Community Chat

[Yardlie]

Does anyone else get frustrated with those darn zippers on winter coats? My coat is down-filled. It has two different zippers so that you can open up just the bottom part if you need to. I try to get everything straight, really push the one end into the correct zipper hole, and it just won't go up. Sometimes I have to try six or seven times. My husband has the same problem with his winter parka. He has just left his coat open a couple times.Then I have to help my 92 y.o. mother get her coat on...same problem.

What is it with zippers these days? I have seen other people in doctor's offices trying to get their coats zipped, and they were frustrated also. I've tried "lubricating" the zipper with a lead pencil...no luck. I have had luck using a pencil on handbag zippers though.

I wish manufacturers would design a coat zipper that will go up easily! Grrrrrr!

[Mistreatedbycs]

Use a candle, run the candle up and down the zipper, it should make it a lot easier to zip up.

[Krimpette]

You have to be sure both of the zipper "handles" are facing down and the the zipper is fully seated at the base.  Then pulling up the top should be easy and you can pull up the bottom one as needed.  Hope I explained it clearly, since it becomes much easier once you get the hang of it.  They're the only zippers I like on coats, so I can release the lower portion when I get into my car.

[Yardlie]

@Mistreatedbycs ... Thanks, I'll give the candle trick a try!

[Vivian]

I have been waging a zipper-war against my winter coats for decades. I have not yet won. I can't count the number of times I've walked out with my coat open. My mother would kill me if she knew (LOL).

[Yardlie]

@Krimpette ... Thanks for the suggestion. I'm quite sure that I'm doing it that way now. I spend time arranging both the zipper pulls and insert the zipper all the way into the hole. I can even feel a click that it is all the way in, but the darn thing still won't go up! I think manufacturers need to go back to the drawing board on zippers. I mean it is difficult enough trying to zip up a puffy coat...trying to prevent fabric from getting stuck into the zipper.

I don't have that problem with spring/fall coats. The lighter weight ones seem to go up with no problem. Maybe I need to lubricate the base of the zipper so that it slides into the hole more easily???

[Q4u]

The best zippers on winter coats I've found have been on CarHart coats. Not the most attractive coat out there but it's my warmest and the zippers are great!  My go-to winter coat....

[Yardlie]

@Vivian ... LOL!  I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was trying to zip up my coat as I was leaving Walmart the other day. I was having trouble, and a stranger came up to me and said, "Aren't those zippers troublesome?"

[Yardlie]

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@Q4u wrote:

The best zippers on winter coats I've found have been on CarHart coats. Not the most attractive coat out there but it's my warmest and the zippers are great!  My go-to winter coat....

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CarHart, huh! I've heard of those. Maybe I need to write to Land's End (where my coat came from) and suggest that they put in CarHart type zippers.

[jaxs mom]

I don't currently have any that zip from both ends. I prefer coats that button anyway.