By: Peter January 13, 2010

SMAn, I agree with you about the zip being difficult to engage - I think TNF 'threw the baby out with the bathwater' with the zip on the Himalayan, in the sense that they chose to use a 'waterproofed' type of zip which (I guess because of the very fine tolerances of the laser-cut vinyl 'shield') utilises very fine teeth. I, like you, feel that this was an unwise design compromise, given that the jacket is aimed at serious mountaineering use and if you're in a white-out or in a force 10 gale, you do not have the time, dexterity or visibility to faff about trying to engage a fiddly zip. I would rather have an easy-to-engage large-toothed zip, without vinyl waterproofing strip, and rely on the outer baffle to protect the zip. However, in spite of this, I have found that there is a knack to engaging the zip and it involves NOT holding the zip-puller down while you feed in the left-hand side of the zip. This is counter-intuitive, I know, but it helps enormously. I have to actively resist the temptation to tension the zip-puller down when feeding in the left-hand portion of the zip. Only AFTER I have fed in the lefthand portion of the zip do I then touch the zip-puller. I have also found that lubricating the zip makes a HUGE difference in it's ease of use AND in the ease with which it can initially be engaged. I used candle wax but, if you are exceedingly careful, you could try to coat it with silicone wax, taking great care not to get any on the adjacent material. Alternatively, you could try graphite, if you don't care about the occasional 'pencil' mark rubbing off onto your other layers of clothing. To do this, simply rub pencil lead along the zip surfaces. As far as the collar clasp goes, my first reaction to it was that it was superfluous but I came to realise that there are times when other layers beneath the jacket make the neck too tight to efficiently close the zip. In these circumstances, the clasp is very useful as it takes over where the zip leaves off. I do wish the clasp was adjustable though... The drawstrings are another point I agree with you about - however, I have other TNF jackets with this issue and they all have a simple, identical, solution - simply find your desired adjustment and then tie a knot in the elastic, right up to the plastic spring-clip, so that it can't possibly release any cord through its jaws. I almost never need to alter the adjustment once I am happy with it, so this solution works 99% of the time and I'm completely happy with it. Overall, despite the zip issues, I feel this jacket has a plethora of positive points and although I share your enthusiasm for TNF changing the zip in future incarnations of the Himalayan, I nonetheless feel that the curret incarnation of the Himalayan has so many positive points that they FAR outweigh the zip issue. NO jacket is 100% perfect and I feel the cash I spent on a Himalayan was worth it.

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes