Zipper alternative

[Reid]

I have a down jacket that I ripped the zipper on. I made the mistake in cutting the zipper along with the length of fabric that it was attached too. I now have a 300$ pillow. Hook and loop would wear out. Buttons maybe reasonable. Snap buttons too. I'd hate to ruin the jacket anymore than it is just looking for some ideas if anyone has any. I usually will wear it under a shell so it just needs to close up enough that it's still usable and of course won't be too much of a problem if I'm wearing a pack in the morning with it. Maybe you can help. Thanks.

[mtnkngxt]

Sew 3/4 of the way up and then sew snaps the top 1/4. Make it a pull over. Save some weight and you still have a great jacket.

[JAK]

Pullover with a hook and loop at the top maybe. When it wears out, fix it.

[mudhead]

Go to a fabric store. Show them. I bet they could fix you up with some snaps like you find on some ladies clothing. (Velcro pulls sock loops...)

[Reid]

Sew 3/4 of the way up and then sew snaps the top 1/4. Make it a pull over. Save some weight and you still have a great jacket.

I think I can pull that off. That's probably what I'll try. I've already taken it to a sewing shop and after we got our languages straight they wanted about 50 bucks to do it so I'm just gonna do it myself. Function over form.

[Pringles]

I had to replace a zipper in a tent. A lady who makes a living repairing and sewing things suggested that I sew a new zipper to the tape (the stiff fabric beside the zipper), then once that was attached, cut off the old zipper. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you did to your jacket, but I found putting in the replacement zipper was pretty easy when I didn't have to tear out the old and then fuss with making it all fit neatly. Also, if it's a $300 jacket, it might be worth the $50 repair. ???

[Bare Bear]

When hiking zippers go bad (sounds like a Jerry Springer episode) use dive gear XYY Zippers to replace them. Bigger, stronger and easier to zip and unzip. Never a problem and I have gear that is going on 30 years old now and still works fine.

[Dogwood]

If your jacket is mainly used as an inner or middle layer piece you could remove the zip and replace with plastic UL snaps which would save a bit of wt. However it will not be as windproof, etc if used as an outer layer.

You don't say how old the piece is but if you are going to drop $300 on a piece of gear I would buy it from a reputable gear company like ProLite, REI, Backcountry, etc who will let you exchange it, offer credit towards something else, or help you repair it.

[turtle fast]

When I read the thread I thought we had an Amish hiker who was replacing the zipper with hook and loop. I was going to suggest what Pringles said. For a $300 jacket though I would pay the $50...you could of said "how about $30" or "I only have $30". Most of the time they would do it...times are tough for them too!

[mdbuckman]

have you thought about omnitape?