Noisy metal zipper pulls

[Zephyrnoid]

Well hey..then why not just attach some little jingle bells to our zipper pulls? Could be a neat way to attract attention to one'self

I'm with Darcy on this one, quiet jingling noise of the zipper works for me. I put a zipper pull on my new Cafe Bag, so in close quarters you can hear if someone is ripping you off when traveling.

Tom in Arizona

[PM4HIRE]

I prefer noisy zippers

I'm with Darcy on this one, quiet jingling noise of the zipper works for me. I put a zipper pull on my new Cafe Bag, so in close quarters you can hear if someone is ripping you off when traveling.

Tom in Arizona

[ratdeau]

Recieved - Size sometimes matter

That's a very smart fix.

ratdeau - We can send you some pulls. Same address as usual? PM me!

I put the cords you sent me on my Aeronaut. It work fine. The metallic noise is now considerably reduced, but the cords I used before were a little bit thicker and the noise was even more reduced.

[backpack]

That would be great if the pull were all black.

As an alternative, the team at Tom Bihn could make logo pulls sewing a strong and thin fabric that could be looped into the zipper.

[moriond]

Maybe we should sell the pulls on our Web site as an accessory? What do you guys think?

Yes! I'd buy some. I'd like to try something along the lines of ratdeau's suggestion for the larger zippers on the Aeronaut. Short cords the thickness of the pulls used for the ID bag would work. I like having the metal zipper tabs on the Aeronaut, and since the I use a small lock on the tabs for the main pocket, they're weighted down and don't jingle. Maybe a loop under the base of the metal tabs of the side pocket zip tabs would keep this quiet - something shorter than ratdeau's fix. On the snake charmer I'd need to try this with thinner loops. I'd already been looking for these. For example, here, here, or (thinner cord) here.

Incidentally, I still prefer having the tabs without pulls on the main compartment of the Aeronaut, since you might want to lock this (or even have to check this on occasion). The other reason for prefering the short tabs is that the zipper pulls work better for straight or only slightly curved zip paths -- for the square "U" opening of the Aeronaut using the short tabs is better. For my Buzz, I loop one end of the pull through the loop of the other if I want to keep the compartment harder to open (by somebody else!) when it's on my back.

[Darcy]

plaidboy -- I'd be glad to send you some cord pulls. Send me your address via private message.

Maybe we should sell the pulls on our Web site as an accessory? What do you guys think?

[backpack]

I have bought zipper pulls with novelty decorations, mine is a globe it looks like the ones on this site:

http://customathleticspirit.com/_wsn/page4

But if you have to check the bag while traveling, I would use either Darcy or ratdeau solution.

The novelties are cute but might catch on something when you luggage is manhandled at various airports or trains/bus stations.

[ratdeau]

Looks like accessory cord, but I'm not sure which size? Check out sports stores or hardware stores which sells cords for rigging and general use.

Yes it is. Don't choose it to thick.
Perhaps Tom should put zippers pull as an option when purchasing a bag with "noisy" zipper.

[moriond]

Where do you get the little cords to tie on your zippers? That's the one thing I notice most when I use the Aeronaut, the constant jingling.

Looks like accessory cord, but I'm not sure which size? Check out sports stores or hardware stores which sells cords for rigging and general use.

I don't notice this so much on my Aeronaut (where I use a small travel lock), but the jingling is very noticeable on the snake charmer I just received. Maybe when buried inside a bag it won't be such a problem. Or I can just buy zipper pulls for these.

[plaidboy]

Where do you get the little cords to tie on your zippers? That's the one thing I notice most when I use the Aeronaut, the constant jingling.

[Zephyrnoid]

That's a very elegant solution. I'll try that myself.Thanks for the tip!

[Darcy]

That's a very smart fix.

ratdeau - We can send you some pulls. Same address as usual? PM me!

[ratdeau]

Actually, on closer inspection, that wouldn't solve the problem. It's the other end of the zipper pull -- where it meets the slider's clasp -- that clangs against the clasp and the flat face of the slider.

Though perhaps attaching a cord loop as you suggest would absorb some of the vibration in the pull. As a first experiment, I'll probably try wrapping the pull in something like masking tape.

You can reduce 90% of the noise if you tie your cord like that.

It reduce the vibration of the zipper pull wich act like a bell.

PS: Darcy, if you have some cord pulls for my Aeronaut, think to me.

[Darcy]

Among the many Tom Bihn bags I own is the Medium Cafe Bag, and for me, the (in my mind) quiet jingling noise of the zipper has never been a bother. I don't think that I notice it at all.

I personally prefer the look of metal sliders on most bags (cord pulls are great on sportier bags) and I like how they're less likely to catch on things than cord pulls are.

It does seem to come down to a personal preference, and I can see where you're coming from.

We would be glad to send you a couple of cord pulls to try out on your Cafe bag as long as you promise to let us know what you think of them.

Send me a private message with your address and we'll mail the pulls out to you on Monday.

[Zephyrnoid]

Try putting a 'collar' say...3/8" long of common plastic shrink tubing around the contact section of the pull and then using a hair dryer on High, shrink the tubing down for a tight fit.Shrink tubing is cheap and can be obtained at most Hardware stores or Radio Shack. The best part is it will look like part of the Pull, once it has shrunk down!