I don’t know why I didn’t think of posting this earlier (probably because I am currently living in sunny southern California.) For those of you who live in colder regions, and struggle with fasteners like I do, I encourage you to check out the MagZip jacket line at Under Armour.
When I was preparing to return to Boston last year, I was very worried that I would be unable to wear heavy jackets and coats, due to the fasteners associated with them. I own a nice peacoat, but it has buttons that I couldn’t affix. I also have great difficulty with ordinary zippers. I discussed this problem with my OT at the time, and together we stumbled upon the MagZip by Under Armor. It was advertised as a one handed zipper, which would have been perfect. In reality, it took two hands and a lot of time.But, I could now wear a warm, winter jacket!
The way the MagZip works is instead of having to insert the tiny metal part into the bigger metal part on the other side of the jacket, one has to align the magnets. I found this easier then a traditional zipper. However, as with so many other things, this was not a simple solution.
I still had to paint the magnets with nail polish to make it easier to distinguish what needs to line up with what. I also spent a lot of time practicing. I found that my success with the jacket depended a lot on my mood. If I was in a good mood, I could zip the jacket in under five minutes. If I was in a bad mood, it could take upwards of an hour. I developed a rigid series of steps, to be performed sequentially to optimize success. First, I had to make sure the pull was at the bottom. Then, I had to line up the magnets, making sure that the teeth were not bent at odd angles. I usually did this as a table, using the hard surface to ensure the magnets were on the same plane. Once I was sure that the magnets were locked properly, I held the magnets together with my right hand( my dominant hand) and pulled the zipper pull with my left (my weak hand). If I did not hold them together, the magnets would separate as soon as I pulled up. I only had to zip a few teeth, so that the jacket was securely fastened. After that, I could straighten out the jacket and zip it the rest of the way up using my dominant hand.
You can find MagZip jackets online, at the Under Armour website. I did not have any luck finding them in stores. I bought a youth large, and it fits well. I hope you found this helpful, and in time for the winter months.