Need advice on how to properly patch my down jacket.

I know it's mostly thought of as just a stopgap measure, but I have some down stuff that Ipatched "temporarily" with duct tape or tenacious tape years ago, and have noever got around to repairing "permanently."

Tenacious tape. Fixed my down pants with it after catching the material in a folding chair, works great.

…and can't find Tenacious Tape: band aids work. Yeah they'll leave some residue behind to deal with later (I just covered with a larger patch when I got out of the woods) but it beats leaking expensive down all over the place.

Not pretty perhaps, but very effective.

If doing it myself, I would tape the rip together from the underside of the fabric (a pain, best done with the aid of tweezers) and then hand stitch the rip using a matching color of polyester thread. My favorite stitch for rips is the Feather Stitch.

Would be tempted to hand the job to a professional tailor.

I didn't understand it that way, it sounds like he IS on the trail and has stuffed it away in his bag to prevent down loss.

+1 on tenacious tape, someone on the trail is bound to have a bit. The repairs I've done with tenacious tape have been permanent, and with the clear color, fairly unnoticeable. If you do this, make sure to round off the corners of the patch to prevent peeling, and if possible, clean up the application area a little (alcohol, or at least some water).

As mentioned, if you need a more quick fix, try band-aids, duct tape, even a bit of leuko tape. If it's a pretty large/long rip, pull the edges together instead of trying to tape it how it lays flat.

I second the Tenacious Tape repair. That will work well on a down jacket. Heck, it even works for a Thermarest mattress repair.

If you want a permanent sewn fix, here's sewing technique that allows you to close up a rip by sewing only from the top side. I used to this on a sleeping bag. When you pull the stitch, it seals up the rip tight and down proof. Not the prettiest work, but it was very effective at repairing a rip in my sleeping bag from a cat's claw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4lsh3mZ4jU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS8ES3e6BFA

Same thing happened to a friends down jacket.

We put a piece of adhesive backed insignia cloth over the cut a couple months ago. So far so good.

Her coat is black and my insignia tape is black. Hardly shows. She cut the patch with rounded corners like you might do with a bicycle tube patch.

Like others have said. I've repaired 3 holes in different down garments and it has worked very well. Round the corners of the tape, push the down away from the rip, and line up the edges.
Kelly

That is why my two down jackets are black and silver,

One I can repair with duct tape and the other with electrical :)

I contacted Rab about a small hole in my jacket and they recommended spinnaker tape to patch it

"Alternatively spinnaker repair tape offer a good lasting repair and is available in many different colours."

Kenyon K-Tape is a common brand of spinnaker tape that I've used with much success…they also make a clear version, which is a crazy flexible, crazy sticky, matte-finish clear plastic, so one roll matches all colors…

Tenacious Tape did the trick.

Thanks to all those who responded!