a fatter version of jax?......where's that hair dye....and anti wrinkly cream...and ... and ...and......
  • December 5, 2012 5:26 AM PST
    There is no really polite way of saying this but are you still trying to wear the same vest you wore when you were 20? I know alot of people including myself who wore vest that were like tourniquets because they had all the cool patches you had collected over the years. Vest extensions are just a way of letting everyone know that you have gotten fat btw. I purchased a new vest a few months back with a zipper and had some of my patches transferred, it's the best thing and you can raise and lower the zipper while riding depending on the climate.
  • December 24, 2012 2:37 AM PST
    Damn wheels, I thought my leather stuff was shrinking!
    • 1161 posts
    December 24, 2012 7:14 PM PST
    I got a vest from ND, and wore I out the vest snaps. I went to Walmart (even tho I don't like to admit it). They have a heavy duty snaps that you can use to replace snaps if you want. You can also look online to find a specific top snap to use with them. Just used an old dril bit to remove the old snaps where it is crimped over. The snaps from Walmart had two types of punches to crimp the new snaps in place. But I got my new vest I use vest extensions so I could add them to my vest. But I could always make the vest much bigger if needed with the leather laces up both sides holding the vest together. After replacing the old snaps did not have a problem since even made a key clasp with leather belt strap with the an extra snap it works great. It started out as an wristband from a local craft store. Good luck with your snaps but this may help.
  • December 25, 2012 9:01 AM PST

    If your "Vest Extenders" (we call them fat bstd straps over here in England), if they come open too easy just lay it down on a flat surface and take your blade and give it a small dent across the ridge in 1, 2, or 3 places, this makes it tight again, VERY hard to click into place the first time you put them back on but I still have some from over 20 years ago and are still in constant use.....if you need to know more just ask and I will put a picture of what I mean in...

    Works just as well on the vest side - but be warned - if you mess up on the vest its more expensive than just doing cheap vest extenders!!!

  • December 25, 2012 9:12 AM PST
    in 40 years of riding I have never about lost my cut.  I have had my cut come un hooked but to fly off going down the highway? Was you riding with your hands off the handle bars?
  • December 25, 2012 1:52 PM PST
    Made me get up and look. Mine snaps, it has never came undone, yet, made in Pakistan, bought at Osage Beach MO.
  • December 26, 2012 10:26 AM PST
    luckychucky wrote...
    Made me get up and look. Mine snaps, it has never came undone, yet, made in Pakistan, bought at Osage Beach MO.


    have you ever got those Pakistan leathers wet yet?

    stink don't they?  it's to do with the stuff they treat them with!!!

     I always buy from Hudson Leathers...it's Buffalo hide and its made in AMERICA!!!!!
  • December 27, 2012 4:15 AM PST
    Bought my then girl friend a fur hat in Montana one time. It rained and that thing smelled so bad When we got home she took it off and through it on the ground and my dog would not even roll in it
    • 844 posts
    December 27, 2012 5:52 AM PST
    Oh hell yeah. All animal hide stinks when its wet and it don't matter where it comes from. Hell the cows themselves stink when their wet even when their still wearin the hide and they ain't been treated with nothin. Best way to keep leather from stinkin when they get wet is to treat them with a water proof coating. I prefer a natural treatment like mink oil. Everyone down here from cowboys to bikers treats all leather with mink oil.
  • December 27, 2012 11:14 AM PST
    GoFur wrote...
    Oh hell yeah. All animal hide stinks when its wet and it don't matter where it comes from. Hell the cows themselves stink when their wet even when their still wearin the hide and they ain't been treated with nothin. Best way to keep leather from stinkin when they get wet is to treat them with a water proof coating. I prefer a natural treatment like mink oil. Everyone down here from cowboys to bikers treats all leather with mink oil.


    I also use mink oil buddy.....and have done so for more than the last 12 years...

    the leather that generally comes in from Pakistan is sheep and goat leather, it is treated with fermented human urine in large concrete troughs, it is kept in sealed plastic containers until the ammonia builds in it...it has no heated treatment that ALL American leathers get treated with...

    I have Never had any of my American made leathers smell for any reason in any weather conditions...this is surely a plus for American leathers when a Limey comes from England to USA to buy leathers as they are better quality than UK treated leathers...

    Hudson Leathers (an American Company), have always had quality Buffalo leathers, sure, it's more expensive than the foreign stuff but I think the difference in quality is worth the extra...

    I buy ALL my clothing in USA...

    I do not buy Harley branded clothing, it's not American made...
    I do not buy Levi' s, ... again, not American made...
    I buy from companies that advertise American made products...
    I ride a Harley, I drive a Ford F150 Lightning SVT bodied pick- up truck...
    I like the majority of the older (1940' s to 1960' s) American cars and trucks and have had many many over all my years...
    the majority of my newer tools in all my tool kits and boxes were bought at Sears...

    ...and just to say...American made products work for me...American leathers is what I buy and don't smell of anything bad when wet...

  • December 27, 2012 1:06 PM PST
    ooookay.

    Got to agree that your snaps are worn out. I would either have new ones put in or try the putting notches in it fix.

    Been wearing a snapped vest for years and never had it come open.
    • 40 posts
    December 27, 2012 3:28 PM PST
    Thanks for your input, I corrected this issue already. Went to shoe repair place and the snaps were changed to bigger sturdier ones, so far no problems. Guys thank you very much for contributing to this forum.
    • 834 posts
    December 27, 2012 3:34 PM PST
    Good deal.