We use only the best zippers in the world. And yet, if you load up your rucksack with any heavy item made out of steel or iron or raw kryptonite — and then you slam the rucksack down so that the weight bears its full force onto the zipper, sometimes the zipper loses that fight. Not always, but sometimes. If you do it frequently, and add weight, your zipper will definitely lose that fight. To help prevent this from happening at something like a GORUCK Challenge where slowing down is not an option, use Ruck Plate Cradles, or wrap you Ruck Plate in pool noodle foam or put some other padded layer (preferably one that’s non-absorbent) between your Ruck Plate and the zippers. This will also help stabilize the weight and make it more comfortable to ruck. Another pro tip is this: if you see a bunch of raw bricks and jagged stones just lying around and you put all of them inside your rucksack and then go do a bunch of crazy stuff, the construction site in your ruck will abrade the zipper’s threads and maybe even the metal teeth from the inside as everything shifts around. We hate to see this because it’s preventable with a secure, wrapped Ruck Plate.
As a matter of policy, crushed or damaged zippers, zippers subjected to abrasion on the inside of the rucksack (from unwrapped bricks, for instance), and zippers corroded by saltwater (all you have to do is rinse them off after your ocean Challenge) are not covered under our Scars Lifetime Guarantee. Sometimes, we bend the policy, where we can. It’s always a conversation and we’re in the business of doing right by you.