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  • #16460
    David Webb
    General Member

    I recently had the zipper on my concertina bag fail. It would zip up to a certain point and then break (open and non-zipped after the break). Normal, run-of-the-mill nylon zipper. I inspected the teeth near the break with much scrutiny and head scratching – saw and felt nothing (no weird bumps, damage, rough spots, gremlins, etc). After much cursing, I did some searching and found this video that worked perfectly. Spoiler: the issue isn’t with the teeth, but the slider. The fix was a gentle squeeze with pliers on the back end (square part), both sides, of the slider which makes it engage the teeth more aggressively. Time will tell how long the fix lasts, but so far so good.

    Hope this helps someone.

     

    #16463
    Jerome Daoust
    General Member

    That is a great tip. I learned it from a wedding dress repair place, when I took in a rucksack for a zipper replacement, and the guy fixed it in an instant, with the same advice of “don’t over-squeeze”.

    The other thing that happens often with coiled zippers is that tiny grains of dirt/rock jam the teeth in a few areas along the zipper. Best not to use Silicone lubricant, even the “dry” type (many recommend  this) as it will “invite” more particles to stick, but instead flick/shake/vibrate the area to dislodge embedded particles. Works better than using a brush (without vibration) to clean the zipper teeth.

    From motorcycle jackets, I learned that despite my dislike of coiled zippers (preferring the “Vislon” molded teeth), coiled is more durable (reference). So coiled zipper are a good fit for rucksacks or concertina bags (one can avoid zippers altogether) exposed to dirt and bending.

    Happy zippering.

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