Zpacks Sewing Repair Kit

Good design, poor execution.

This kit includes a stout curved needle and 60 ft of  heavy-duty (125 lb break strength) polymer thread. Just the thing (in principle) for doing field repairs on just about anything – shoes, clothes, tents, packs etc.

When the fly zipper on my Durston X-mid failed in the North Cascades section of the PCT (with a storm on the way), my plan was to sew up the fly and keep it fairly weather-tight.

I got out the repair kit, bought earlier in the year, and struggled for 5 minutes to pry the needle off the spool. It was stuck tight. Upon inspection, it was heavily corroded.

Threading the needle was another hassle, as the eye is undersized and the end of the thread frays readily.

Once threaded I commenced sewing and found that the needle could penetrate the zipper tape only with great effort – it was very dull. Pulling each stitch through was also a nightmare, as the corrosion on the shank caused it to stick.

In short, what should have be an easy 5 minute job took the better part of an hour. I recommend you avoid this product and just get a heavy-duty needle and some nylon thread at the local JoAnn’s. Put a piece of blue masking tape over the tip and stick both inside a tube of Tenacious Tape (along with a mini-tube of cyanoacrylate glue (SuperGlue) and you will have a very capable repair kit that weighs about an ounce.

I’ve carried this kit on a lot of trips, but until Drew posted his review above, I hadn’t thought to pull it out and see how it was faring.

I too noticed that my needle was corroded. Probably as a result of moisture exposure, but maybe that reveals a pretty cheap needle instead of a high-quality one?

I actually love Kevlar thread – it makes for good repairs. However, it’s much harder to work with than, say, waxed poly threads. I think the latter is easier to manage in field repairs. Kevlar is slippery and frays.

The needle in this kit is dull and unusable on anything except for knit fabrics, but even there, it’s too thick.