On a pre-made item (North Face sleeping bag), is there a way to tell what type of zipper the manufacturer used?  I’m sort of assuming the item has a YKK #8 zipper, but I have no real reason for believing this.  Is there someplace I can look, or, something I can compare to other zippers that will reveal this information?  Thanks.

I can’t speak for TNF but when I wanted that same info regarding a Marmot sleeping bag I called their customer support number and they were not only able to answer the question but offered (unprompted) to send me a matching zipper (it was a YKK #8 with the slide where a single pull can serve both sides)

Thanks.  It took about 5 minutes on the phone and they assured me it was a YKK #8.  :-)

So what happened with your zipper project?  Was this a replacement zipper for one that broke, or did you have some kind of zip-in modification planned?

The TNF sleeping bag I was planning on using for a trip is tight in the shoulders, so I was going to buy a TNF Expander, but none of the places I tried had any, and I looked at a LOT.  Apparently, TNF had made them for a few years, but then stopped, or at least outfitters didn’t have them. I have since found a place that got some in, but I’d already made my own.  I also looked at a Big Agnes item that is similar, I think they call it a wedgie, and the only ones I found were the wrong type of zipper. So I decided to make one.  I got some leftover fill, from my Kennebec project (which turned out really nice, by the way) and some old rip-stop nylon, and a YKK #8 zipper, and I made one.  It worked fine. I used it on a three week Yukon/Alaska canoe trip this summer, and had a luxurious amount of room, and was pleasantly warm.  Thanks for asking.

Beth