Originally Posted by
BillyBob58
My guess is: extremely rare. But, as SilvrSurfr's post confirms, it does happen. Now, consider that long back country trip( say deep into the Wind River Mountain wilderness areas of WY). Where not only am I risking a shortened trip, but I am several days hike from my car or even a bail out spot. So if the mosquitoes are raging, even if I bail out I am stuck with a couple of miserable nights before I can get to my car. That is the stated reason why old Ed Speer chose Velcro as the closure for his Pea Pod. He was of the opinion that- apparently based on his extensive experience with long trips far from quick bail outs- that sooner or later zippers fail. The same is the reason for the bottom entry style Hennessy hammocks.
Then again, how catastrophic does it really have to be if the zipper fails and can't be repaired? And how difficult are they to repair? Before the wonders of picaridin and permethrin, back in DEET only days, I spent 30 days straight in super bad mossy country with no net, other than a head net. No netted tent or hammock, just a tarp. Now I would count that as miserable, and was longing for a netted shelter, but I did not have to end the trip. Which would have been crazy to even consider because that was the normal way those trips were done. We all knew the mossies would be bad, but tarps, DEET and head nets it was. I would probably never choose to do a net free 30 day summer trip again, but the point is: if the zipper fails, do I really have to bail? Or can it be repaired?
And one of the main contributors to the misery was the nasty DEET itself. But, I have now done trips with no nets in bad mossy country with no real issues, and no bites, just using permethrin and picaridin. The main blessing of the picaridin is I find it so much more pleasant to use than DEET. I did one multi day trip to the Sawtooth mountains of ID first week of Sept. When I have done these trips this time of year in the nearby Winds of WY, I have never had Mossy trouble(but they will carry you off in June), so I was surprised to find them swarming in the Sawtooths. I had no net, just my Claytor No Net with a Speer Pea Pod, and it was not cold enough most nights to really close up the pod. I found myself being envious of my friend's college age son who had borrowed one of my HH Super Shelters for his bottom entry HH. I had net envy, because I was paranoid about bites every night. But between the permethrin and picaridin, I had no reason to worry: not a single bite.
So, I'm not sure if I need to be that much concerned with the zipper for a net malfunctioning? Then again, some non zip net system is available and easy enough to use, so why not?
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