Have a backpack that is starting to wear out? Puffy jacket with a small rip and leaking some feathers? Asking yourself “How do I repair my ……..?” Here is your go to place to learn about different do-it-yourself gear repair options and other commercial services.
Why repair your gear?
1) $$$, outdoor gear is expensive and you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime keeping gear alive longer.
2) It’s better for the environment. A ton of outdoor gear is made from plastic based material and we all know less plastic is a good thing. By repairing gear and not buying new you can significantly reduce how much lifetime plastic you consume.
3) I personally enjoy knowing the many adventures that my gear has been on me with and take pride that some of my stuff looks a little beat up. It’s also great to learn another skill to maintain the things you own.
Repair Tools and Materials
Shoe Goo is a staple for short term repairs on both my climbing shoes and regular hiking and mountaineering boots. It it is really easy to use and for my climbing shoes has definitely extended the time in between getting them resoled. I end up using it on the toes a lot as I still somehow seem to drag my toes while climbing.
Tenacious Tape by GEAR Aid is my second most used gear repair item. It is also extremely easy to use. Simply clean the area around the rip, apply the tape, then stick down. GEAR Aid also has precut round patches available as well. If you have any questions on which one to use GEAR Aid has a great page here to determine the best one for your application. There are also some fun precut patches available as well in outdoor themed shapes.
Seam Grip by Gear Aid is also another amazing tool to have in your gear repair kit. This is used for sealing the seams on your outdoor gear to restore it’s waterproofing. They also have a model that works for your tents as well to keep them lasting longer. The seams are generally the weak area where water will intrude first so this is a great way to fight that.
Outdoor Sewing Kit by Gear Aid, once again Gear Aid has a nice and compact kit with almost all of the essentials on sewing together any of your gear. The only thing it doesn’t have is something heavy duty enough to punch through some of the really thick material out there. That is where the next tool comes in handy.
Speedy Stitcher is the best tool for sewing when the material gets really thick. This kit also includes several needles and course thread. One small tip I also found online is that you can also use dental floss for a thicker and potentially longer lasting sewing material.
Leather conditioner for gloves, whether this be for ski gloves, climbing and belay gloves, or any regular leather gloves. Hestra Leather Balm is a great option but I have even been known to use some regular kitchen olive oil to keep the leather supple on my scrambling gloves.
*Years ago I found the Chasing Mastery website while looking on the internet about how to repair my gear. Sadly the website is no longer still up but many of the ideas I found there live on in this post.
Don’t feel up to repairing it yourself? Check out my other post here where I list out some of the great privately owned gear repair shops around the country. Also if you have any other go to products to keep your stuff lasting longer let me know and I can add it to this post!
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