How To Repair Holes in Your Gear

Small holes in the fabrics of the following products can be repaired using McNett (Gear Aid) Seam Grip:  Lightweight Dry Sacks, Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks (inner surface only), eVac Dry Sacks, eVent Compression Dry Sacks, Stopper Dry Bags, Hydraulic Dry Bags, Nylon Stuff Sacks, Big River Dry Bags, Compression Sacks, Folding Buckets, and Kitchen Sinks.

If you’re repairing small holes in the fabrics of the following products, they can be repaired using McNett (Gear Aid) SilNet:  Ultra-Sil Stuff Sacks, Ultra-Sil Compression Sacks, X-Cups/Mugs/Bowls/Plates, and Ultra-Sil Pack Covers.

HOW DO I REPAIR A HOLE IN A DRY SACK?

Sea to Summit doesn’t market a repair kit, because we use several different types of fabric in our dry sacks, and there isn’t one type of self-adhesive patch which will work on all of them.

All of our dry sacks can be repaired using a product called McNett (Gear Aid) Seam Grip (available at all good outdoor and hardware stores). This will work on holes up to about 3/4″ (20mm) across or tears up to about 1 1/2″ (40mm) long. The technique varies slightly for Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks and Ultra-Sil Nano Dry Sacks – see the asterisk * below.

• Clean both sides of the fabric around the hole with isopropyl alcohol
• Stick a piece of masking tape on the outside of the dry sack
• Turn the dry sack inside out
• Drop a blob of Seam Grip on the hole on the inside of the fabric; make sure that the Seam Grip overlaps the hole by about half an inch/15mm
• Do not let any other part of the Dry Sack touch the Seam Grip until it dries – it will stick and will not be removable
• Allow the Seam Grip to dry: 12 – 24 hours (you may want to dust the repair with climbing chalk or talcum powder before you pack the sack away to avoid the repair sticking to the remaining fabric)
• Turn the Dry Sack right sides out and peel off the masking tape.
• If the hole is large enough to warrant a second application, drop a blob of Seam Grip on the outside of the sack over the damaged section, again overlapping by half an inch. Allow drying for 12 – 24 hours ensuring that nothing else comes into contact with the Seam Grip while it is drying

* Seam Grip will not stick to the outside of the Ultra-Sil or Ultra-Sil Nano fabric; therefore you can skip this last step.

• The above repair steps would work for all dry sacks, Nylon Stuff sacks, Compression Sacks, eVent Compression Dry Sacks, 70D Pack Covers, Pack Converter Duffles, Folding Buckets and Kitchen Sinks.
• For repairs to Ultra-Sil Stuff Sacks, Ultra-Sil Compression Sacks and Ultra-Sil Duffles, Shopping Bags and Daypacks, see the instructions for Ultra-Sil Pack Covers below.

HOW DO I REPAIR A HOLE OR TEAR IN MY ULTRA-SIL PACK COVER?

The nature of a repair to an Ultra-Sil Pack Cover (or to Ultra-Sil Stuff Sacks, Ultra-Sil Compression Sacks, and Ultra-Sil Duffles, Shopping Bag, and Daypacks) will depend on the size of the hole or tear. Very small holes (up to 3/4″ or 20mm) can be sealed using a silicone sealant such as McNett SilNet. Larger holes or tears will require sewing and patching. We don’t market a repair kit because the only thing which will stick to silicone is more silicone – so all of the glues used in stick-on patches would be ineffective.

If the hole is small enough to only require sealant, here’s what to do:

• Clean the fabric with isopropyl alcohol
• Stick a piece of masking tape over the hole
• Apply the sealant to the side opposite to the masking tape and allow to dry (at least 24 hours)
• Peel off the masking tape, apply sealant to the other side of the fabric and allow it to dry
• Allow the silicone to dry for at least 24 hours before packing the cover back into its stuff sack; it’s a good idea to dust the repair with climbing chalk (or talcum powder) to make sure the sealant doesn’t stick to the rest of the pack cover

If the hole or tear is large enough to require sewing, here’s what to do:

• First clean both sides of the fabric around the hole/tear with isopropyl alcohol
• If the edges of the hole/tear are ragged, they will need to be trimmed and either hemmed with a zig-zag stitch or melted using a soldering iron
• A tear up to approximately 1″/25mm can simply be sewn with a zig-zag stitch; a larger tear will need to be patched.
• Sew the patch over the hole
• Now seal the stitch line you have just created using silicone sealant
• As with a simple seal-repair, allow the silicone to dry for at least 24 hours before packing the cover back into its stuff sack and perhaps dust the repair with climbing chalk (or talcum powder) to make sure the sealant doesn’t stick to the rest of the pack cover.