I have two pairs of Tourmaster Venture riding pants. They are really great in the cold of winter. Within the same week, both pairs had the front zipper come apart. Bad luck!
I’m sure it didn’t have anything to do with me wearing a thick sweater tucked into my riding pants stressing out the zipper… ;)
I made a couple calls and had quotes from $20-$40 per zipper to repair/replace. Too expensive. I figured I could fix it myself somehow.
The first pair took me 20 minutes (including taking the photos) to fix and the second was a bit more stubborn and took 30 minutes. I only spent $6 on the supplies to do it too!
The first step was to remove the little metal stop at the bottom of the zipper.
This gives a bit of wiggle room to move the slide to the bottom and re-align the zipper teeth.
The first pair was easy. I just pulled the zipper up about 1/4” on one side which gave me enough fabric to twist it into the slide.
With the zipper fixed and the slide working as expected, I needed to replace the metal stop.
I tried to get it back on with a needle nose pliers, but couldn’t get it.
I bought a cheap sewing kit
and carefully sewed the end of the zipper together to make a new stop.
It works good as new and looks pretty clean to me.
I had a hard time putting the second pair’s zipper back on, so expanded the exposed edge of the slide and forced it on that way. I lost about 1/4” of the bottom of the zipper, and just sewed it up like the first pair.
A fun little project for tonight and a good excuse to use my cheap macro lens on the T2i! :)
UPDATE: My first repair is still going strong. The second one didn’t hold, so I’m going to have it fixed under the warranty.
Chris....nice WWID moment there!
ReplyDeletedom
for non-uralisti: WWID: What Would Ivan Do?
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Thanks Dom. Did you get yours back yet?
ReplyDeleteChris, no not yet....more on that later but you can safely assume that particular shop won't get my business in the future.
ReplyDeleteDear Chris:
ReplyDeleteInteresting repairs you made (and great illustrations) of the process. Have a buasted zipper in many regards is just like not wearing the garmet at all — especially when it comes to cutting the draft. I purchased an Icon mesh jacket in one of their largest sizes (as I was ponderously fat in the those days) and it was still a little constricting. I wore the jacket for one season, and the zipper ended up like one of my marriages. (Both sides went different ways.)
This happened across the street from a store that sold gear for horses, and I simply bought three of the largest safety pins you ever saw. I used them for three weeks and then just replaced the jacket with a better fitting one from Joe Rocket.
Good post tonight on a topic that eventually applie to everyone.
Fondest regards,
Jack • Reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Chris:
ReplyDeleteI had a new Joe Rocket Alter-Ego riding pants where the zipper separated. I was going to fix it myself then thought I would void the warranty if I fiddled with it an made it worse. So I sent it back and they gave me a new one. So far so good. If the zipper goes out again, I'll just send it to you
bob
Wet Coast Scootin
Nice CH! My Frogg Toggs jacket zipper doesn't work, not a good thing for your rain gear! Gonna see if I can do some hacking like this on it...
ReplyDeleteMy first repair held (no warranty), but the second did not. The second pair is still under warranty and is now being replaced. One of the seams started to come out too. No good!
ReplyDeleteDom: Disappointing. It's hard to find good Ural help.
Jack:
Yes, broken zipper on pants in November leads to frosty nuts. Not fun! I have a hilarious mental image of you with giant safety pins in your coat.
Bob: No warranty left on the one pair, so I thought I'd try it. Sure, I'll try. LOL. You'll just have to bring it in person :)
Bash3r: No zipper on rain gear wouldn't be any fun. You may consider adding some wax/silicon to the thread after the repair to restore the waterproofness. Otherwise it may leak at the repair, and leaky rain gear is no fun!
Thanks
ReplyDelete