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.

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_stone292mo 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.

davidwright1mo agoMost Upvoted

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.

jordann652mo 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.