UKC

Hi all,

I have a pair of mountain equipment waterproof trousers with full length water resistant zips. Unfortunately after some years of use the zips have gone on them. The sliders are buckled and one has snapped but the teeth of the zips are fine so I think it's just a case of replacing the slider which having done a bit of research looks easy enough to do.

Has anyone tried this before? The main problem I'm having is sourcing 5CN YKK sliders.

Any help or pointers appreciated.

In reply to RichJ634:

I find the first thing to wear out on most products is the zip.

Having a sewing machine, I usually just sew a new zip onto the old one, seal the seams/stitching and put a proper old style velcroed flap over the zip if needed.

Had no option but to buy waterproofs with "waterproof " zips recently, when they go, will probably get the same treatment.

Have ME not gone away from relying totally on a waterproof zip on their newer top end mountain gear?

Worth trying a puller if you can source them, but the teeth and puller will both be worn ( out ) to some extent.

In reply to RichJ634:

Try Lancashire Sports Repairs in Burnley.

In reply to RichJ634:

Replace with Velcro ?

In reply to RichJ634:
All thanks for your thoughts. I would like to retain the zips and I'm confident the teeth are in good enough condition to just warrant a slider replacement. The only thing that would persuade me to change the zip itself is if I could replace with VISLON.

Still struggling to locate YKK sliders that I need so I may contact the repair shops and ask if I can buy from them supply only.

In reply to RichJ634:

Do you know the model of trouser? You might get lucky and find someone with an old knackered pair you can cannibalise the zip from.

In reply to RichJ634:

https://m.joe-brown.com/25230/products/fixnzip-small-black.aspx

These of any use?

In reply to lewk_c:

Is that the price for 1?

In reply to RichJ634:

I've just replaced the slider on an old sleeping bag, which had a 5CN YKK slider. I got a slider off ebay - I'm in the US so it won't be the same seller. Etsy and Amazon are also worth a try. The replacement just said YKK 5 on it, rather than 5CN, and it works absolutely fine. I couldn't find 5CN either.

I used these excellent repair instructions, which made it very easy: http://www.patagonia.com/worn-wear-guide/?gid=19455&langid=en

In reply to RichJ634:

With regards the slider, you can ignore the 'N' in the code as that doesn't really matter, so ask around locally for YKK 5c sliders which should be easy to find and will save paying for postage 10x the cost of the slider.

If the zips are the ones that have the waterproofing fabric thingy covering the coils you'll need a special slider https://www.profabrics.co.uk/collections/coil-continuous-zipping-outdoor-ca...