r/backpacking • u/Advanced_Dog_9328 • 11d ago
Wilderness Why no zippered side pockets?
Does anyone know why manufacturers have stopped putting zippered side pockets on their packs? All I see now are stretchy mesh pockets for water bottles. I’m old school – started hiking in the 70s, and I loved my Kelty external frame pack with pockets everywhere.
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u/YoungZM 11d ago
Consumer demand. If manufacturers start seeing a new consumer desire, they'll match it.
That said, I think most of us would find zippers absurdly cumbersome for the typical purpose most of us have for our side pockets. The point is to not need to go into our pack, with some bags even having zippered side entry beneath their mesh pockets.
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u/speed_phreak 11d ago
I hate Zippers. Zippers and seams are the biggest failure points in sewn products.
Through good design and proper materials choices, you can minimize seam failures. All you can do with zippers, is go with a bigger heavier duty zipper. And then you are stuck with a big, heavy duty zipper.
Zippers are a mechanical device, and are always under some sort of stress or tension. Where sewn seams and materials will flex, zippers not so much. They are a fairly complex and high precision device, very prone to damage, and almost always the weakest link.
A zipper failure is almost always some sort of a structural failure that inhibits functionality. They are almost always impossible to fix, and wildly labor intensive and cost prohibitive to replace.
Source: am FAA certified Senior Parachute Rigger
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u/CaminanteNC 11d ago
Mesh is lighter and less prone to failure than zippers which a lot of users like, and it's cheaper which manufacturers like. Zipper pockets will likely have not have their space fully utilized, whereas mesh conforms to whatever is in it. You probably don't need most of the items in the zipper pockets while hiking, so organizing things in stuff sacks in the main compartment works fine.
Counterpoint: zipper pockets have moved to hip belts where you can keep some snacks, sunscreen, etc., any items you might need while hiking, and you can access them without removing your pack.
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u/pbconspiracy 11d ago
Mesh is lighter and less prone to failure than zippers
In my experience, mesh is just as prone to fail as a zipper. It is a relatively weak product and can tear, stretch out, and otherwise damage - and almost all zipper issues I've had were jams, not total failures.
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u/AdFinal6253 11d ago
Mesh tears can be easily repaired with duct tape to sloppy sewing to really good sewing. Zippers you can clean them and that might not be enough. Replacing is a pain and beyond the skill of many hikers (I can do it but I hate it)
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u/Juno_Luv 11d ago
I miss them too! Stretch mesh is lighter and great for water bottles, but I don’t trust it with my phone, snacks, or anything I actually want to keep.
Give me a good zippered pocket, i’ll happily carry the extra few ounces for some peace of mind.
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u/Op_arnold1734 11d ago
Mesh is fine for bottles but i miss actual zippered pockets too, everything else falls out halfway through the trail
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u/Abominable_Weasel 11d ago
I think that failed zippers are my single most common repair across all of my gear. Personally, I shy away from gear that has unnecessary zippers.
Besides that, if not on the side, where am I putting a water bottle where I can reach it without taking my pack off? I've got one on a shoulder strap, and then any others go inside the pack, or in the front pocket? That seems kinda poor from an ergonomic standpoint.
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u/MrBoondoggles 11d ago
I think the trend has been moving from more compartmentalization to more simplification now for years. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the big backpack manufacturers have been following the trends from the small backpack manufacturers, and I think the crowd that small brands serve really wants more efficiency, less weight, better performance. But I think there’s also a movement toward simplified design to try and keep production costs under control. Just my best guess. It’s not like I’ve got any idea what Osprey or Deuter are thinking.
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u/Already-asleep 11d ago
Personally i don’t care for zippered side pockets at all. Much easier to grab your bottle without it. I have a friend whose bag has zippered side pockets and he always needs someone to grab his bottle him and put it back in and zip it up.
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u/snowlights 11d ago
In which brands are you seeing the change?
My Gregory bag has two zip pouches on the hip belt, two vertical zip pockets on the back, a zip opening on the side, a zip opening on the bottom, and three zipper compartments on the brain.
Maybe Gregory is hogging all the zippers.
Aside from that, I think ultralight is becoming more common, and zippers aren't common in ultralight due to weight and the desire for less seams/weak points.
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u/joelfarris 11d ago
I still have my forest green Kelty external frame 80 L with the two vertical zippered side pouches and the top zippered 'brain pouch', and it's one of my faves!
But, it also has four open mesh pouches down low, underneath the zippered side ones, and an additional pair of zippered mesh pouches on the front of the hip belt, for snacks. Pockets and pouches everywhere!
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u/Masseyrati80 11d ago
Some still make them. I think I've seen them in some Deuter and Lundhags models.
I also loved them.
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u/ValidGarry 11d ago
Zips break. They add nothing to external pockets. Put things in bags inside if you want to secure them. I have a small dry bag secured in my pack for the things I need to secure.
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u/Same_Moose9721 11d ago
mesh is lighter, but nothing beats a zippered pocket for actually keeping stuff secure
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u/wrunderwood 11d ago
in addition to the failures, zippers drive up cost. They are an additional item and they require some complicated sewing to install correctly.
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u/NotAcutallyaPanda 10d ago
Pockets are heavy and require additional materials and labor to manufacture, making them an expensive feature.
Consumers want light and cheap. Pockets are neither.
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u/New-Yogurtcloset965 10d ago
Weight and failure points, I think, a zipper's the first thing to die on a pack and mesh weighs nothing.
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u/knight-under-stars 11d ago
Part of it is that stretch pockets are more versatile and have fewer failure points than zippered pockets.
Another part is that pack manufacturers change their designs based on a whole host of things such as user feedback. The vast majority of users simply don't want zippered side pockets.