Im paranoid about the zipper on my mountainsmith ghost breaking. Ive had zippers break in the past, and since Im not skilled with my hands was unable to fix them. Is there any type of kit that could be used in an emergency. Im looking for something more permanent than a safety pin or staple, but easier than a zipper repair kit. I was thinking velcro or snaps.

Load bearing zippers should have compression straps across them. You may have to sew them yourself. If you live in the San Francisco bay area there is a place in Berkeley (Narane's) that does this kind of modification very well.

A canvas shop may be able to do it. You would probably have to supply the Fastex buckles.

Edited by redleader on 01/02/2010 23:27:49 MST.

Not likely to break on that pack. I'd be using a safety pin in case of trouble and a good plastic liner to keep stuff dry.

But, if I was paranoid about zippers, I would not be using a pack with a ginormous zipper.

Thank you for your advice. I realize with compression a zipper malfunction is unlikely. Its just that I have some longer trips planned further away from civilization and if it did happen it would really be a disaster. If there is anything I get now as a backup I would do it. Even if there was something that could be glued on or taped on it would still be better than safety pins.

Has this ever happend to anyone?

If by break you mean the slider won't mesh the teeth, it's probably just that the gap in the slider is too big. Get the slider on a good piece of zipper and squeeze down the slider a very tiny bit. This has helped me make zippers last for a long time after they started to fail.