My expensive tent zipper gave out on night two of a seven day trip

I spent $320 on a highly rated four season tent back in March, you know the kind everyone swears by. Took it up to the Olympic National Forest last month and the main zipper just split apart on the second night. I wasn't even opening it rough or anything, just unzipping to step out for a midnight bathroom break. Ended up using duct tape and a bungee cord to keep the flap shut for the rest of the trip, which worked okay but let in a ton of moisture. When I got home I called the company and they offered to replace the zipper for $60 plus shipping, which felt ridiculous for a tent that expensive. Has anyone else had a high end tent fail like this, or did I just get a lemon from a bad batch?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan6482d ago

Did you check if there's a known issue with that specific model? I was looking at tents a few months back and read on some backpacking forum that a couple of those pricey brands had a bad run of zippers from one supplier last year. Some guy had the same thing happen on his third trip and the company basically told him tough luck after the warranty was up. That $60 plus shipping for a zipper replacement on a $320 tent is a joke, it should be covered. Might be worth looking into a local gear repair place too, sometimes they can do it for way less and faster than mailing it back.

terry_walker16h ago

Did you ever get the name of that supplier so others can avoid it?