That one trip where my sleeping bag zipper fought back

I was backpacking in Oregon last fall and brought my trusty old sleeping bag. The zipper got stuck halfway through the first night when I needed to get out fast. I wrestled with it for ten minutes in the dark while needing to pee really bad. Ended up having to shuffle to the bushes like a human caterpillar. The zipper finally gave way with a loud rip that scared off some raccoons. Now I always check the zipper before I pack it. It was so ridiculous my friends still laugh about it.

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3 Comments

paul_stone297mo ago

Man, I've been there. Rubbing a plain candle on the zipper teeth once a season totally fixed that for me. The wax makes it slide smooth every time now.

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davidwright7mo ago

My old canvas tent from 2008 had a zipper so bad it sounded like grinding rocks. I tried the candle trick, but I used a birthday candle in a panic during a downpour and just got colored wax all over the fabric. Ended up using a pencil lead on the teeth for years, which worked okay but left grey marks. That tent finally gave up last fall, and the zipper was the main reason.

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jordann657mo ago

Nothing says a deep connection with nature like doing the pee-pee shuffle toward some poison oak. The raccoons probably thought you were some new, very desperate kind of animal. At least you gave your friends a core memory, which is more than most camping trips do. That zipper taught you a lesson way better than any outdoor guide ever could.

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