Backcountry Repair Kit

Carrying a general field repair kit makes you more self-sufficient. This is particularly important on long or remote trips. Think of it as a first aid kit for your gear. Having the minimum number of items will let you limp back to the trailhead. Adding luxury and sport-specific additions may let you continue your trip with style.

Spartan

• duct tape.
• big needle and thick nylon thread (or dental floss).
• big rubber bands.
• swiss army knife.

Basic Additions

• multi-tool.
• alcohol pads for degreasing or cleaning gear for repairs.
• safety pins.
• pole sleeve.

Luxury Additions

• 25 centimetre square of no-see-um-netting for repairing holes in tents, packs, clothing.
• sandpaper for roughing up areas to be glued.
• Inflatable matress repair kit.
• 5 to 6 metres of thin cord.
• 1 metre or more of stovepipe wire or mechanic's wire to fix bindings, rudders, etc.
• super glue.
• epoxy that cures at low temperatures.
• pole segment.
• stove kit.
• ladder and slider buckles, with a slot cut into the support so it can be slid over closed loops.
• 1 metre of accessory webbing.
• ripstop nylon and polyester scraps to repair clothing.
• Freesole.

Sport-Specific Repair Kit Additions

Cycling

• Park tool.
• patch kit.
• lubricant.
• spare tube.
• spoke wrench.

Kayaking

• allan keys, low-profile screwdriver, and socket bits for your boat.
• small gripping wrench.
• wire-cutter.
• spare stainless steel nuts, bolts, and washers for your kayak.
• 2 spare rudder cables, pre-cut for your boat.
• several copper crimpon fittings, and heat-shrink tubes or tape for rudder cable fixes.
• marine-grade epoxy glue for repairing very small holes and sticking parts back together.
• awl for heavier sewing jobs such as sprayskirts.
• Aquaseal® for waterproofing seams and patches on clothing, tents, or drybags.
• small, solid, watertight protector case to keep tools and materials together.

For fibreglass or fibreglass/Kevlar kayaks:

• 30cm square of fibreglass cloth.
• epoxy (polyester or vinylester) resin used for your boat. (Carry two-part resins in two plastic 35mm film canisters – seal the lids with duct tape.)
• small paintbrush with cut-down handle to apply resin to fibreglass cloth and brush grit off a repair after sanding.
• 2 pairs latex gloves to keep epoxy resin off your skin.
• multi-tool saw or half a hacksaw blade to trim and smooth holes prior to patching.
• Aquamend® Wet Surface / Underwater Epoxy Putty to repair smaller holes. or cracks.

For plastic kayaks:

• Quikplastik™ Epoxy Putty Plastic Adhesive (does not adhere to wet surfaces or polyolefin plastics).

Skiing

• pocket multi-bit tool with 1/4" hex shank, 5/32" drill bit for re-drilling skis.
• appropriate screwdriver bits for your bindings. (#3 posidrive, T-20 torque bit, etc.)
• self-tapping binding screws
• spare binding parts.
• golf tees (scrape the paint off) as wooden dowels for plugging screw holes.
• hose clamps for ski pole repair or ski tip repair.

See also Survival Essentials.