Overall I am pretty careful with my gear. Most of my repairs are due to age — things that have just plain worn out — such as my Chouinard Pyramid Tent. Once in a great while, I do damage something due to carelessness or unavoidable situations, such as traveling cross country in deserts through area lush in such wonderful environments that can be packed full of cacti or catclaw.

Campfires

Sometimes, not often, I am not careful. This was the case last November, on a trip with my friend Peter. The nights were cold. Two of those nights (the first and fourth), we built a campfire so we could sit around and talk. It is rare for me to build a campfire when camping, and even rarer on backpacking thrips that I normally do solo.

One this trip, the two campfires were just the right thing to do. Not because we weren’t prepared, but we just wanted to spend the long winter evenings talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Campfires always have the potential to damage clothing or other fabric gear with those little floating embers. Usually, if I’m wearing an expensive garment, I’ll cover it with a windshirt. Better to burn a hole in a cheaper garment, especially one that a small hole won’t affect its functionality.

This time, I didn’t follow my rules.

Post Trip Rituals

When I get home after a camping or backpacking trip, I always inspect my gear, clean as necessary, and perform any needed maintenance. When I got home from the Yolla Bolly trip, I noticed two holes in my down jacket where down feathers were trying to escape. Damn! Well, its a piece of backpacking gear, so function trumps appearance. Time for a repair.

The jacket is made from a gossamer nylon fabric. Needle and thread could have worked. A better repair is tape. Tape? Yep. There is a special tape just for this kind of damage — Tenacious Tape by GearAid.

I have had a small roll of this tape in “personal kit” that I take on every backpacking trip. I had not used it in over 15 years. Given it is stored in my garage where temps can vary from 32° F to 125° F, I decided to just buy a new roll to be sure it would hold. I didn’t even bother to actually inspect the old roll or try to use it. So I placed a piece of red tape on the jacket so I would remember where the holes were.

Tenacious Tape

Instructions:

One nice touch is the backing paper on the tape has gridlines to help make nice even cuts, just like better quality gift wrapping paper.

The tape itself is on top of the grid side. So measure the size you need and cut a section. Round the corners with a pair of scissors, so a sharp corner doesn’t accidentally get pulled up; although my experience in the past is it is difficult to remove. Clean the fabric (I used rubbing alcohol on the nylon fabric. Then apply the tape.

Pro Tip

Over the years I have found that when cutting tape, or similar materials with an adhesive side, the sticky side can adhere to the scissors, making it difficult to make a nice clean cut. I struggled with this problem when repair some books with binding tape. The solution, an almost miraculous solution, is scissors made from titanium. Tape and similar materials don’t stick to titanium.

I did carefully push the feathers back into the garment, but the pressure and movement of the top shell of the jacket pulled feathers up to the hole. No problem, the hole is sealed and secure. Yes, the holes are visible because of the white down contrasts with the black fabric. I use this for backpacking, not going to white-tie dinners.

GEAR AID Tenacious Tape 3”x20” Fabric and Vinyl Gear Repair Tape, Quickly Fix Holes and Rips in Puffy Jackets, Rain and Snow Gear, Tents, Sleeping Bag and More, Clear, 1 Pack

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$5.95 (as of October 20, 2024 15:21 GMT -07:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Fix rips and holes fast with an ultra-strong, peel-and-stick repair tape that requires no heat or sewing, ideal for use on tents, tarps, jackets, viny… read more

Fiskars 154110-1001 Non-stick Titanium Softgrip Detail Scissors, 5 Inch

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Ideal for cutting tight patterns and making quick snips through a wide variety of materials including paper, cardboard, tape and much more Non-stick b… read more

Fiskars 1541301001 Non-Stick Titanium Softgrip Scissors, 8″ Length, 3 1/10″ Cut

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$11.42 (as of October 21, 2024 16:50 GMT -07:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Ideal for cutting a wide variety of materials including paper, cardboard, tape and much more Non-stick blade coating makes it easy to cut cleanly thro… read more

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