11 May 2012, 21:12
I finally ordered a second one and it has arrived. They offer two sizes now, M and L. After measuring my shoulders, I ordered M and it is almost exactly the size of the one I got first, a good start! Since I had many troubles with the first one, I was quite intested to see, if I could use the new one "out of the box".
On the first try, the zipper acted up a little bit but then opened easily.
I examined the zipper then and found nothing bad. I thought, it might have been slightly caught in a t-shirt, that I shouldn't have worn underneath. Furthermore, the collar seemed a bit tighter than on the old bolero.
On the second attempt, without a t-shirt, the collar strap got to rest on top of the original collar of the bolero, i.e. on top of the zipper. As a result, the bolero collar bent down and I was not able to open the zipper at all. Doh, technical failure, not even arousing, I was annoyed only! I tried various methods to get the collar strap on top of the zipper, but in vain. Finally, I found another release method, which puts wrists, shoulders and also the bolero itself in danger, but it did work for me: the opening between bolero and arm bag is fairly large, although - under normal conditions - high enough to be completely out of reach. Anyway, I wriggled my right arm up, with heavy pressure on my hard-bent wrist, into box-tie position, then a little bit further. At this point, I got this special stingy pain in the wrist that tells you to stop doing what you are doing, and so I worked that arm down again. At this attempt, I had to struggle with a lot of folds in the material, so when I tried the same with the left arm, I straightened the bolero with the right arm and this was more comfortable. There was still quite some pressure on the left wrist, but within reasonable limits. I actually got up to the opening and worked my forearm out, which pushed heavily on my shoulder. The rest was easy: Carefully, I tried to stretch my arm, looking for a position that pressed against the bolero as little as possible. I did hear the seams aching, but the bolero held tight and I still got the arm out. Of course, opening the zipper and collar strap was easy now.
Well! I apparently found a new way out of this bolero. I had tried this on the old one before, but of course with less motivation. The pressure on the wrist of the escaping arm is enormous, you need to bend the hand towards the elbow to make the forearm shorter. It is clearly a matter of forearm length and flexibility. I think, if the bolero was just one or two centimeters less wide, I would have failed. I need to keep this in mind, when I eventually derive inescapable bondage scenarios involving this bolero.
I then compared both boleros a little more, especially the collars. Design and overall measurements are almost identical, probably within production limits. But there is one difference: When closing the collar strap, the collar of the old bolero fits exactly against the strap, while the collar of the new bolero has some slack. I suppose, this is the problem, the collar has the same slack against my neck then, and can bend. By the way, the buckle of the old bolero always tickled my neck, so I tried to work it down while wearing the bolero. So I noticed, that the strap was always partially covering the collar and the zipper line. Not so with the new bolero.
This turned out to be very interesting, more test are required though, but I will do that later, don't feel like getting stuck once more the same way tonight. Size definitely matters, and the "harmony" in length of the collar strap and the collar of the bolero. I will make one more test, where I will close the strap less tight. This might solve the problem right away, or at least allow me to use shoulders and hands to straighten the collar, which should prevent it from bending and let me open the zipper. And there is something else: I have used quite a short string on the zipper, which resulted in a wide angle between zipper and pulling direction when trying to open it again. With a longer string, I can change this angle, even pull almost parallel to the zipper. Perhaps the short string added to the trouble.
By the way: Don't ever think, that I rely on luck or like to play with hazards (I actually do like the idea of it, but I don't). I have a big tool box in my SB laboratory, including various scary knifes, pointed objects, screwdrivers, pincers, drills, scissors, etc. It would probably have taken me less than a minute to destroy the bolero if I had to.
On the first try, the zipper acted up a little bit but then opened easily.
I examined the zipper then and found nothing bad. I thought, it might have been slightly caught in a t-shirt, that I shouldn't have worn underneath. Furthermore, the collar seemed a bit tighter than on the old bolero.
On the second attempt, without a t-shirt, the collar strap got to rest on top of the original collar of the bolero, i.e. on top of the zipper. As a result, the bolero collar bent down and I was not able to open the zipper at all. Doh, technical failure, not even arousing, I was annoyed only! I tried various methods to get the collar strap on top of the zipper, but in vain. Finally, I found another release method, which puts wrists, shoulders and also the bolero itself in danger, but it did work for me: the opening between bolero and arm bag is fairly large, although - under normal conditions - high enough to be completely out of reach. Anyway, I wriggled my right arm up, with heavy pressure on my hard-bent wrist, into box-tie position, then a little bit further. At this point, I got this special stingy pain in the wrist that tells you to stop doing what you are doing, and so I worked that arm down again. At this attempt, I had to struggle with a lot of folds in the material, so when I tried the same with the left arm, I straightened the bolero with the right arm and this was more comfortable. There was still quite some pressure on the left wrist, but within reasonable limits. I actually got up to the opening and worked my forearm out, which pushed heavily on my shoulder. The rest was easy: Carefully, I tried to stretch my arm, looking for a position that pressed against the bolero as little as possible. I did hear the seams aching, but the bolero held tight and I still got the arm out. Of course, opening the zipper and collar strap was easy now.
Well! I apparently found a new way out of this bolero. I had tried this on the old one before, but of course with less motivation. The pressure on the wrist of the escaping arm is enormous, you need to bend the hand towards the elbow to make the forearm shorter. It is clearly a matter of forearm length and flexibility. I think, if the bolero was just one or two centimeters less wide, I would have failed. I need to keep this in mind, when I eventually derive inescapable bondage scenarios involving this bolero.
I then compared both boleros a little more, especially the collars. Design and overall measurements are almost identical, probably within production limits. But there is one difference: When closing the collar strap, the collar of the old bolero fits exactly against the strap, while the collar of the new bolero has some slack. I suppose, this is the problem, the collar has the same slack against my neck then, and can bend. By the way, the buckle of the old bolero always tickled my neck, so I tried to work it down while wearing the bolero. So I noticed, that the strap was always partially covering the collar and the zipper line. Not so with the new bolero.
This turned out to be very interesting, more test are required though, but I will do that later, don't feel like getting stuck once more the same way tonight. Size definitely matters, and the "harmony" in length of the collar strap and the collar of the bolero. I will make one more test, where I will close the strap less tight. This might solve the problem right away, or at least allow me to use shoulders and hands to straighten the collar, which should prevent it from bending and let me open the zipper. And there is something else: I have used quite a short string on the zipper, which resulted in a wide angle between zipper and pulling direction when trying to open it again. With a longer string, I can change this angle, even pull almost parallel to the zipper. Perhaps the short string added to the trouble.
By the way: Don't ever think, that I rely on luck or like to play with hazards (I actually do like the idea of it, but I don't). I have a big tool box in my SB laboratory, including various scary knifes, pointed objects, screwdrivers, pincers, drills, scissors, etc. It would probably have taken me less than a minute to destroy the bolero if I had to.
