Zipper woe, zipper questions

I suggest you are asking the wrong question. Try asking instead whether you really NEED zips on the waterproof pants.

Granted, the first w/p pants I bought (expensive GTX) did have w/p zips, but that was 30+ years ago. Since then ALL my w/p pants, and all my wife’s, have been totally free of any zips. They work just as well, and are usually a lot cheaper and lighter too.

On MYOG gear I use #3 coil zips, but I take some care with them and special care with the cover flaps. If you make the cover flaps on any zip quite stiff, they won’t get stuck in the teeth. Or you can make the flaps out of slippery L/W silnylon, as that usually manages to pull out of the slider with little force if it gets caught up.

Cheers

Vislon (toothed) vs. coil: vislon are more robust in nearly every way. Also slightly stiffer and less amenable to curved uses, like on a half cicle tent door.

When zipping/unzipping on a difficult item, try having a finger inbetween the two fingers holding the puller and the flap.

On trousers that would mean using the thumb and middle finger on the puller and the index finger resting on the middle finger.

(the extra finger just keeps the flap away )

YKK makes the toothed, aka Vislon, zips in no 3.  Have some from Warmlite.

But most pant zips I’ve seen are not water resistant and many are coils.  If vertical, they should open from the top end, so stuff doesn’t fall out, and tension is maintained when being unzipped downward with one hand.  And as Roger says, if there are protective flaps, they should be stiff, but not sure I’d want the slippery.