Gear Repair and Maintenance

I had a reader contact me recently asking about the products I use for gear repair and maintenance, which I do a lot of because I’m really rough on gear. But you’d be surprised at how inexpensive it is to fix or modify your hiking and backpacking gear using just …

Regular cleaning of synthetic insulated jackets and sleeping bags is recommended to maximize their performance and warmth. However, the use of lightweight exterior shell fabrics requires delicate handling. Here are cleaning and gear maintenance tips to help you clean and restore synthetic insulated garments, quilts, and sleeping bags for optimal use. Synthetic …

I’ve been using Sno-Seal for over 30 years, ever since my father bought me my first pair of leather Raichle boots in Switzerland when I was 16 years old. I’ve used it on a wide range of leather shoes since them, from cross country skiing boots to hiking boots and …

Tenacious Tape is the bees knees for patching rips and burns in hard shells and insulated jackets, inflatable sleeping pads, tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks. I’ve used it many times since to repair the gear and clothing I like and want to keep using. Tenacious Tape comes in two forms: as …

Do your trail runners or trail shoes smell like really bad breath? Do your housemates make you keep them outside because they smell so overpowering, like Dog-sh*t? Does the smell remain even after regular rinsing? Do you own a separate pairs for work and socializing because the trail running/hiking pair can’t be …

Waterproof breathable rain jackets are not permanently waterproof. Instead they’re coated with a chemical formulation called DWR, which stands for Durable Water Repellant, that causes water to bead up on the jacket surface when it rains and roll off. The problem is that this DWR coating rubs off after a time, …

When I went backpacking last weekend, I experienced ideal conditions for developing hypothermia. I was hiking through heavy mist and light rain, which grew heavier as the day wore on. Temperatures were in the low 40’s F and the wind was blowing at about 20 miles an hour. After a …

I’ve always had problems with trekking poles that have an internal locking mechanism because I could never figure out how to fix them when they started to slip. It got so bad, that I gave up on them for many years and only used poles with external flicks locks like …

How many of you have holed hiking pants laying around the house waiting for a generous sewer to repair them for you? Did you know that you can just as easily repair them with Tenancious Tape? I’m not talking about rain pants, but regular nylon hiking pants. I wouldn’t have …

When you buy a Tarp Tent, a silnylon tarp shelter, or a hammock tarp, it’s best to seal the seams using McNett’s Silnet (also called Gear Aid Silnet) in order to make them waterproof in the rain. Most of these shelters are not seam sealed or seam taped, so you have …