Dont Forget The Duct Tape

Don't Forget The Duct Tape

By Kristin Hostetter

It's full of great advice for repairing broken zippers, snagged sleeping bags, and sputtering camp stoves, but even more importantly, it lays out the best way to keep these problems from happening in the first place.

Whether you need to remedy a leak in your tent, repair flapping boot soles, nurse a cranky stove back to life, unclog a water filter, or revive gunked-up Velcro, you'll find the solution here. And it can all be done with an inexpensive 12-item repair kit that, once assembled, won't weigh more than a pound or two-worth its weight in gold!

As you'd guess, this pack-it-with-you pocket guide includes many ingenious uses for that most versatile of tools: duct tape! Here's just a few of many tips:

• Tip: Make a sturdy zipper pull by threading a thin strip of duct tape through the slider, then wrapping the tails with more duct tape
• Tip: For a more stable stove, cut a square of old closed-cell foam pad sized to fit the base of your backpacking stove. Wrap the foam generously with duct tape for insulation and you have a stable cooking platform that works great in the snow.
• Tip: When re-gluing a boot or shoe sole, a few turns of duct tape can keep the toe area secure while the glue dries.

Features

• What to include in your hiking or travel repair kits
• Duct tape dos and don'ts
• New sections on caring for technical wool garments and repairing softshell fabrics, single-wall tents, hydration systems, and more

96 pages