The zipper on my $80 jacket gave out after 3 months, I fixed it with a paperclip

So last week I was heading out to work and my favorite windbreaker's zipper just split at the bottom. It's an $80 jacket I got back in September, so I was pretty annoyed. I looked online and saw people saying to use a paperclip as a temporary pull tab, so I bent one into a little loop and hooked it through the zipper slider hole. Honestly... it worked way better than I expected. The zipper still slides fine, just need to pinch the track together manually first. Has anyone else done the paperclip trick longer term or should I just break down and get a new zipper installed?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisw731mo ago

I guess $80 just buys you a fancy paperclip holder these days, huh?

jadeg811mo ago

Walmart sells a little pack of zipper pulls for like 3 bucks, they come in different colors and you just pop the old slider hook out and snap the new one in. I've had one on my favorite hoodie for over a year now and it's held up through washes and everything. The paperclip trick is fine for a week or two but it'll eventually rust or snag on stuff. If the track itself is spreading apart when you zip, you can gently squeeze the bottom stop with pliers to tighten it back up. Otherwise check your local shoe repair place, they do zipper repairs cheap and fast.