Q: What zipper should a puffer vest use?
A puffer vest is short and light, so a size 5 nylon coil separating zipper with a single auto-lock slider is the practical choice. The garment carries almost no load, and coil keeps the front edge soft when the vest is folded into a pack. Use a 12 to 14 mm tape so the seam allowance stays flat against the quilted channels, and bar-tack the bottom box because a vest is pulled on over the head and the hem takes that pull directly.
- Size 5 coil, open-end, single slider; size 3 only on ultralight summer vests.
- Short pull so it does not swing against the chest while walking.
- Add a storm flap only where the vest is sold as windproof.
Fitting a two-way slider is the usual error. On a body this short the second slider has nowhere to park, and the bottom box sits right on the hem, which is the highest-stress point on the garment. A size 8 slider is the other mistake: it looks oversized, puckers the quilted panel and adds a hard lump at the chin when the vest is zipped to the top.