Gear damage – suggestions please

Badges of honor. Just use it up. Eric Chan will be proud.

The pole handles could be replaced with new ones I believe. You could get some cork handles from Gossamer Gear if that would float your boat and they fit. Or other suppliers have foam handles I believe. And the mesh on your Gorilla will probably need to be sewn up a bit. Poor Gorilla :( mine has suffered no harm as of yet, but I dread the day it does. LOL

Disclaimer: I don't really know what I'm talking about. Just throwing out ideas.

Edit to add: I also agree with Mr. Ken.

"Badges of honor. Just use it up. "

Ha, yeah. But the divots in the grips are annoying to my fingers, and I'm worried that the tears in the mesh might spread.

I don't know of anything to repair foam grips with. Does you're pole company have any kind of warranty or repair service? I think any repairs would lead to discomfort for you're fingers as well though, so replacement grips may be the only option.

I bought a used pack on which McNett Seam Grip had been used to repair tears in more traditional open-holed mesh. It worked so well that I bought some to use on a pair of shoes whose stretchy mesh had developed a tear; those shoes are still holding up well. Worth a try on your pack, I think, unless someone has a better idea. It doesn't look pretty but it works.

That's what I was going to suggest – McNett Seam Grip

or Shoe Goo

The mesh tears won't spread too much. I have a pack with that mesh and tons of holes for years, and they haven't really grown. If you only use this pocket for bigger stuff (i.e. clothes) then I wouldn't worry about it. Sewing these tears is tough because its hard to find a thread with the same stretch characteristics.

A rodent chewed my wife's GG LT4 poles a few years back. It was annoying at first but eventually we got used to it. Rather than fill in the holes, I'd consider if you can file/grind down the pole to smooth out the depression. You might be able to do it with a razor blade. Once you get it semi-smooth you'll stop noticing it after a while. Or you could toss some new grips on. GG sells their LT4 grips separately.

climbing tape for the poles … you can also get foam tape … or you can leave it

the mesh can be fixed with liberal use of seam grip and duct tape

just use that gear up anyways … thats whuddah its meant for

;)

As above, sand it down and get used to it.

Foam tape (Cinelli… they call it "cork" but it's foam) for road bike handlebars might work. Thin it down with sandpaper and attach it with Welder brand contact cement. I bet your local bike shop should would have plenty of scraps they'd give you.

Could also use some stretchy material from an old base layer to patch the stretchy mesh.

Might be able to hit that handle damage with a blast of spray foam insulation, then sand to fit.

Might not, too.

A number of shops will replace the mesh.

You can replace the foam handles or forget about it.

My handles have teeth marks, etc. Doesnt bother me.

Yeah– just stitch up the holes in the mesh if it looks like it will spread. You can get new handles if they are Black Diamond. Shoe Goo was my first thought. Maybe sand them smooth. Stuff happens.

Interfacing material can prevent further damage. Applied with an iron. Read instructions:

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/06/using-interfacing/

I had no idea that there was such a thing as knit interfacing (stretchy), since the last time I sewed clothing was many many years ago. Good to know, for repair purposes- thanks!

1. Leave the pole handle marks as-is. They give it "character" and backcountry cred.

2. Use Shoe Goo transparent repair in the light mesh. It won't look good but will hold things together as long as the pack lasts.
OR sew it up with nylon thread.

Needle and thread (either to add patch or close holes) or some duck tape for the mesh.

For the handles, I'd try replacing them if I could. If that isn't an option, you could try some tennis racket overtape. It's meant to be an absorbent grippy surface, similar to your handle already. You could easily fill the hole with some caulking (home depot style) and re-wrap the handles in the tape.

As the owner of a curious cockatoo, I don't think I own anything without holes similar to that in it. My trekking umbrella looks a lot like your pole handles.

"As the owner of a curious cockatoo, I don't think I own anything without holes similar to that in it. My trekking umbrella looks a lot like your pole handles."

Don't get mad, get even :)

Thanks for all the replies!

Grips: As a highly sensitive person, these divots would get on my nerves. My hands would be very aware of the differences between left and right. Just the way I am. I heard no nays on the Sugru, and since I had already bought some I tried it out. It is curing now, but so far it looks pretty good. Will see how it holds up. For the record, these poles are Fizan.

Mesh: Perhaps I'll take the pack to a fabric store and see if they have some stretchy iron-on mesh as was suggested. Your posts also reminded me that I think I have some stretchy mesh scraps that I saved from some old garment, and I might be able to seam-grip a piece on. This mesh is between my back and the pack's pad right where most of the load sits, so I wouldn't want to just leave it alone.

Hey, I'm all for character marks and backcountry cred when it doesn't impact performance, but I take more pride in a repair that extends the life of gear than I do "just using it up".

Thanks again. I'll follow up with photos of the repairs.

-Stephen

Don't sew or glue anything to your pack Steve, highly unlikely you'll be able to match the stretch, and patches which don't match will tear out. Not familiar with the iron-on stuff, might be worth a try. Otherwise, just gently melt the edges so the fabric doesn't fray and call it good.

Aside from slowly sanding the pole grips to be less irritating (use fine grit), or replacing them entirely I don't know what else to suggest.

Grips — no actual experience, but wondering — maybe get this, wrap around the grip a few times — shape and cut down to size and glue?

David, thanks for the warning. I had wondered about adding another layer of material to the mesh. Even if the stretch is a perfect match, the repair will be twice as stiff as the rest of the mesh (where the material is double thickness), even ignoring the glue, which would be even stiffer. A very stretchy iron-on mesh might be the thing – just enough to hold things together, but not stiff enough to cause problems. Fortunately nothing thicker than a foam pad goes in there, so it doesn't have to stretch much.

Here are the grips with the Sugru. The one in the foreground has the repairs (I only bothered with the large holes), and the other one was unmolested. The feel is pretty good. If it stays in there I'll be pretty satisfied.

For the pack, I first tried stitching up the holes in the mesh. It was ugly, at least with my sewing skills. I found some mesh interfacing at Jo-Ann's fabrics, though it only stretched in one direction. After trying a test piece on a spare piece of mesh, I decided to try this for the repair.

The patch, cut to go on the inside of the mesh:

It was not an easy area to iron. I inserted a small plastic cutting board inside the mesh to iron against.

The completed repair:

Will see how it holds up.