[pct-l] Duct Tape

[Hiker97 at aol.com (Hiker97@aol.com)]

There are many brands, but I like the reinforced type.  I think 3M makes a 
good type.  Also, duct tape comes in lots of colors.

One thing about duct tape, it will deteriorate and lose its effectiveness in 
the outdoors.  So, on some of my backpacking applications I cover it with 
"metal tape".  I think this is just adhesive tape that has a thin metal coating.  
This metal tape is very resistant to deterioration in the great outdoors, but 
not as strong as the duct tape.  Some uses of tapes:

1.  Reinforce the bottom of your pack from all the abuse it takes.
2.  Make a handsfree umbrella holder.
3.  Protect the bottom 20% of your hiking pole(s), especially super light 
carbon fiber poles.
4.  Protect the bottoms of water bottles.  This might be important if you use 
super light water bottles (1-2 ounce 1-liter types).
5.  Repairs on the trail that might lend themselves to taping.

Also, do not forget reflective tapes and clear packaging tapes over them for 
protection.  Reflective tapes tend to be rather fragile and need a little 
protection in the outdoors.

All this taping only costs you fractions of an ounce or maybe an ounce of so, 
but gives you some bang for your buck, err, back.

Just some ideas, Switchback