Knicker zipper repair; is it worth it, and how to?

[jkdjeff]

So, I bought a pair of Blue Gauntlet knickers as my first pair of fencing knickers, mostly because I could buy them at a location where I could try them on first.

Unfortunately, I'm less than satisfied with the purchase; I've only had them about three months and the zipper has failed (come off the tracks).

A few questions, regarding that scenario:

1) If I contact Blue Gauntlet, are they likely to be willing to replace/repair my knickers, or will they say "sorry, you've had them three months, sucks to be you!"

2) Is it feasible to repair the zipper myself or have a local sewing shop do it? I wasn't sure it'd be possible to sew the ballistic fabric to have the zipper replaced entirely, but maybe there's a way to get the zipper back on track?

3) If repair/replacement isn't an option, what would be a good, inexpensive pair of knickers to go with as my next purchase, that will still be higher quality than the BG brand? (note, there probably are recommendations for this in another thread, so if someone has a link to an appropriate discussion, let me know, but I couldn't find any existing threads about actually repairing knickers).

Thanks in advance!

[fencerbill]

Anybody with a sewing machine should be able to replace a zipper, it's not a hard job at all.

Sewing ballistic fabric is no different from any other fabric.

Suggest you call or E-mail BG to see if they will do something.

[jkdjeff]

Thanks for the advice, Bill, I wasn't sure if it'd be a problem because of the fabric being heavier or harder to sew.

I sent BG an email as well as the salle I bought the gear at, we'll see what their response is; I got a BG mask, jacket, and gloves and they've all been fine so far for my purposes, so I'm optimistic they'll be able to help me find a resolution.

[redlight]

I replace my zippers all the time with no problem as I can sew quite well. So the repair cost only about $3 (materials only). However, if you can't sew very well I'd suggest an alteration shop for the jacket if the material stretches (It's somewhat difficult to hose a zipper repair on knickers.). Normally a zipper is about a $20 job.

The reason I'd suggest finding help for the jacket is the material and angles on which the panels are cut mean you will not be sewing with the grain of the fabric (i.e., you'll be sewing diagonally across the stretchy bit which means you can stretch one side of the jacket more than the other when applying the zipper).

You won't observe this when replacing the zipper, for example because you'll be sewing with the straight grain of the fabric. If you just have at it, you might find the alignment to be noticeably off after your repair with one side of your jacket noticeably longer than the other.

At any rate, whether you or the alteration shop make the change, ensure a 'YKK' brand heavy-duty zipper. In my experience they're the toughest. Normally, I have to repair from the manufacturer inside of a year but the YKK have all been in about 4 years and I never have problems.

[fencerbill]

One way to avoid any problem is to not cut the zipper tape off, just cut the teeth off. That way the old zipper tape stabilizes the fabric assembly and you don't have to worry. The added layer shouldn't make any difference.

I replace my zippers all the time with no problem as I can sew quite well. So the repair cost only about $3 (materials only). However, if you can't sew very well I'd suggest an alteration shop for the jacket if the material stretches (It's somewhat difficult to hose a zipper repair on knickers.). Normally a zipper is about a $20 job.

The reason I'd suggest finding help for the jacket is the material and angles on which the panels are cut mean you will not be sewing with the grain of the fabric (i.e., you'll be sewing diagonally across the stretchy bit which means you can stretch one side of the jacket more than the other when applying the zipper).

You won't observe this when replacing the zipper, for example because you'll be sewing with the straight grain of the fabric. If you just have at it, you might find the alignment to be noticeably off after your repair with one side of your jacket noticeably longer than the other.

At any rate, whether you or the alteration shop make the change, ensure a 'YKK' brand heavy-duty zipper. In my experience they're the toughest. Normally, I have to repair from the manufacturer inside of a year but the YKK have all been in about 4 years and I never have problems.

[jkdjeff]

As an update (thanks for all the information in this thread by the way):

I'm going to exchange them locally through the salle I bought them at; Blue Gauntlet just emailed me this morning saying they'd replace the zipper if I paid to ship the knickers back to them.

Since that'd probably cost more than just having them repaired locally, I'm glad to have a local exchange as an option, and I might see if I can just flat-out return them and put the cost towards a sturdier pair of knickers at the same place.

A local tailoring/alterations place said they could replace the zipper but that it'd take a week, and I need "working" knickers (which sounds silly) for a tournament on Friday.