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Stevenson’s Warmlite – problem with zippers?

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PostedAug 17, 2009 at 11:28 pm

I've had my Stevenson's Warmlite tent (2R with Side windows and Large Door) for 8 or 9 years, and as much of a fan I am of the tent and the company, I'm wondering if others have had problems with the larger zippers on the door. The problem is that after the zipper passes a certain spot along the "chain", in that area the teeth come apart a little. I then have to manually get the teeth interlocking again to be able to pass the slider across, but generally then I just use the other side of the door for the remainder of a trip and leave that side closed.

The strip of teeth where the zipper comes open shows absolutely no difference from the other areas that are working fine, but the teeth coming unzipped does tend to continue to happen in approximately the same location for that trip.

Last year I did send the tent to Jane at Stevenson's and had them replace the sliders. The next trip after that (and the last trip for the year) was a long one (27 days or so) and they worked fine. But then this year on our last trip one side of the door is again coming unzipped that tiny bit.

In prep for the next trip I have tightened the backside of that one slider (squeezed the top and bottom of the tail of the slider together ever so slightly – at the opposite end of where the pull-tab is…), and that does tend to help for a bit, but I'm wondering if others have had problem with the zippers on Warmlite tents, or really, other tents too..

Any commiserating and/or advice appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

PostedAug 18, 2009 at 7:58 am

I have an old 3RS with the small doors and have no issues with the zippers. I think you where lucky that they helped you in the first place. They did nothing to solve my waterproofness issue… At least, Jane was helpful in helping me retrieve my tent and get it back to Canada…
I wish you the best of luck…
Cheers
Pierre

PostedAug 18, 2009 at 8:33 am

Waterproofness has always been okay for me, but the help for the zippers was a paid repair to replace them (the sliders) 'cuz it involved sewing, etc., that Jane said is tricky to do. I think it was $40 US and they did do a couple other small things…

"retrieve my tent and get it back to Canada" – sounds like there's a story there. I picture you having to escape an incoming storm by quickly climbing down a frozen waterfall and leaving your 3RS on a high perch, and then Jane sending some of the au naturale Stevenson team to climb up and fetch it.

PostedAug 18, 2009 at 11:43 am

This is not Stephenson specific (and neither are their zippers), but is what happens on all older zippers (depending a bit on how you treat them). First you begin by tweezing the sliders together again, and that will do for one or two more years. After that you may need to replace the slider. Inevitably, however, the next stage is that you will need to replace the whole zipper. At that moment another nasty dilemma may unfold: is the material of the fly still good enough to withstand all this sewing, or will it desintegrate? I have been there: a few years ago I had to say farewell to my more than thirty year old cotton tent, and last month I said farewell to my old Keron 4 GT family tent. I hope your fly will still be good enough for the repair.
Willem

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