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I have been running AIRE products since '92 on all sorts of class streams, creeks, & rivers, statewide...  These boats include everything from Big Cats, Self-Bailers, to kayaks, canoes, and personal cats...  never a problem w/ the zippers over all this time.  Certainly I can say the zippers are not the weak component - not normal zips by any stetch.

The boats aso come w/ extra zipper cars - make sure to always use "good" key ring lockers on the cars.

When messing around w/ the zips - treat them right & they'll treat you in lasting quality.  A good measure is to take plain ol' Joy liquid soap (not some fruity flavor!) to lube the lengths of the zippers and seasonal cleaning w/ a 1200 psi pressure (not too high) washer (or just visit the car-wash).

In the event of a failure while at home and you can't fix it yourself...  Do not start sewing it up!  This defeats the very purpose of the zipper - making for quick field repairs on the tubes & bladder system...  If you do that you'll be compounding any & every future repair if needed.  Get it done by an expert!

When in the field & something like this happens... Do not start sewing it up! That is what the zip ties are for or get heavier duty ones... these will keep the zippers from moving/backing out more.  Then you vigorously use the urethane tape or duct tape on the inside of the boat fabric using dry & ample surface area so the bladder does not bubble out.


Best of luck -
Brian Richardson
http://www.northernrim.com

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