Repairing nice climbing pants

Hey all, I'm sure this has been addressed before , but I was wondering the best way to patch some crampon tears in my nice soft shells. I figured before I went and bought some random material and sewed it on I would ask the experts. Thanks.

I do tenacious tape on the inside and seam grip on the outside.

+1 for tenacious and seam grip. Just fixed my gaiters today.

It depends on how big the tear is.
Here is how I do it. On most small rips you won't even be able to see the patch.
1. Take some regular masking tape carefully cover the rip on the outside of the pant making sure you have the fabric lined up on both sides of the tear.
2. turn the pant inside out.
3. apply some seam grip to the tear (on the inside of the pant) cover the area with about a 1/4" overlap from the tear.
4. Let it dry.
5. Once dry turn pant right side out and remove the masking tape from the area of the tear.

If you do this right most of the time you wont even be able to see the tear and if you can it will look like a very small seam. I have done many articles of clothing like this and it works really well. The seam grip in most cases is stronger then the fabric it is adhered to and you wont need anything else to fix the tear. I have fixed soft shells, gaiters, goretex and other waterproof fabrics, packs and even down clothing using this method and it has worked on all of them without any problems. It looks very professionally done and you wont have a big patch on your clothing.
Good luck.
Dallen

Dallen's advice sounds good although I don't have any personal experience with it. For longer linear tears I can't imagine the seam grip will hold the tension across the tear (i.e. a 2inch horizontal tear). I like to use a sewing machine with a zig-zag fine stitch to approximate and hold the two edges together. This requires no extra material, although I suppose you could do it with the addition of a patch on either side. Then a small amount of seam grip for sealant and you're good.

Thanks for the responses. Sunny D, how did you repair you down products? I have a small (1cm) hole on my 800 fill parka. Instead of turning it inside out did you just do seam grip the outside?

Why would you use tape and glue to repair a nice pair of pants? A professional seamstress would probably charge you the same or less to do it correctly.

I have had en creditable success with the method that i mentioned above the seam grip holds the cloth really well. and seals the tear perfectly.
For down on really small holes a small piece of tenacious tape cut into a circle or rounded corners works well. you can usually find the tape in the same color as your clothing. seam grip also wrks well but sometimes does not look as clean. on big tears I will slide a piece of tape into the tear and seal it on the outside with seam grip. down is the hardest to work with.
If you have access to a sewing machine you can do amazing repairs.
Pros can also do a good job but it cost money.

Good topic. Thanks for the info. Could use this in all kinda of applications.

I've had great luck using shoe goo to add crampon patches and to patch blown out knees. Just make sure to use a thin coat across the whole patch, have something inside the pant leg you are repairing (so the shoe goo doesn't stick to the inside and seal the leg shut if repairing a knee and to make it easy to apply pressure to) and apply pressure intermittantly until it sets. It's super quick and works well.

i just sew mine. doesnt look great but closes the hole. soft shells arent waterproof anyways

What I've done in the past that works with soft shell product is use iron on jean patches! On the inside.

Turn inside out
Lie flat
Iron on patches
Done and can barely tell it's ever been torn

This can be that simple if you can get to the tear from the inside easily. One time I did this and it was a bit difficult as it only ripped through an outer layer. That time I taped the outside to hold, turned inside out, cut a small opening on the inside layer, slid patch in and over approximate position and ironed. Came out great.

I do this with iron on gore tex patches too.