Rant: My cheap backpack zipper gave out in Prague last Tuesday

I was walking from the hostel to the train station and the main compartment just split open... my stuff went everywhere on the cobblestones. I had to buy a roll of duct tape from a kiosk for 80 Czech koruna and wrap the whole thing up like a mummy. It got me thinking, is it better to buy a cheap bag and expect to fix it, or save up for a pricier one that might last? What's your go-to fix when gear fails on a trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettym892h ago

Prague's cobblestones are pretty unforgiving, but I have to wonder if this is a true gear crisis. A roll of tape for 80 koruna sounds like a perfectly fine, cheap fix to me. We get so used to things being perfect that a broken zipper feels like a disaster. It's just a bag holding your stuff, not a failed parachute. I've seen people make it through weeks with a bag held together by safety pins and a prayer. Sometimes the makeshift repair becomes the best story from the trip.

blairf484h ago

Ugh, that's the worst feeling. I had a strap snap on me in Lisbon. I ended up using a carabiner from my keychain to clip it back to the bag's frame loop, and it actually held for the rest of the trip. It was a total hack, but it saved me from having to find a new bag right then.