Whether you are a car camper or a backcountry guru, gear damage is inevitable. I have ripped down jackets, drenched my sleeping bag, ripped bootlaces and otherwise abused my stuff. It’s always fun to laugh about it later but it is not fun to watch those down feathers scatter to the wind when a snowstorm is set to move in. A broken lace, with 15 miles to go, is hardly humorous.
Enter the standby, our old friend…duct tape! It is as useful on trail as it is at home and, in a pinch, can determine the difference between a happy excursion and misery. I take some good duct tape (fabric, not plastic) and wrap it around my water bottle a few times, adding more for longer trips. You could also wrap some around a trekking pole or a flashlight…if you’re still using one in our world of headlamps.
So, what can you do with it?
- Quick emergency tent repair- either fabric rip or a pole repair
- Blister care- in a pinch, you can keep a hot spot from getting worse or protect a wound (although make sure you’re using some gauze between your skin and the actual wound)
- Croakies- if you’re on a paddling trip and lose your sunglasses strap, rig one up
- Repair a ripped Thermarest
- Stop those down feathers from running lose, whether it be coat, sleeping bag or booties
- Use it to pull stickers out of your fleece
- Fix a CamelBack hose with a puncture wound
So, what ideas to you have? How else have you utilized this go-to product?
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