I break things. However, when then eventually break, I do try to mend them- partially because I dislike having to buy new stuff if I don't think it has reached its full life capacity, partially because by the time I DO break things the manufactuers have moved on and I can't actually get the thing anyway, and partially because I dislike throwing things away because of minor breakages and issues.
There are a few products that I use on a fairly regular basis which form the core of my "fix things" workshop. It is useful to note here that I am in NO WAY a repair professional, and anything I say here is basically me just trying things to see if they work.
With that in mind, here we are:
Shoe repairs
Stormsure glue. I love this stuff. The ones I buy tend to come in packs of 3 small tubes. I know that if you buy a big single tube it is probably better value, but you have to remember that you need to stick it in your freezer if you want it to be any use after the first time you open it. I seldom do that and end up with a semi used tube of glue that just goes off in the tube. Not useful.
What have I used this for? Essentially sticking shoes back together, sticking soles back onto shoes, generally gluing footwear back to itself. I use small G-clamps to hold the sole and upper in place for 24 hours after gluing, and that seems to work pretty well. No, it does not make the shoe "good as new", and yes there is some degredation of the glue, however, it does prolong the life of your inov8s.
Wetsuit repairs
Black Witch. This stuff is amazing. Neoprene in a tube? Or something along those lines. Because of the way I swim it seems that my wetsuits are particularly susceptible to rips under the armpits. My alpkit Lotic did it pretty much from brand new, which was a bit of an issue, and after a year of stress, my huub has started to do the same thing. Ok, so Black witch is a bit of a stopgap for these areas which are under high stress, but it does seem to work very well.
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| wetsuit awaiting repair. (again) |
Also if you are clumsy/have a propensity to stick your fingernails through your wetsuit, then this is the stuff you need to repair it. It seems pretty easy to store as I've had the same tube for about 2 years and it hasn't turned into solid craziness in the tube in that time.
Fingertip repairs (I'm not kidding)
Get cracked fingertips in the winter? Need a good answer? Superglue. Brilliant stuff. I bought this one from the local hardwear store, and it has been brilliant. Normally, superglue ends up gluing itself to itself, but this stuff has stayed useful for a good couple of years despite it being open. No, superglue doesnt appear to be dangerous to you... it was originally developed to glue soldiers back together in the Vietnam war (unless that is just a myth?).
This stuff has also been used for multiple superglue like things as well as sticking me back together- so yes, can highly recommend this stuff.
Goretex patches
Comes with a square patch and a circular patch- stickybacked so that it is easy to apply. I've used it on a few things now, not just Goretex, but also eVent trousers with no problem at all. It has stayed stuck on much longer than any other tape/attempted repairs with other things in the past, so yes, I'm going to say that these repair patches are very very much worth the money.
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| Yes, the patches are black. This is the peel off backing. |
Tenacious tape
Using Ducktape/gorrilla tape/helicoptor tape to repair things? Fine and dandy, but you might be missing out on tenacious tape. I've used this as backing for a lot of things, taping up holes and other bits and bobs for ages. Strong, clear (or at least, the version I have is clear), and generally excellent.
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| ok, so it didn't work quite as well here. |
The only time it hasn't worked was when I was using very small pieces to cover over small holes in pertex in a pair of mittens. It worked for a short time, and then didn't. Probably because they were being used a lot.
Other stuff which might come in handy
To be fair, all this stuff is just stuff I have at home. They don't come out with me on the hill or on a trip (though I might start putting a tube of Stormsure and a roll of tenacious tape in a kit for the bike or hike bag, just for good measure).
Other things that I either have around - or carry with me on the hill are:
Spare shoe laces.
Kevlar thread and a needle.
Zip ties.
Which is generally enough to fix things up where necessary and get me off the hill for a more thorough repair.
What do you use to fix your stuff? What am I missing?
