# 3 zipper on a sleeping bag?

I'm not put off by number 3 zippers. I am very careful with my gear whether it has zippers or not. To the best of my knowledge it's PCTers who have the most #3 zipper failures and I think it is desert dust that seems to be the biggest culprit in wearing out the pulls. If the sleeping bags are all equal, none have a stand out reason to prefer one over the other, I'd go with the lighter option. If weight is not a determining factor go with the one with the larger zipper or thicker fabric for the potential longer lifespan.
ETA: How about effective anti-snag features, ie stiffening tape inside. That's a valuable feature if it's effective.

"ETA: How about effective anti-snag features, ie stiffening tape inside. That's a valuable feature if it's effective."

unfortunately the one with the #3 zipper is the heaviest bag and has the best anti-snag tape :(

Billy

I have a MHW Mtn Speed 32 which uses a #3 zipper, presumably the same one as the Phantom. I haven't had it long so I can't comment on the durability but it is quite snaggy. I imagine using it with gloves/mittens would be a pain.

I was just at the Mountain Hardwear employee store a few days ago helping some friends pick out new sleeping bags. We tried the Phantom 15 and 0 and those things have got to have the worst zippers I've ever used. They snagged constantly and even when it didn't suck the fabric in like a vacuum it did not operate smoothly at all. Otherwise they are very nice bags, but for me that'd be a dealbreaker.

Andrew… interesting… I found comparing the Phantom 0 to the Marmot Plasma 0 that the Plasma with the larger zipper snagged more than the Phantom 0. The Phantom O has a much wider/better anti-snag strip than the Plasma, I thought. Anyway, I'm mostly concerned about the strength of that small #3 zipper on the Phantom.

#3 zips are what I use on everything – that and some sensible care in use.

Cheers

I notice that zPacks uses a #3 zipper on their bags…

anyone have any problems with the zipper failing on their zPacks sleeping bag?

thanks for all the good responses…,

Billy