repairing ripped down pants?

[Barbara Karagosian]

Any ideas on how to repair a 1inch L-shaped rip in the seat of my down pants (Montbell)? I think it occurred after sitting on a wooden bench and it's now hemorrhaging feathers :-( I was thinking that stitching it might create pinholes for more feather loss, and maybe duct-tape or tenacious tape might be better. I don't care about appearances. Thanks for any advice.

[Stephen M]

I have repaired ripped down items with McNett Tenacious tape, cut out a patch and round out the edges and it will last a long time.

[Barbara Karagosian]

Thanks for the suggestion – that's what I'll do.

[Stephen M]

Best of luck, it really is a 2 minute job, I have done it via torch light when a buddy burned a hole in his down jacket.

[Ken Thompson]

Since those are sewn through you could also sacrifice the included stuff sack if the fabrics match and make a patch slightly larger than the sewn square. Fold under and sewn on.

[Roger Caffin]

I carry a foot of prepared 1/2" wide repair tape for this: the same fabric as our down gear with 3M9485 double-sided tape on it. The last repair has lasted >4 years.

Cheers

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I've repaired down garments in the past with a bit of scrap material from the stuff some and some sort of adhesive. Really though, tenacious tape works darn good and much quicker/simpler to do. My Montbell Alpine Light Parka has several nice little black circles of tenacious tape on it.

[MFR]

How well does the Tenacious Tape do in the wash? I need to repair a down jacket, and that's been my only concern with that method.

I have some scrap material (sent from the manufacturer) and some double-sided transfer tape leftover from cuben projects that I was thinking of trying. Would that work better than Tenacious Tape?

[todd]

Tenacious Tape is good.

As an aside, I recommend not sitting on ANYTHING in those pants (love mine!) without a sit pad.

[Barbara Karagosian]

You're dead right about that – and watch out for any nearby bushes too.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

The double sided transfer tape I have (3M 3485???) sticks decently but not as well as tenacious tape. I've never washed any garments patched with tenacious tape, but my guess is it would hold up good for a wash or two and then the edges might peel after a few washes. Pure speculation though. It's good tape but still tape.

[Paul Magnanti]

A few years ago during a Utah trip, I burned a hole in my "beater" down coat I use for car camping. (We we were doing a trailhead bivvy before a trip. I leaned over the camp stove and singed it. Doh!)

I put some duct tape on as a temp measure, stashed it in the car, came back from the trip and went to an outfitter in Moab and bought this tape:
http://www.kenyonconsumer.com/store/product.php?productid=90

When I arrived back at home, I gently washed with a damp cloth the area around the gash, dried the area and placed on the tape. With an iron on VERY LOW setting, I gently ironed around the edges of the tape.

I still use this jacket regularly as my beater down jacket, the feathers have stayed intact and the repair has held 4+ yrs later.

(As an aside, pay $55 on clearance for this jacket and has been quite the work horse for me http://www.trailspace.com/gear/ems/glacier-down-jacket/ No longer avail. )

[Barbara Karagosian]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have Tenacious in my repair kit, and have never had a chance to use it, so this is it :-)

[Jerry Adams]

if the tenacious tape has been in your reair kit for a long time, it's probably no good

(just trying to make a joke – ignore this)

[Barbara Karagosian]

Haha! Prob no sticky left…

[Author]

Posts