How to Find a Replacement Zipper Slider?
A broken zipper slider is a drag. Without the slider, the entire zipper becomes useless. It's no wonder, then, that we get a lot of calls and inquiries from customers looking to replace their zipper sliders. To help guide you in your search for a suitable zipper slider replacement, as a hardware manufacturer, YIBI will break down a few different ways to determine the size and type of zipper slider you have.
When looking for a replacement zipper slider, you will need to make sure that the type of slider you have corresponds to the teeth of the zipper tape. The slider needs to match the zipper teeth in size and type.
Determine the type of zipper you have
If your zipper does not have any markings, then you will need to determine the size and type of zipper by checking the zipper tape. Start with the size. To determine the size of your zipper, measure the width of the zipper teeth when closed in millimeters (if possible). The measurement may not match the zipper size as the actual size of the zipper tape may vary, but it should be roughly correlated.
Next, check the teeth on the zipper. Coil zippers, although also made of plastic, have smaller teeth and look like a continuous coil. Zippers with metal teeth are popular in the apparel industry and we stock these at Sailrite.
Locking and non-locking sliders
When you search for zipper sliders, you will also see them marked as locking and non-locking. Locking zippers have a small mechanism inside that prevents the slider from moving unless the slider's pull tab is pulled. You can see this mechanism engaged inside the zipper as you move the slider. If any part of the zipper slider is pulled or sh to just pull the teeth apart, the non-locking slider will move.
If you like the functionality of your existing zipper, you can use the same locking style again. However, as long as you choose the same size and type of slider, the choice of locking vs. non-locking is up to personal preference. Therefore, even if your original slider is locked, you can replace it with a non-locking slider as long as the other aspects of the slider match the original slide
