How to fix a sleeping bag zipper
Learning how to fix a sleeping bag zipper can be one of the most frustrating tasks for a camper. This is because it’s easy to accidentally puncture the zipper when you are sleeping and make yourself sick with all the bacteria from your own sweat. If you find that you have punctures in your sleeping bag, then you need to fix them as soon as possible so that they don’t turn into a home for bacteria. Fortunately, this is an easy task that doesn’t take much time or any special tools.
The zipper of your sleeping bag is located above the exterior side of the bag. Most of the sliders on the zipper are made out of nylon; these nylon sliders are what catch the moisture that you produce while you are sleeping. If these nylon sliders get wet, they will swell up and become useless; this is why it’s important to always check to make sure that the zipper is still working properly.
If you have a punctured zipper slider, then you should remove the old zipper and lubricate the new one using some pliers. Start off by pulling the zipper straight down from the fabric. Make sure that you don’t bend the fabric in any way. Once you have the zipper completely out, pull it snugly against the body of the bag. You may need to use some hand weights if you have a weaker arm. This is especially true if the zipper slider was really skinny.
The next step is to pull the zipper back in place using the end nipper tool. Once the zipper is all the way in, you will be left with two pieces: the old zipper and the new one. The first thing that you should do is cut off about a quarter-inch of the fabric. However, if you are worried about ruining the elastic, then you can just use a sharp pair of scissors to cut off the excess material.
Next, you will have to separate the two pieces of material by inserting the needle-nose pliers into both pieces of the fabric. The zipper sliders will be located between the pockets on the bag. Once you have the zipper sliders out of the way, you can pull the two pieces of material together and the stopper should come out with them. You will then be left with a zipper and a stopper.
If the zipper slider is not attached correctly, you will have to use some needle-nose pliers to remove it. However, if the zipper slider already attaches properly, you can just re-insert the needle-nose pliers. Once you have the zipper in its proper position, you will need to turn the sleeping bag inside out, and lay it flat. With the pliers, pull the zipper to its loose position and pull it as far as it will go, keeping it lined up with the bottom part of the pocket. You should then pull the zipper back in, tightening it at the same time. Once it is all tight, snap both sides of the zipper closed, holding them open with pliers.
Another way to repair the zipper sliders is through the use of sewing or stitching. One way to do this is through sewing the edges of the zipper sliders together using an over sized sewing needle. After stitching, you should sew down the side of the bag in order to make it sit stitched to the bag. If you are going to stitch the zipper stopper, you can insert the bottom part of the zipper through the hole that is dug in the bottom of the bag, but it is not recommended that you sew down the entire zipper sliders.
After you have repaired the zipper properly, you will then need to remove the zipper from the sleeping bag and remove the stopper. Put the bag on a flat surface and remove the stopper and all of its grips. If there are any metal pieces on the bag that can be bent, use pliers to bend them. Once you have successfully removed the stopper, you can then attach the zipper to its desired location on the bag. You will then be able to slide the stopper back into its proper place and snap the clasp to hold it in place.