What would you recommend for a 3 or 4 person tent with a quality zipper. On my last trip the zipper on the bottom of the front door malfunctioned and became worthless from the start of the trip. Had to sew it shut with fishing line. It had a plastic zipper. Do they make tents with a quality metal zipper? Looking for ideas. Thanks!

I haven't purchased a ground tent in probably ten years, but the last higher end Kelty I purchased has a nice metal zipper. It doesn't see much action anymore though. Unless I have my wife with me, I always hang now.

MSR or Mountain Hardware get my vote. Never had a issue with my MSR Tents, or my Mountain Hardware Trango 3 . I’ve used them hard and have never had zipper trouble. Don’t think they are metal, but are high quality in my opinion...

I can't comment on a quality tent with zipper.

I have had zippers go bad on two tents, I took them into a canvas shop that custom builds boat covers. They put new zippers in both tents for around 25 bucks per tent. These zippers were high quality.

I do not think metal zippers are better than nylon tooth or coil. What wears zippers is abrasion and wear of the zipper slider. Clean lubricated zipper of any kind will outlast a dirty metal zipper.

butthead

Zippers made with pot metal are horrid. Sooner or later they jam irrevocably never to move.

But finding info on what metal your tent zipper is is not easy.. I have had good luck with Mountain Hardware and Marmot

I have only had bad experiences with metal zipper teeth on outdoor equipment. The following is about the plastic coil/tooth and pulls used on them.

Like has been said the chain / coil of the zipper outlasts the pulls. The cheapest and most short lived plastic zippers are the ones where you seam stitching holding the coil to the Zipper tape. Coil zippers go around corners better than tooth zippers per the zipper makers. Better Zipper pulls usually are a "pot " metal with either an epoxy coating/ paint or a nickle plating. ( plastic pulls on tooth zippers on often found in clothing applications rather than equipment)The plated ones last longer it is a longer wearing surface than the epoxy painted surface.

Zippers are the weakest thing on tents and packs. they typically fail before the rest if it made from quality materials and sewn with properly. Replacing the pulls you can get typically get the coil to last through 4 zipper pull replacements.

You can usually get the most life out of zippers from proper use and care. holding the zipper taunt as you open and close will prolong the life. The faster you move the pull the more heat is created. Tribology exists. Cleaning the dust and dirt off the entire zipper coil and tape and then lubricating the coil/ teeth with a product such as Gear Aid's Zip Care.

You can get a pull to close the zipper after it wears by compressing the sides of the slider on the closed end of the pull ever so slightly. Compress too much leads to early wearing the coil/teeth of an unmovable pull. Using a vice grip and slowly creeping up on the correct compression through the screw adjustment of the pliers and testing makes it more predictable.

DanCooke: "...Using a vice grip and slowly creeping up on the correct compression through the screw adjustment of the pliers and testing makes it more predictable. "

+1 - That's very helpful. Easier than just squeezing and hoping for the best. Good info all around in that post.

Thanks everyone who has taken the time to comment, lots to think about when trying to choose the correct tent. I still have two months before my solo trip so I have some time to figure out what is best for me.

QueticoMike: "Thanks everyone who has taken the time to comment, lots to think about when trying to choose the correct tent. I still have two months before my solo trip so I have some time to figure out what is best for me."

Do take a serious look at the MSR lineup. Pricy, but quality in my opinion which doesn’t mean much!LOL...

Marmot Limelight. I’ve been putting mine through the harshest conditions for 9 years, and it works like day 1. I’ve never owned one, but you can never go wrong with Mountain hardware either.