Zipper noise on packs.

[MattMan81]

Can't help but notice the zipper on my alps pack is pretty noisy. The one on my little eberles is no that bad. Are the higher end packs all quieter?

 

[phatkaw]

The zippers on my Sitka pack are super freakin’ loud.
It’s the one they designed to be stealthy... hahaha

 

[slydog]

Try lubing with graphite and see if that helps? I would rather have zippers than Velcro any day.

 

[620man]

Just try holding your fingers closer to the zipper part , so your holding both the tag and the zipper and slowly close or open while pushing down , works on louder zippers.

 

[kyler1945]

I was talking with the deer at their staging area the other day. They didn’t mention zipper noise as being a decidedly human sounding noise.

but my Disney deer might be different from your Bambi!

 

[kyler1945]

Also, I have two options for below freezing, no wind, very low humidity days:

I don't go in my pack when deer may be within 100 yards of me.

I use the silent reaper pack from badlands with no zippers and its all quiet like.


But other than that, we make a big deal out of nothing. Deer are not smart. We give them too much credit. Plus the sound of a zipper is very different 3 feet away versus 75 feet away.

 

[Jtaylor]

I open my zippers when I set up and just leave my pack open.
My pants have a button fly.....

 

[7mmremmag]

My Stone Glacier's have the YKK Uretek zippers, I think that quiets it down a little with the thicker, covered coil but it still sounds like a zipper. Larger, heavy duty zipper coils (#8 and #10) tend to be louder than a #3 or #5 as well.

I open my zippers when I set up and just leave my pack open.
My pants have a button fly.....

I leave mine open as well.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Also, I have two options for below freezing, no wind, very low humidity days:

I don't go in my pack when deer may be within 100 yards of me.

I use the silent reaper pack from badlands with no zippers and its all quiet like.


But other than that, we make a big deal out of nothing. Deer are not smart. We give them too much credit. Plus the sound of a zipper is very different 3 feet away versus 75 feet away.

I respectfully disagree. Zipper noise is an unnatural noise to deer. I'm sure they don't hear it and think "oh there's a human over there but I'm sure it alerts them to your position IF they are close enough to hear it which can be from quite some distance on a cold clear morning with no wind.

 

[kyler1945]

I respectfully disagree. Zipper noise is an unnatural noise to deer. I'm sure they don't hear it and think "oh there's a human over there but I'm sure it alerts them to your position IF they are close enough to hear it which can be from quite some distance on a cold clear morning with no wind.

It's easy to take that position, because it's impossible to prove the opposite position. What evidence do you have that makes you SURE that it being a ZIPPER noise alerts them to your position, and not just "A" noise that alerts them to your position?

Again, I'm not advocating ripping a loud zipper open with a deer 50' away in open woods on a below freezing, no wind, dry day. Of course you're probably going to get some unwanted attention. But for 99% of times you'd open a zipper, if deer aren't in bow range, its going to make zero difference. If a deer is in bow range, and you're not aware, and its still enough for the deer to hear a zipper and recognize it as "unnatural", You probably have bigger issues with your hunting habits than zippers...

 

[will4554]

Take everything out of the pack you don’t need to kill a deer. And then you probably won’t even need said pack anymore.

 

[kyler1945]

Take everything out of the pack you don’t need to kill a deer. And then you probably won’t even need said pack anymore.

Agree.

I see all the time the complaints about the pop up pack not having enough compartments. I scratch my head regularly. All the killers I know take what fits in their pockets. The notion of a deer hunting specific pack is laughable to them.

One of my few small joys in deer hunting is slowly whittling down the pile of crap I feel like I need to kill them. I went from a room full, to three totes. I am probably into one tote by the end of this season. And the actual bag I put my stuff in for a single hunt gets smaller and less important every hunt.

Back on topic - I've used chapstick to unstick a zipper before that had a catch in it. I noted that it made it much quieter.

 

[sdonx]

I have way too much, and bring in way to much. But to the OP's point. I was setting up around 100 yards from bedding. I was very quiet, until I lost my concentration and just pulled my zipper open on my pack. I heard the deer bound off.
Now maybe I wasn't as quiet as I thought and it was the last noise the deer could take, who knows but it's a great real life example.

 

[Weldabeast]

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Can't help but notice the zipper on my alps pack is pretty noisy. The one on my little eberles is no that bad. Are the higher end packs all quieter?

Buy a bar surfboard wax, and wax the zipper. It won’t pick up dirt or make as much of a mess as oil does. It’s virtually scent free and it’s pretty cheap usually $4 a bar and a bar will last you the next lifetime if you keep it in a ziplock bag with no air getting to it. Candles work as well but surfboard wax rubs on easier

 

[iamcorey]

But other than that, we make a big deal out of nothing. Deer are not smart.

What about those old warriors we’ve been battling for years, or the ones we’ve been playing chess with all season?

Anecdotal evidence for the group. I unzipped a pack at 75yds to get my range finder and dug around in the pack on a cold windless morning. It was noisy to me. The deer just went about his business. Just be slow and methodical.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DroptineKrazy]

It's easy to take that position, because it's impossible to prove the opposite position. What evidence do you have that makes you SURE that it being a ZIPPER noise alerts them to your position, and not just "A" noise that alerts them to your position?

Again, I'm not advocating ripping a loud zipper open with a deer 50' away in open woods on a below freezing, no wind, dry day. Of course you're probably going to get some unwanted attention. But for 99% of times you'd open a zipper, if deer aren't in bow range, its going to make zero difference. If a deer is in bow range, and you're not aware, and its still enough for the deer to hear a zipper and recognize it as "unnatural", You probably have bigger issues with your hunting habits than zippers...

Only evidence I can give you is 44 years in the deer woods and busting deer making less noise than a zipper can make. Don't you try to be as quiet in the woods as possible when hunting? Many an "expert" will tell you that a deer can pinpoint your position from 100 yards away when you grunt at it and I've spooked deer from quite a distance away from just having my arrow come off the rest and hitting the riser or bumping my cam on my tree stand. I think that's one reason that velcro is considered taboo in the woods.

 

[MattMan81]

Buy a bar surfboard wax, and wax the zipper. It won’t pick up dirt or make as much of a mess as oil does. It’s virtually scent free and it’s pretty cheap usually $4 a bar and a bar will last you the next lifetime if you keep it in a ziplock bag with no air getting to it. Candles work as well but surfboard wax rubs on easier

That's a great idea. I'll try that. Sounds cheaper than spending another couple hundred bucks on a pack that has a slightly less noiser zipper.

As I noticed, there is a considerable noise difference between my coat zipper and my pack. I'm far from a tree ninja. I understand that. My movements far away a zipper noise.
My thought was just if the more expensive packs had that much quieter of a zipper. It's also harder to zip slowly. It's catches a little. So some wax may help with that. Give me the ability to zip slowly.

 

[7mmremmag]

Agree.

I see all the time the complaints about the pop up pack not having enough compartments. I scratch my head regularly. All the killers I know take what fits in their pockets. The notion of a deer hunting specific pack is laughable to them.

One of my few small joys in deer hunting is slowly whittling down the pile of crap I feel like I need to kill them. I went from a room full, to three totes. I am probably into one tote by the end of this season. And the actual bag I put my stuff in for a single hunt gets smaller and less important every hunt.

Back on topic - I've used chapstick to unstick a zipper before that had a catch in it. I noted that it made it much quieter.

I'm in the same boat. I'm working on going from a pack to just a small lumbar pack and a roll up pouch on my saddle right now.

 

[raisins]

Buy a bar surfboard wax, and wax the zipper. It won’t pick up dirt or make as much of a mess as oil does. It’s virtually scent free and it’s pretty cheap usually $4 a bar and a bar will last you the next lifetime if you keep it in a ziplock bag with no air getting to it. Candles work as well but surfboard wax rubs on easier

I tried the candle trick on an Alpz pack and it didn't help.

Now, I just pull the two sides of the zipper together and zip slowly. Don't use the Alpz pack now for other reasons.