I have about an 1 inch slit in a gaitor when i caught my crampon in it, would duct tape placed on the inside and outside be a good patch job?

Seam grip works good and isn't as obvious as duct tape. You can supplement it with a stick-on patch or duct tape on the inside if you want.

Another vote for seam grip (urethane, NOT silicone seam seal)-- but I first use nylon thread, lightly hand-sewn in a coil down the length of the rip. The thread isn't there to provide strength; the thread forms a network to hold the seam grip. Don't pull the thread tight-- just enough to lie almost flat across rip.

MoapaPk wrote:Another vote for seam grip (urethane, NOT silicone seam seal)-- but I first use nylon thread, lightly hand-sewn in a coil down the length of the rip. The thread isn't there to provide strength; the thread forms a network to hold the seam grip. Don't pull the thread tight-- just enough to lie almost flat across rip.

Better to use the stitch they use to repair sails than a coil.

Buz Groshong wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:Another vote for seam grip (urethane, NOT silicone seam seal)-- but I first use nylon thread, lightly hand-sewn in a coil down the length of the rip. The thread isn't there to provide strength; the thread forms a network to hold the seam grip. Don't pull the thread tight-- just enough to lie almost flat across rip.

Better to use the stitch they use to repair sails than a coil.

The stitch is not to add strength per se; it simply closes the edges, like a stitches in ripped flesh, and provides a matrix to hold the seam grip. A crude analogy is rebar in concrete.

Unsightly example-- I pulled too tight at the bottom. This is about a year old:

Zig-zag on a sewing machine would do a much better job. The thread is really a reinforcement for the seam-seal, which is incredibly tough when dry.

Uh-oh!

Another alternative is to put a 1" oak plank behind the tear, and then attach the nylon to the plank with a nail gun.

Duck tape on your outerwear does give you the genuine dirtbag climber look, though sewing and seam grip is more durable (and crampon cuts in your gaiters may not be something you want to advertise as they are very common among new climbers).

One caveat - if you are repairing a cut in a waterproof breathable fabric that has an exposed membrane on the inside (e.g., Paclite Gore Tex), don't put duck tape on the inside (on the membrane) as a temporary repair. I learned the hard way that the membrane often sticks better to duck tape than it does to the original fabric, and peels off when you peel off the tape to make a permanent repair. Obviously, without the membrane the fabric loses its waterproofness, and you then have to either sew in a whole new piece of fabric, or seal up the area where the membrane came off with more seam grip or duck tape...

The principal difference among McNett* seam grip, aquaseal and free sole is viscosity. They are all urethanes that cure to be flexible and abrasion-resistant. The amount of solvent varies in the product line (but is less than in most other glues), but all need a tiny bit of moisture (supplied by air) for the final cure.

Free sole is the most viscous, and seam grip is the least viscous. You can't repair substantial parts of boot soles with seam grip, as it will simply flow away. (I've found ways to use seam grip to repair soles, but they are PITAs.) On the other hand, seam grip will sink into nylon better, and is better for "locking off" seams in shoes (so when cut, the stitching won't pull out). But seam grip needs some sort of matrix to support it, and it can be very messy if it drips out. Every time I use seam grip for repairs, I use 99% isopropyl to clean up the mess.

There are urethane glues that really suck for nylon repair-- e.g. the urethane version of Gorilla glue, which cures to a brittle material that will subsequently crack when bent. And a lot of industrial urethane glues are designed to be space-filling, by foaming up -- not a desired trait for nylon repair.

*Edit: there is another "aqua seal" that is very different.

This is great. I've been walking around like this for years and not yet bothered to do anything about it (other than watch the rip slowly get bigger and bigger). I have some shoe repair stuff and never even thought to try it.

JHH60 wrote:(and crampon cuts in your gaiters may not be something you want to advertise as they are very common among new climbers).

Ok for me though... I'm just an armchair mountaineer.

PellucidWombat wrote:armchair mountaineers such as yourself

That's what I just said!

The Chief wrote:Another tip.....

Place a layer of FREE SOLE on the rip, then apply a strip of this stuff over it:



After the first application of the FREE SOLE dries, apply another thin layer over the Tape.

I have used this tape for all sorts of repairs to gaiters, parkas and pants. I just put a piece of the tape on the inside and outside of the fabric cut, and it lasts for years, even without Seam Grip of Free Sole to supplement it. Just follow the directions. I'm sure it would be stronger with Free Sole, but I have never bothered and it seems to work fine.

Jim Thomas

MoapaPk wrote:The principal difference among McNett* seam grip, aquaseal and free sole is viscosity. They are all urethanes that cure to be flexible and abrasion-resistant. The amount of solvent varies in the product line (but is less than in most other glues), but all need a tiny bit of moisture (supplied by air) for the final cure.

Free sole is the most viscous, and seam grip is the least viscous.

Aquaseal is actually less viscous than Seam Grip. I use Aquaseal when I need the repair to be flexible (I have gobs of it on my old drysuit, dive gloves, etc) and Seam Grip when it needs to be durable (seam sealing, small holes in tent floor, cuts in gaiters, etc).

For both Aquaseal and Seam Grip (and I assume also Free Sole), mixing in a little Cotol will greatly accelerate cure time. Cotol is another McNett product and is basically toluene.

The Chief wrote:Place a slice of Duct Tape on the inner portion and use this stuff on the outter side as it is far more resistant to future abrasion and cuttting than Seam Grip is.

Be advised that SEAM GRIP and FREE SOLE are indeed two completely different animals....

FREE SOLE


SEAM GRIP

Although I haven't used FREE SOLE, I don't see a thing to convince me that they are in fact different. Seam Grip is very similar to Shoe Goo; both are very tough and durable; both are moisture-cured urethanes. Maybe FREE SOLE goes on a bit thicker though. Who knows; can't be much better than Seam Grip though.

JHH60 wrote:Duck tape on your outerwear does give you the genuine dirtbag climber look, though sewing and seam grip is more durable (and crampon cuts in your gaiters may not be something you want to advertise as they are very common among new climbers).

One caveat - if you are repairing a cut in a waterproof breathable fabric that has an exposed membrane on the inside (e.g., Paclite Gore Tex), don't put duck tape on the inside (on the membrane) as a temporary repair. I learned the hard way that the membrane often sticks better to duck tape than it does to the original fabric, and peels off when you peel off the tape to make a permanent repair. Obviously, without the membrane the fabric loses its waterproofness, and you then have to either sew in a whole new piece of fabric, or seal up the area where the membrane came off with more seam grip or duck tape...

So just use duct tape as the permanent repair!

MoapaPk wrote:Unsightly example-- I pulled too tight at the bottom.

Using the right stitch, such as the one used to repair sails, will help prevent the pucker that results from pulling the thread too tight.

Buz Groshong wrote:

JHH60 wrote:One caveat - if you are repairing a cut in a waterproof breathable fabric that has an exposed membrane on the inside (e.g., Paclite Gore Tex), don't put duck tape on the inside (on the membrane) as a temporary repair. I learned the hard way that the membrane often sticks better to duck tape than it does to the original fabric, and peels off when you peel off the tape to make a permanent repair. Obviously, without the membrane the fabric loses its waterproofness, and you then have to either sew in a whole new piece of fabric, or seal up the area where the membrane came off with more seam grip or duck tape...

So just use duct tape as the permanent repair!

You could do that. My warning was simply for someone who might - like I did - slap duck tape on mid climb, with the intent of fixing it properly (stitching, sealant) when they got home, only to discover that peeling off the duck tape makes the problem worse.