Backwards zippers on foulies?

[tstano]

Now sit down so I can explain it to you, it’s done that way so you can keep a firm hand on the helm while zipping up or down.

[Oyster406]

Originally Posted by capt jgw

I never figured out how Brit’s got used to shifting left handed, it would seem odd to me.

But a backwards zipper would annoy me no end

And I'm sure the Brits get just as confused when they drive over here. On the other hand, the rest of Europe drives on the right so most Brits are probably used to it.[/QUOTE]



We just blame Napoleon! (Look it up)

[Ozwizz54]

You're correct, Bill, and that was my point. It all works - jacket still fastens, it still keeps the wind and rain out and the sun off - so it's a moot point in reality. Just got to train the left hand to do what the right did before. A minor adjustment really.


However, I do understand that we have conventions for a reason though sometimes the reason is obsolete. The manufacturer is probably in China or Vietnam or India, and they probably don't care or it's just cheaper to have a single, standardised zipper.



BTW, here in Oz our zippers work from the bottom up unlike those of our trans-Tasman cousins.


I just checked as I have both a Burke and a Helly Hansen foulie. Both are left side sliding cars. So is my Irish oilskin jacket. Looks like females and lefties are taking over. 😉

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Ozwizz54

......

I just checked as I have both a Burke and a Helly Hansen foulie. Both are left side sliding cars. So is my Irish oilskin jacket. Looks like females and lefties are taking over. 😉

Thought provoking thread

I can't remember ever seeing a zipper with right hand sliding car so I had a quick look at all the zippers around the place. I stopped after about 20 zips - all had a left side car. Some female and some male garments and some new and others old .

I guess this is a case of YMMV.

[fivecapes]

When you thread a needle, which hand do you use to hold the thread (if you're right handed)?

Same logic applies, nothing to do with whether you drive on the left or right, your gender, or where it's made.

[CassidyNZ]

Actually the reason why women’s garments have left-sided zips springs from Medieval English aristocracy.

Fasteners (in those days, buttons) were more difficult to do up the “wrong way round” and because the ladies of the aristocracy were dressed by ladies-in-waiting who would obviously be standing facing them, the buttons were reversed to make it easier for them to do up their lady’s garments. Folks from lesser social levels then also wanted their garments made that way for fear of being seen as peasants.

The tradition of reversing the buttons on women’s clothing continued into modern times when zippers took over.

Oh, and there is no such thing as a left-hand zipper, it is just the pockets and folds in the garment that are opposite. Zippers are fully ambidextrous but to work with a zipper installed the other way round is more difficult for right-handed men because the “clever” hand is left holding the standing part whilst the “dumb” hand is left with the technical stuff like inserting the tongue into the slide.

Score one for left-handed men.

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Score one for left-handed men.

And... we lefty sailors get a second point when we pick up a sextant. We do the grunt work of holding the thing with our right hand while doing the delicate work of adjusting the position of the index arm with our dexterous left hand. Then, while still holding the sextant in the right hand, we write down the time and the reading with our free left hand. Our work finished, we grab the instrument from its face side with our skilled left hand and carefully return it to its case.

I have never seen a sextant so conveniently made for a right handed person.

Bill

[Cap Bill Des]

This is Bill, the OP. I had no idea there would be so many thoughts on this topic! Wonderful.

There actually is a reason why the "backwards" zipper annoyed me in the store. The previous evening, while washing dishes, we were surprised by a 50-knot squall with a wind shift of over 90 degrees while anchored in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island. I had never experienced a boat heel over so hard at anchor! In as very few seconds as possible I put on my 15 year-old foulies to get out in the cockpit to warm the engine in case we started dragging. A boat in front of us dragged past us and the next two hours were tense.

Unfortunately my 15 year-old gear leaked. But it was so important to get dressed fast!
My concern is that I could not get dressed so fast with a zipper backwards of every one I have ever used in 60 years.

However, it appears from the wisdom of the forum I have only two choices:
- get used to it
Or
- wear the new jacket inside out and zip it from top to bottom while driving a stick shift on the wrong side in the Southern hemisphere.

I will ponder this choice while standing in the next rainstorm in my old leaky gear...

[Montanan]

Well you could just purchase the upside down zippered foulies, the zip from the top down to the waist. I think they were developed Down-under. They may not be not backwards as to your perception of left / right orientation - correct / wrong orientation.

Or you could just let your spouse assist dressing you. And if you ask nicely, maybe your spouse might even tie your boat shoe laces.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Oyster.

[schrater]

The “wrong” side you speak of is the standard in Europe. It’s only in the US that men’s zippers are standard on the right. I agree it takes some getting used to, but it’s not that hard if you drop the right/wrong bias.

[split]

usually an external harness or life jacket are worn over foulies...zipping up to open makes easier when relieving oneself and can be zipped open far enough without having to remove everything

[Surrymark]

European zipper protocol, I believe.

And what's with this forum? "What's best - wood or fiberglass?" "What's the best boat for a round-the-world?" "Why does a gust turn my boat?" But the answers are generous: gracious group, I guess.

[CaptJPMcGuire]

Designed for your servants to dress you😜

[mlydon]

Shrater,
Zippers were invented and patented on the US. We made cloths with zippers on the right side. Then our buddies across the pond messed it all up... Now we're supposed to get used to it?

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