Warbonnet zippers

[Nick]

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I was curious so I went and checked. YKK on mine. Bought it around 2012 I believe. Never had any issues with them.

[damuffin]

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No Name on the new winter top cover.

[Slackdaddy]

I had the same reservations when I received my WBBB XLC this summer.
The zippers seamed so small and frankly, hard to "find" or grasp.

I am a kayak camper so size and weight is not a major issue with me.
I LOVE the large zippers on my HH Safari.

I just ordered a DL Darien from Drem Hammocks and ordered it with a #8 zipper,, gotta love the cottage industry

Hi guys
I want to ask about your thougths on the zippers on the warbonnet hammocks. I want to upgrade to the blackbird XLC, but the zippers look small, unbranded and weak. On my HH the zippers are a heavy duty YKK zipper that you can pull on all day long, so they feel much more bullet proof. This is the only thing holding me back from buying the XLC. Am I wrong?

[Slackdaddy]

I have not had any problems with the zipper, I just like big beefy hammocks, and big beefy zippers (my darien is a DL 2.2)

[gunner76]

I have been using BlackBirds for about 9 years now with out any zipper problems

[dwdavis]

I have 4 warbonnet hammocks; XLC, RR, and two Traveler’s. Also, a travel net and travel sock. Absolutely no troubles with the zippers and I use all of them a lot.

[Batvik]

Thank you guys!
What I find strange from asking you guys is that warbonnet is mixing YKK zippers with unbranded ones. Why they do that and not just using branded ones I do not know, but since no one have had problems with the zippers they must know what there doing.

[hutzelbein]

Up until the release of the current XLC version, Warbonnet has been using YKK #3 zippers. These are quality zippers that are used by many other hammock and tent manufacturers. They have truly stood the test of time. You'll still find YKK zippers on the Ridgerunner and regular Blackbird.

However, YKK doesn't seem to make separating zippers of the kind that's necessary to make nets and top covers not just removable and exchangeable but also flipable. That's why Dutch started making one. Warbonnet apparently makes their own version. I, too, don't like the looks of the new XLC / Eldorado zippers. Sometimes the zipper teeth are not cut or molded cleanly; the handles don't feel as robust as the YKK handles and I have been wondering how long it will take until one snaps; and the zipper is prone to hitching if you don't pull or push into the right direction. By the way, I have the same niggles about the Dutch zippers. However, since the introduction of the XLC Gen 2, Warbonnet has probably been selling thousands of XLCs, and I have yet to read about a zipper failure. So they seem to be holding up better than I would have expected. I guess if you want to be able to switch nets and top covers and also want to flip them, you have to live with non-YKK zippers.

Still, I wish YKK would make zippers like that - and I wish Warbonnet would make a Blackbird XL (no C). No fancy zipper functions needed for a simple hammock.

[Batvik]

Up until the release of the current XLC version, Warbonnet has been using YKK #3 zippers. These are quality zippers that are used by many other hammock and tent manufacturers. They have truly stood the test of time. You'll still find YKK zippers on the Ridgerunner and regular Blackbird.

However, YKK doesn't seem to make separating zippers of the kind that's necessary to make nets and top covers not just removable and exchangeable but also flipable. That's why Dutch started making one. Warbonnet apparently makes their own version. I, too, don't like the looks of the new XLC / Eldorado zippers. Sometimes the zipper teeth are not cut or molded cleanly; the handles don't feel as robust as the YKK handles and I have been wondering how long it will take until one snaps; and the zipper is prone to hitching if you don't pull or push into the right direction. By the way, I have the same niggles about the Dutch zippers. However, since the introduction of the XLC Gen 2, Warbonnet has probably been selling thousands of XLCs, and I have yet to read about a zipper failure. So they seem to be holding up better than I would have expected. I guess if you want to be able to switch nets and top covers and also want to flip them, you have to live with non-YKK zippers.

Still, I wish YKK would make zippers like that - and I wish Warbonnet would make a Blackbird XL (no C). No fancy zipper functions needed for a simple hammock.

Ok, that explains it. I still think the warbonnet would bennefit from using the zippers from the Hennessy Explorer deluxe zip. Awsome zippers, never locks up and super smooth!

[hutzelbein]

Ok, that explains it. I still think the warbonnet would bennefit from using the zippers from the Hennessy Explorer deluxe zip. Awsome zippers, never locks up and super smooth!

According to the Hennessy website, they are using #10 YKK zippers. Those are ginourmous and totally unnecessary: the standard #3 YKK zippers never lock and run super smooth as well, but they are lighter and cheaper. I don't know what Hennessy expects their customers to do with their hammocks, but if you don't plan to throw your hammock in the mud every other day, the zippers are total overkill.

And as I said, YKK does make zippers that can be separated, but afaik they cannot be flipped. And I think the available lengths might be a problem, too. Since Warbonnet is using YKK zippers on their other hammocks that don't feature separating nets, I would be surprised if they did not look into the available YKK zippers.

If you really think you need #10 YKK zippers, you will probably have to forgo the detachable net.