This year a few bags have come back to the shop (countable on one hand...) that have have seen serious thrashings. Ridden hard on Great Divide Route, caked with gloppy red desert mud, that sort of thing. The bags and fabric were fine, but the weak link were the zippers - blown out and needing replacements.

Failing zippers suck, no two ways around it. In most cases it's usually due to dirt and grit and over stressing the teeth on the coils. To promote longevity you'll find some high quality improvements to zippers on custom bags from here out.

First off - All lower zippers on dual compartment bags will now feature a low profile urethane coated zipper flap. Covering the teeth on this zipper that is lower down to the mud and dirt will give lasting longevity to the zipper far exceeding that of a standard water-resistant zipper.

Secondly - The size of main zippers have been kicked up to the #10 size Water resistant type. The coil teeth of the #10's are simply enormous and can handle all sorts of gorilla action.

Beefier is better, but be nice to your zippers and your bags will last longer. Do these improvements add both cost and a few grams of weight to bags? yep. but who cares when you know you can count on them for the long haul.