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Noisy zippers

Pilk64

Pilk64

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2019
Messages
562
How do you guys quiet down the zipper noise on your backpacks?...that noise just drives me crazy in the woods!
 
Get what I need out of them at beginning of hunt. Don’t touch them until my hunt is over. I’ve hunted for 20 or so years, and can count t the number of times I’ve needed something in a zipped pocket during a hunt, on one hand. And it’s because I forgot it when I first got in tree.

clothes are a different story - on occasion I have things unzipped to stay cool on a climb or as temps fall. That’s really just avoiding loud ones, and going slow, and waiting for a gust of wind. Also remember stuff is loud to you but 100 yards away it’s not even noticeable.

On the quieting thing - I’ve been wanting to try silicon lubricant or graphite lubricant for locks, but haven’t. Maybe try either of those and report back!
 
Have partially quieted a zipper by rubbing it down with a bar of soap, akin to graphite in a door lock. It's not a night and day difference though, and creates a smell/residue concern.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
I have a backpack without any zippers. I forget the brand it is super quiet. It doesn't have a frame either and is made of felted wool.and the latches for the pockets are leather and wood.
 
i tried a candle and didn't do anything, string wax might actually penetrate

main thing for me is leave the main compartment open and flapped over, once I unzip it for the first time at the tree (I even climb with main flap open because nothing falls out with my pack design), so when i get into the pack later it is quiet

and don't zip or unzip quickly or with the zipper under significant tension

they can pick quieter zippers though.....this is where hiking brands probably aren't as good.....my mystery ranch scree is a backpacker's day/overnight pack and the zipper is super loud, i'm guessing they didn't think it mattered for that use
 
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I once thought about taking the really tiny rare earth magnets you can get at Harbor Freight and hand stitching (because my sewing machine is metal, heh) them behind a length of grosgrain in the top of a bag (on either side of the opening), so I could undo the zipper at the car but it'd still stay reasonably shut until I pull the sides apart hard enough to break the magnetic bond.

Never tried it because I was pretty sure the magnets would rub through the grosgrain pretty quickly and I'd be wasting my time.
 
I take a pack that has velcro pockets with me on the first two hunts of the season and open it when the wind dies down and everything is calm. Then I come back home and empty the contents into a zippered pouch and light that velcro pocketed sucker on fire. Don't know why but noise of zippers never seems to bother me after that.
 
I hear ya but have someone stand 40-50 yards away and use the zipper and see if they can hear it. I never tried this but like @kyler1945 said its noisy to us but a highly doubt a deer can hear it.
 
Red Beard said:
I take a pack that has velcro pockets with me on the first two hunts of the season and open it when the wind dies down and everything is calm. Then I come back home and empty the contents into a zippered pouch and light that velcro pocketed sucker on fire. Don't know why but noise of zippers never seems to bother me after that.
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Well that’s one way to gain perspective… :tearsofjoy:
 
JBDaddy said:
I once thought about taking the really tiny rare earth magnets you can get at Harbor Freight and hand stitching (because my sewing machine is metal, heh) them behind a length of grosgrain in the top of a bag (on either side of the opening), so I could undo the zipper at the car but it'd still stay reasonably shut until I pull the sides apart hard enough to break the magnetic bond.

Never tried it because I was pretty sure the magnets would rub through the grosgrain pretty quickly and I'd be wasting my time.
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someone makes an awesome pack and it sells at sportsmans wharehouse...it uses the earth magnets and it has an internal frame...super quiet material too...just couldnt pull the trigger on 200 bucks...I think it may be on sale now for like 159 ish...forget the name and model tho...
 
Pilk64 said:
someone makes an awesome pack and it sells at sportsmans wharehouse...it uses the earth magnets and it has an internal frame...super quiet material too...just couldnt pull the trigger on 200 bucks...I think it may be on sale now for like 159 ish...forget the name and model tho...
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Bet ol Jerry got some rare earth magnets also. He likes doing that custom gear modifications type of thing. ;)
 
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Red Beard said:
I take a pack that has velcro pockets with me on the first two hunts of the season and open it when the wind dies down and everything is calm. Then I come back home and empty the contents into a zippered pouch and light that velcro pocketed sucker on fire. Don't know why but noise of zippers never seems to bother me after that.
Click to expand...
amen dude...hahaha velcro is ridiculous. my old blind had velcro windows. pretty sure my new one does too actually. theres gotta be a better way to tighten the screen. i just go slow with the zipper on my pack and deal with it. Opening a cliff bar or the cheap bottled water sounds like world war II on a calm morning too. its the loudest packaging and i forget every time im in the gas station
 
Nothing in the woods sounds like velcro and zippers...except velcro and zippers!
Can't do anything about velcro. Zippers, though, I have my own technique. I pull up on the zipper handle and put my thumb in fron to ff the zipper part, between the two halves. It seems to help some. YMMV though.
 
Sitka Fanatic pack has no zippers
and is fleece, I hated mine and sold it but it’s definitely quiet!
 
I just bought the new Sitka tool bucket it has big plastic zippers like my old fleece pack. They are super quiet unlike the very fine zippers that you find on most packs these days. Magnets would be best.
As far as quieting those fine plastic zippers I've had limited success with grabbing the zipper pull low with my thumb and forefinger and letting my middle finger ride with some pressure on the teeth just in front of the zipper while opening or closing it super slow.
 
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