diff --git a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerBytesWritable.java b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerBytesWritable.java
index 5ca7946..e042840 100644
--- a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerBytesWritable.java
+++ b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerBytesWritable.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.io.WritableComparator;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.genomix.data.KmerUtil;
+import edu.uci.ics.genomix.data.Marshal;
 
 /**
  * Fixed, static-length Kmer used as the key and edge values of each
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@
     public static int getKmerLength() {
         return lettersInKmer;
     }
-
+    
     public static int getBytesPerKmer() {
         return bytesUsed;
     }
@@ -333,13 +334,21 @@
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return super.hashCode() * 31 + lettersInKmer;
+        return Marshal.hashBytes(bytes, offset, bytesUsed);
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object right_obj) {
-        if (right_obj instanceof KmerBytesWritable)
-            return super.equals(right_obj);
+        if (right_obj instanceof KmerBytesWritable) {
+            // since these may be backed by storage of different sizes, we have to manually check each byte
+            KmerBytesWritable right = (KmerBytesWritable) right_obj;
+            for (int i=0; i < bytesUsed; i++) {
+                if (bytes[offset + i] != right.bytes[right.offset + i]) {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerListWritable.java b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerListWritable.java
index 995643e..b021e1d 100644
--- a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerListWritable.java
+++ b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/KmerListWritable.java
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@
 /**
  * A list of fixed-length kmers. The length of this list is stored internally.
  */
-	@Override
-	public int hashCode() {
-		return Marshal.hashBytes(getByteArray(), getStartOffset(), getLength());
-	}
 public class KmerListWritable implements Writable, Iterable<KmerBytesWritable>, Serializable {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
     protected static final byte[] EMPTY_BYTES = { 0, 0, 0, 0 };
@@ -252,4 +248,8 @@
         return sbuilder.toString();
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public int hashCode() {
+        return Marshal.hashBytes(getByteArray(), getStartOffset(), getLength());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/VKmerBytesWritable.java b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/VKmerBytesWritable.java
index 133724b..48fc388 100644
--- a/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/VKmerBytesWritable.java
+++ b/genomix/genomix-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/genomix/type/VKmerBytesWritable.java
@@ -329,9 +329,21 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean equals(Object right) {
-        if (right instanceof VKmerBytesWritable) {
-            return lettersInKmer == ((VKmerBytesWritable) right).lettersInKmer && super.equals(right); // compare bytes directly
+    public int hashCode() {
+        return Marshal.hashBytes(bytes, kmerStartOffset - HEADER_SIZE, bytesUsed + HEADER_SIZE);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object right_obj) {
+        if (right_obj instanceof VKmerBytesWritable) {
+            // since these may be backed by storage of different sizes, we have to manually check each byte, including the header
+            VKmerBytesWritable right = (VKmerBytesWritable) right_obj;
+            for (int i = -HEADER_SIZE; i < bytesUsed; i++) {
+                if (bytes[kmerStartOffset + i] != right.bytes[right.kmerStartOffset + i]) {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            return true;
         }
         return false;
     }