[pct-l] Repair kit for backpack ravaged by a bear?

[eyakel at earthlink.net (Eric Yakel)]

Bob:
     You are brilliant.... or maybe I'm not.  I've been trying to think of
what
to wrap duct tape around.  A pencil, all right I guess.  A squashed toilet
paper
roll.  Worse.  And there it was all the time.  Around my hiking poles.  I
learn
more valuable and simple ideas from this list than any where else.  Thanks
for
the tip.  Eric Yakel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob@comcast.net>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>; "erik" <erik@erikgoetze.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Repair kit for backpack ravaged by a bear?


> I routinely wrap 3 feet of FRESH duct tape around each trekking pole and
> call it good for that year. Here's the contents of my 3 ounce repair kit
> which I've carried the for past 12 years but rarely needed:
>
> 1@ 2-piece hipbelt buckle - see below
> 1@ 3 inch  heavy sewing needle - fits in dental floss case
> 1@ small bottle Crazy Glue
> 1@ 100 yds unwaxed dental floss in plastic case
> 3@ Platypus bladder repair patches
> 1@ bite valve for Platypus hoser system
> 1@ soda bottle screw-on cap - fits Platy bladders
> 1@ small mesh carrying bag
>
> Before every trip I ask myself, other than sewing on a lost button or a
tear
> in my gear, what could go wrong that would devastate my hike? Then I
adjust
> the repair kit inventory to compensate for that.
>
> Note the extra hipbelt buckle - both pieces! This thing is impossible to
fix
> in the field if it breaks, and I can't tie the belt tight enough to
> effectively transfer the weight to my hips. I've needed this item only one
> time, when my partner accidentally stepped on and broke his hipbelt buckle
> as he reached over to pick up his pack on the 2nd day of a week-long trek.
> Toilet paper is the only item I can think of that might bring a higher
price
> in the field. I got breakfast in bed for the rest of the trek - and prayed
I
> didn't repeat his mistake.
>
> If I'm carrying any silnylon gear (pack, tarp, etc), I'll add a tube of
> Silnet seam sealer so I can waterproof any repair I make since duct tape
> won't work. When I used to carry a PUR Hiker water filter, I added the
small
> tube of silicon lubricant that comes with the replacement filter elements.
> Before I switched to Photon lights, I'd carry any extra batteries and bulb
> for my flashlight here.
>
> As an aside, I find that this tiny kit makes a good place for me to store
> the protective caps from the tips of my trekking poles so they don't get
> lost.
>
> Wandering Bob
>
>
>
>
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