Repairing zipper of Phantom Techs

Has anyone tried putting the zipper back on these boots or a similar one? Mine arrived with a broken zipper and while I could go through warranty or return/replace them, but after waiting months for them to get here I'm hoping to avoid waiting another 6-8 weeks. I'm primarily concerned with losing the waterproofing of them by DIYing it. 

They showed up like that...? That's pretty bad. If they really did show up out of the box like that then Scarpa should be doing cartwheels to get you taken care of right away.

The big problem is that there's damage to the teeth. You can use a pair of needle nose pliers and gently coax the teeth back into alignment, but it'll only be a temporary fix. To finish the temporary fix you'll need to take the top stop off the side of the zipper without the slider, then gently reinsert the zipper teeth into the slider and very gently inch it back to the bottom. It'll be tough because the zipper is supposed to open the opposite direction. If you do it right, the teeth will seal up all the way to the bottom. If you don't get the alignment right, you'll end up with uneven number of teeth on each side and it won't seat properly at the bottom. In that case, gently pull the off-set side through the zipper until you've got the right number of teeth on each side.

All that said, without replacing the broken teeth on the zipper it'll just be a temporary fix and chances are it'll bust open again before too long.

That's a bit more finicky than your normal zipper. IIRC it's a European thing called a TiZip. I suspect the usual shenanigans to get it working again will not be successful.

Thanks for the thorough advice and the name of the specific zipper type. Maybe I can make some progress on them with those. Yes, they did. Tags are still on and everything. It does all seem more finicky than a normal zipper and I'm not immediately sure how to get the slider to reattach all the way at the bottom. As you said, Matt, everything seems like a temporary fix. I reached out to Scarpa warranty as well and hopefully they have a quick solution.

The old Phantom Guides had the TiZip. The Phantom Techs and Phantom 6000/8000 with the spiral zipper have some sort of special YKK waterproof zipper. 

The newest Phantom Techs, including yours Will, have a standard waterproof #5 YKK coil zipper.

On that temporary fix if the teeth don't align right, sometimes with enough patience you can actually get the teeth to re-engage just by pushing on them in the right way.

Matt Z wrote:

The old Phantom Guides had the TiZip. The Phantom Techs and Phantom 6000/8000 with the spiral zipper have some sort of special YKK waterproof zipper. 

The newest Phantom Techs, including yours Will, have a standard waterproof #5 YKK coil zipper.

Sometimes with enough patience you can actually get the teeth to re-engage just by pushing on them in the right way.

You absolutely need to purchase and regularly use a zipper lube like one used for diving dry suits with boots like the 6000, without this the zipper may separate and this is a factory repair. I get mine at a dive shop and it looks like lip balm.

There's broken teeth. The only lasting thing is having the zipper/boot replaced. Scarpa should definitely replace these boots if they arrived like this. 

Gunkiemike wrote:

That's a bit more finicky than your normal zipper. IIRC it's a European thing called a TiZip. I suspect the usual shenanigans to get it working again will not be successful.

not the TiZip

I would call ScarpaNA directly and see if they can get a pair shipped out ASAP. The issue I see is that if you screw around with it and sorta of fix it then it breaks again Scarpa may not warranty the boots.

Yes, certainly part of my concern. I'm waiting until I hear back from them before attempting anything on my own.

FWIW I recently had a pair of shoes repaired through the Scarpa warranty program and it was a 3 week turnaround. I would imagine they will replace these rather than repair which might mean a faster turnaround time. Don't bother trying to call them as they probably won't answer the phone or call you back.

Great info, thanks. Their website says 6-8 weeks so it's good to know it may not be that long right now.

I'd definitely warranty those as they are new, I believe just about the only place that will touch boot zippers is Rock and Resole for anyone who has the issue with boots that are not new...

Scarpa got back to me and said they can't fix the zipper, and it would probably be faster right now to exchange them where I bought them. So I guess that's what I'll do. Thanks for the heads up on Rock and Resole. I had no idea they would do that. 

Disappointing answer. Hopefully the place you bought them has a replacement in stock and a good return/shipping policy. 

There are zipper repair kits where you actually screw the slider onto the teeth, but it sounds like you have broken teeth. 

Will WB wrote:

Scarpa got back to me and said they can't fix the zipper, and it would probably be faster right now to exchange them where I bought them. So I guess that's what I'll do. Thanks for the heads up on Rock and Resole. I had no idea they would do that. 

You need new boots that’s a factory repair looks like you were sent boots with a damaged zipper inexplicably