Got caught in a surprise thunderstorm at Big Bend and it wrecked my tent zipper

Last spring I was camping at Big Bend National Park and a storm rolled in out of nowhere. The wind was hitting 40 mph easy and my tent zipper got caked with sand and grit. Tried to close it up quick but the sand jammed the track and ripped right through the fabric. Had to sleep with a gap flopping open all night. Has anyone else had a zipper fail at the worst possible moment like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby18921d ago

Am I the only one who thinks a broken zipper just makes camping more interesting though?

adam_robinson22d ago

Oh man, that "sand jammed the track" thing is the worst. I had the exact same thing happen at a beach campsite in Oregon last summer, gritty sand got in the zipper and I yanked it too hard, tore a six inch gash right down the side of my tent. Ended up using a trash bag and duct tape to keep the bugs out for the rest of the trip, which held up okay but looked like a total hack job.