This is my favourite Rab jacket. Someone who shall remain nameless closed a door on it and crushed the zip.
As you can see the plate from the back has broken off and now there's nothing to hold the 2 sides together when you start tugging.
I don't know anything about zip mechanics. Is this fixable? It's not really useable in this weather with no zip.
Front. Fine.
Back. Broken.
I reckon not. Same happened to me on occassions.
Zips should be serviceable.
You could your local sewing room to replace the zip.
Or sew a velcro strip yourself.
Sucks.
No idea about zipper mechanics, but there's loads of stuff on Amazon that might do it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/zipper-repair-kit/s?k=zipper+repair+kitykk
YKK are one of the bigger zip manufacturers so you might be able to buy a new one and find a clothing repair person to sew it on.
Rab also offer a repair service
https://rab.equipment/uk/service-centre-products/repairs?
Yes you can, I've done it on my daughter's jacket after someone (who shall remain nameless) shut a door on it. Might depend on the type of zip. But search for "zip puller" on eBay using the number on the back of your puller and find one for a plastic zip.
I removed one of the teeth right at the top of the zip to slide the new puller on, then put a stitch over it so that it wouldn't pull off again (although the tooth I removed is so high up that you probably can't pull that far anyway). good luck🤞
Yes and no. It it was the slider you damaged then that should be replaceable. Getting the part is the hardest bit though I have taken one from another coat in the past. The end box is much harder. You can buy various kits on ebay/amazon but I've had very limited success with those. Often the similar looking parts are just that bit different meaning both box and insert need to be changed which is very difficult to do.
I'd find somewhere that does repairs as it might need a bit more skill to make it solid and reliable.
Rab have a repair service. Alpkit do as well but a quick check suggests it is £80 for a zip which is a bit much for an older jacket. I know I use a local repair/sewing shop and they would be far cheaper. Normally just charge for materials and time.
As above send it back to RAB
Not really useful in true stw style but my Mrs would put a new zip in that in 10 minutes. You can just buy a new whole zip, problem of course is finding someone to put it in. But in the last week I've spotted two sew repair shops in my local town, so maybe it is a thing now.
I've an arcteryx jacket on zip 3, my work jacket is on zip 4. It's a shame that something like a broken zip can write off a otherwise decent jacket
my local sewing repair place does zip repairs. it certainly possible
What chambord said ^^
I make a lot of cushions using zipping where the zipper head has to be threaded on. You will need a new head, then unpick the top and open this up. Snip off the very top to allow you to thread the head onto the actual zipper teeth. Push one side up through the head, then the other until they are equal (its tricky to try and thread them both together, however I work with plastic and not metal). Over sew the bit you have snipped off on each side to stop fraying and the head accidentally coming out at the top.
I don't know how easy it will be to snip the top bit off in a tidy way. Hopefully the internet will show, or a sewing repair place, or local repair cafe can help.
I struggled to get past 'when you start tugging' in the OP but that's my puerile sense of humour at work...
Yes you can replace the puller as described above. It doesn't always go well and I'm usually a bit concerned about it's reliability afterwards. Not good if it's a pukka mountain jacket being used in anger.
I also had the lady seamstress round the corner replace a zip in a favourite gilet after a failed repair by me. £20 of your post Brexit British pounds and it's as good as new.
Lastly, the manufacturers usually have a repair service. Boghouse were FOC last I looked which is not helping here I know, just an example. Mr Carrington's former empire is Sheffield based I think so they should be able to help.
There you go, 3 options plus the nuclear 'buy a new one'.
You could probably fashion a repair with that scoobydoo moulding putty stuff. Failing that,
https://lancashiresportsrepairs.co.uk/
With no disrespect to seamstresses, I would expect a technical garment to require technical know-how to repair without compromising performance. Could be wrong of course.
The sewing place near me has a supply of sliders that are to be used as spares - they are set up0 to be crimped on to the zip. its very straightforward . No cutting or anything required apart from removing the old slider. the new one is put in place and crimped on. I have had it done several times
Replacing the whole zip is not simple - half the garment needs to be dismantled and unpicked - again I have had this done. slider replacement £5. Zip replacement £25 - 40
I'm sure one of the many kits on eBay/Amazon/etc. would yield a replacement end stop to crimp on - replacing the whole zip seems a lot of unnecessary work. I'm not convinced the eBay one linked above wouldn't work - yes, the picture shows a coil zip, but we're not talking about replacing the slider, that's fine. An end stop and "insertion pin" of the right size will work. Just measure up carefully and compare photos to get the closest match.
A lot of people talking about replacing the slider/puller when that's not the bit that's broken.
The slider and teeth are fine. Google tells me it's the 'starting box' that's broken and the name makes sense.
I was hoping for a DIY kit or spare part but I've discovered a local-ish outdoor clothing repair place that I can try.
There's also the Rab service centre which I was hoping would be in Sheffield but is actually Northwich.
Plenty of options. I'm not binning it yet it's in otherwise mint condition.
Rab outlet in alfreton take in repairs don’t know if they do the repairs on site
Rab’ll fix it. You can even buy it online. I sent mine back and it was quick and cheap
https://rab.equipment/uk/down-and-synthetic-repairs
From what I could see in the photo, it’s a weatherproof zip with a hard cover over the teeth that closes up tight behind the actual zip in order to prevent water seeping or being blown through the teeth. That’s a complicated design that needs a specialist seamstress who knows how those things work, so best to send it back to the people who are intimately familiar with the process and can do a professional job of repairing it. Considering how much a new jacket can cost, £40 or thereabouts or even £50-60 is worth paying to get years more wear from it.