UKC

Repair or replace

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 Dave the Rave 20 Feb 2021

Afternoon

Ive got a 6 teal old Rab Generator belay jacket and the zip has just failed at the bottom puller. Think it’s primaloft insulation?

Is it worth repairing this at the cost of £50 if its a new zip or just get a new one?

The main conundrum is whether the jacket will have lost much insulative property in the last 6 years? It’s not been hammered and hung up in a wardrobe when not in use, not left squashed in a rucksack.

What do you think?

Thanks Dave

 greg_may_ 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

I can’t thinking why you’d not repair it over shelling out for another jacket and chucking that one away?

2
 Rick Graham 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

£50 sounds about right for a professional repair. Over an hour unpicking the old zip and rebuilding the garment.

Alternatively buy or take a zip off another jacket .

Cut out a tooth to take the old puller off , keep it as it may come in to fix another zip .

Ask somebody with a domestic sewing machine for a favour. Sew the new zip onto the fabric of the old zip. Takes a couple of minutes.

Another option is give it to me , you can have it back if it doesn't fit . I have enjoyed your posts on here over the years.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

I think Alpkit is £30 for a new jacket zip. 

OP Dave the Rave 20 Feb 2021
In reply to greg_may_:

> I can’t thinking why you’d not repair it over shelling out for another jacket and chucking that one away?

Purely on the has it lost much insulation to warrant replacement over repair.

 Andy Hardy 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

> Purely on the has it lost much insulation to warrant replacement over repair.

Where would it have gone?

OP Dave the Rave 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Andy Hardy:

> Where would it have gone?

I’ve read bits on forums about them degrading in time and losing insulative quality rather than it escaping like some down products can? 
Ive seen something similar for a reasonable price that would only be £70 more than the cost of the repair.

Loathed to bin it if it’s repairable and still of sound insulation.

p.s Rik - if I choose to bin it I will send it to you for nowt. Cheers

 greg_may_ 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

The insulation will be fine.

 Rick Graham 20 Feb 2021
In reply to greg_may_:

> The insulation will be fine.

I would be surprised if its not OK.

 Graeme G 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

£50 for a zip??? Try a local tailor. Might not be same standard but I’m guessing it would be a load cheaper and will still give you a few more years out of the jacket.

OP Dave the Rave 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Graeme G:

> £50 for a zip??? Try a local tailor. Might not be same standard but I’m guessing it would be a load cheaper and will still give you a few more years out of the jacket.

Yeah, that’s a rough price from a gear repair company that I’ve used before. If it’s just the bottom slider then around £20 with postage.

The bottom slider is stiff to use. I’ve tried some WD which helped for a while and now the bottom few teeth won’t mesh.

Think I’ll give the repair a go. I was happy that the coat was warm standing in minus 2 the other week with a thin fleece under so daft to bin it really. Sometimes you can read too much tinternet

In reply to Andy Hardy:

> Where would it have gone?

It compresses. The fibres fracture, and you end up with a bag of dust.

My Thinsulate Liteloft salopette lines are a lot less lofty than when I first made them.

 misterb 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

Just sow the bottom half up and turn it into a smock, free other than a bit of time and some thread, I've done it to a few jackets over the years 

 k_os 20 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

Speak to Rab, they might do it cheaper. If not, buy Patagonia in the future, they'll do it for free (they repaired my 6 year old das parka for free, and it's lasted another 7 years).

A broken zip shouldn't end a jacket, especially one that hasn't been used heavily

Post edited at 23:29
 Mark Stevenson 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

I got the zip on a nice PHD minimus down jacket a professionally repaired a while ago and in that case it was fairly marginal whether it was worth it or not.

I certainly wouldn't be doing the same with my 7 or 8 year old RAB Generator Alpine synthetic jacket. It's nowhere near as warm now as it was when new and has been relagated from serious Winter use. 

Ignore those who don't seem to know what things actually cost in the real world. Even my local alterations place which is crazy cheap for most stuff charged me well over £30 for a proper full replacement (as opposed to the cop out of sewing the new zip onto the fabric of the old one) and that was about 5 years ago.  That's not counting the fact that for previous repairs before I found this place, I had ludicrous quotes or no interest in the job from multiple places locally or online.

People don't really want awkward jobs like that, so it's not something that you're likely to ever get a cheap quote for and any tailor or seamstress who's already busy is (at least from my experience) fairly likely just to fob you off. 

Loads of repairs are worthwhile if you're stuck at home over lockdown with the equipment and lots of free time, however as soon as something requires two lots of postage it rapidly becomes less viable.

As a fall back, always worth considering selling it cheaply online as it is. Someone with a sewing machine might want a bargain and you can put a few quid towards a new one. 

Post edited at 00:37
 Prof. Outdoors 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

It could be worth checking that you actually need a new zip. There is a DIY fix you may want to try first. If you look at the way the slider works there are two "rails" that pull the two sides of the zip close together so they interconnect. Quite often after usage these "rails" move apart and become too far apart for the teeth of the zip to fully interconnect properly. (Usual sign of this is a zip that will work but wearing the garment will produce enough movement that zip unpeels)

Start with the jacket totally unzipped. Have a good look at the slider and identify the "rails" that draw the zip together. Using a pair of plier carefully bring them closer together then try the zip again. If you press too hard the zip may not actually engage or be difficult to slide.

I haqve used this on a few zips in the past and the garments and one on a rucksack are still going.

 Baron Weasel 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

Try contacting Dirtbagsclimbing.co.uk

They fixed my wife's jacket for a very reasonable price last year to the point where I think they were under charging so paid them a bit extra. Really good job as well! 

 tjin 21 Feb 2021

I bought a zipper and manually replace the broken one on my jacket. Takes forever. But with limited things to do during Covid measures, you got to do something right?

Not the best-looking result on the inside, but did take time to make the stitching on the outside look good. Zipper was a fiver. Did upgrade to a double zipper.

OP Dave the Rave 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

If we ever meet I owe you a few pints.

I got some needle nosed pliers and squeezed the right side of both double sliders. No luck. 
Dis the same on the other side. Hey presto!

The bottom slider doesn’t slide now as it’s possibly too tight but not an issue.

The upper slider gets slightly harder to pull as it gets to mid way but I’ve lubed it and not an issue.

Thanks sooo much. Have a good year!

Dave

 Prof. Outdoors 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

No problem.

I'm afraid that the pints would be wasted on me as I am teetotal.

Have been for the past 37 years, 1 month, 20 days, 19 hours and 53 minutes ago but who's counting? Not going to the pub has meant that I can spare time into money saving repairs.

The sad news is that I am now so boring that people are warned not to drive or operate heavy machinery after talking to me.

 Martin Bennett 21 Feb 2021
In reply to misterb:

> Just sow the bottom half up and turn it into a smock, free other than a bit of time and some thread, I've done it to a few jackets over the years 

I did that with a HH Polar jacket in a schoolroom we were dossing in in the Kashmir Himalaya in 1977. I still have it.

 Martin Bennett 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Dave the Rave:

Ooh no - fix it. Generator was my first proper Primaloft jacket and is still my favourite having bought and sold half a dozen others. It's 10 years old and has been worn a great deal and been wet through and I don't detect any less warmth in it. I've just sought and found a hood to stitch onto it. There's a lady in the market place in my town would replace the zip in a jiffy and prob charge £20. I expect there's one in your town too. There's a tailor in a back street in Tafraoute Morocco who'd do it for a fiver! Here's hoping we'll be able to go to town and/or Morocco sometime soon.

OP Dave the Rave 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

Nahh. You are the geez! I’ll put a donation In somewhere topical if that’s ok? Sure you would approve. 

OP Dave the Rave 21 Feb 2021
In reply to Martin Bennett:

Cheers it’s all fixed thanks to the Prof.


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