Gear: FixnZip helps you make repairs on the fly (and elsewhere)

Broken zippers are particularly problematic while traveling. Repair shops or do-it-yourself zipper replacements are an iffy option on the go, but now there’s a little miracle of a solution called FixnZip.

As the video on the site explains, it’s generally the “unseen wear inside the [existing] zipper slider” that’s the culprit. Replacing the slider (a video also shows how to remove it) should solve the problem.

Enter FixnZip, a replacement zipper slider with an integrated thumbscrew that can be loosened to enclose the teeth of both sides of a zipper anywhere along the track, then tightened to bring those teeth together for zipping.

The device works with tooth-and-coil metal or plastic zippers and requires no other tools. The FixnZip, which includes a ring and clip-on pull tab, comes in shiny or dark nickel in a choice of three sizes.

If a section of teeth is really mangled, you may have to block off that section (sewing or taping it sealed, for example) and make do with a shorter but fully operational zipper.

Info: FixnZip in small, medium or large costs $9.99; a three-pack with one of each size costs $24.99.

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