Get hiking gear repaired before heading out

The thought occurred to me the other day when I looked outside that it’s almost peak hiking season, and I need to fix my gear before I head into the backcountry.

When I peer into my equipment closet, I see a landscape of stuff sacks with ripped seams and one with a hole. A zipper is blown out on a wind shell, and one fanny pack has so much trail grime on it that I wouldn’t want to wear it. The more I sort through it all, the more I find to fix. Some of it I’ll be able to do myself. Some items may need professional help.

If this sounds like the situation with your equipment, fear not. It takes but a little know-how and some time to put your packs, boots and outerwear back in working trail shape. I usually start with the simplest repairs, such as sewing seams. Most cloth stuff sacks can be sewed on a home sewing machine. Turn the sack inside out and run a fresh stitch down the length of the seam and you’re done. Carefully singe any loose edges with a lighter to keep the fabric from fraying.

For pack cloth, which is stronger and thicker than sack cloth, sewing on a home machine is pretty much out. Few home machines will sew through it with the correct tension required to hold a stitch. If your pack seam is split, you may need to take it to a repair shop. Some mountain shops can recommend an outside service that does pack repairs. It’s usually a shoe repair shop with little knowledge of packs, but they will do a passable job for a small fee.

The best place I have found to take packs is an upholstery shop. They have experience with heavy cloth, they use tough thread, and they have capable machines. Canvas shops are another good source for heavy cloth repair. If you don’t trust your expensive pack to someone local, you generally can return it to the manufacturer. Call for specifics, but most will make repairs for a small fee. Realize that if you send the pack away, you will be without it while you wait for repairs to be made.

Fixing seams is fairly easy, but zipper repairs are a little more complicated. First, check a malfunctioning zipper by carefully inspecting it. Look down the length of the zipper for missing or broken teeth. If you find broken teeth, the zipper needs to be replaced. You should take it to a repair shop for replacement, because replacing zippers is difficult unless you are a fairly accomplished sewer. If there are no broken teeth and the zipper still doesn’t work, it’s probably a worn slider that closes the teeth. You can replace the slider yourself. Just buy a slider, take the old one off, and install the new one.

One way to keep zippers working better to begin with is by applying bar soap to the teeth. Slide the bar down the length of the zipper. Move the slider up and down a few times to work the soap in, and you should have a smooth-working zipper. Does it seem like everything has zippers? Packs, pockets, sleeping bags, tents, even a water bottle holder has a zipper.

Holes in equipment are simple to fix. Buy a patch kit for the appropriate color fabric and sew over the hole. I like using embroidered patches such as campground or state park patches because they really identify my stuff. When patching waterproof-breathable fabric, you must use a waterproof-breathable patch that is available at your local mountain shop. Follow the directions. If you sew through the garment’s breathable membrane, you will have to use a seam sealer to waterproof the needle holes.

Leather boots need waterproof treatment at least once a season. Follow the directions for the product you choose and your boots will keep you dry. Waterproof fabric boots generally need no treatment as long as there are no holes.

Probably the hardest things to repair on equipment are pack straps, waist belts and shoulder straps because strap material is so thick. Usually when a strap fails, it’s because it’s pulled out a few stitches that join it to the pack. If you take it to a repair shop such as a shoe repairer or upholsterer, they should be able to fix it. A home machine will probably not be able to sew through a thick strap plus a layer of pack cloth.

I like making as many repairs as possible myself. I get to learn about my equipment, how it was constructed, weak points in design, and the satisfaction of making something work again. The one area I specialize in is pack straps and thick waist belts. I have a secret weapon that allows me to sew through the thickest, most padded strap they make. It’s a sewing awl. My pack has ripped out in every possible location and I’ve sewn them back together with that simple tool. They’re not much to look at but those stitches hold.

I take my sewing awl with me in my repair kit in my pack. It’s the one tool I wouldn’t be without. It will accommodate any size thread from very fine to my favorite, braided Dacron 30-pound test fly line backing. Other things for my repair kit include a full-size waist belt buckle (male and female halves), cord locks, an extra cinch strap, duct tape and clevis pins for when I take my external frame pack.

I figure if I start now on the repairs I have to make, maybe I’ll be done by, oh, say July.

Brad Viles is a trail maintainer with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club.