FeatherSticks · Gear
Field Repair Kit: What to Pack and How to Fix Gear Outdoors
A roll of tape and a needle can save a trip. Here is the rest of the kit.
Quick facts
- Weight
- ≈ 60–100 g ultralight, 150–250 g standard, 300–450 g with a tent
- Time
- Most repairs take 5–15 minutes; glue needs hours to cure
- Difficulty
- Easy – practise once at home
- You need
- Tape, patches, needle and thread, cord, cable ties, pins, lighter, knife
What you need
- Gaffer or repair tape on a bottle or pole
- Self-adhesive fabric patches and mat patches
- Needle and strong thread
- Cable ties, safety pins, spare cord
- Spare buckle, thin wire, small tube of glue
- Small multitool or knife and a lighter
- Pole repair sleeve (tent users)
Step by step
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1 Pack a compact kit
Gaffer tape, self-adhesive patches, mat patches, needle and strong thread, pins, cable ties, cord, a spare buckle and a lighter. About 150–250 g.
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2 Keep it small and reachable
One zip bag in the lid pocket. Wind tape round a bottle or pole instead of carrying the roll.
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3 Patch torn fabric
Wipe it clean and dry, cut a patch with round corners 2 cm bigger than the tear all round, press hard and patch both sides.
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4 Find and patch a mat leak
Inflate fully, find the leak with water or soapy foam, mark it, dry it, apply the patch and weigh it down while it cures.
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5 Splint a broken pole
Slide a repair sleeve of 10–15 cm over the break, centre it and tape both ends smooth. A stick and cord work in a pinch.
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6 Know the limits, mend at home
Field repairs get you home. Replace anything safety-critical and redo the repair properly after the trip.
Common mistakes
- Patching a dirty or wet surface, so the patch peels in the first rain.
- Using square patch corners that catch and lift.
- Patching only one side of a tear.
- Taping a mat leak without finding the actual hole or checking the valve.
- Squeezing a zip slider too hard and crushing it.
- Repairing safety-critical gear in the field instead of replacing it.
- Never restocking the kit after a trip.