Best material to fix these holes in pack

Did a good job shredding up my FL 30 pack. What’s your favourite material to patch it up?

So far I’ve been told gorilla tape, seen tauck tape on a pack, gear aid.

hope to have some water resistance and durability with whatever I use

A marmot chewed a hole clean across the back panel of mine at the start of this summer - the Gorilla Tape patch job is holding up really well, a lot better than I expected. That's on the back panel and not the bottom, of course, but I've been pretty impressed. Pack is out and in use for ice season now, haven't noticed any significant leak or anything.

Hello,

Gorilla tape cut in circular shape. You can use seam grip or silicone in the center. Tape both sides. I also proactively silicone worn areas before they get holes.

Thank you

I used the gear aid tape to fix some large holes in my backpacking pack and they're holding up really well for being in a high wear area. The hole in question is at the bottom of the exterior water bottle pocket, which tends to get chewed up because it is at the bottom/side of the pack and usually filled with unforgiving water bottles and it seems to be holding up about as well as the original material. Make the patches a lot larger than they need to be, and clean everything really well with alcohol and let it dry completely before you stick anything. Totally agree with Fishy Boi - definitely tape both sides.

I think if you want something more permenant, you could find a donor pack or a random scrap of cordura to use as a patch, and use something like Aquaseal FD or Seam Grip as an adhesive. That would be a more durable solution and would probably surpass your pack's original durability, but it will be a lot more involved with more of a chance for things to get messy.

I used Flex Tape (“strong rubberized waterproof tape”) to cover the bottom of my pack where the internal frame had made a hole due to abrasion and wear; it is holding up well.

i used a piece of a rope bag to patch the bottom (weight-bearing part) of a pack. Bomber.

Ellen S wrote:

i used a piece of a rope bag to patch the bottom (weight-bearing part) of a pack. Bomber.

Ellen, did you sew or use glue for your repair?

There's a few ways to fix it, but don't use tape. It won't hold up well if you abrade the bottom of your backpack a ton -- which it looks like you do. It'll eventually peel off. That said I don't have experience with the roofing/industrial tape other people are recommending.

I'd say you need to do a sewn-on patch and ideally some work with seam-sealer but sewing it is a fairly easy job. Not an issue at all. After this the repair will be stronger than the rest of your backpack. 

Step 1: Get some heavy duty nylon fabric. You can cut it off another backpack, a rope bag, or from a crafts store. I like 500D Cordura, though high denier ripstop nylon should work as well.  

Step 2: Cut it to fit over most of the bottom of your backpack, covering all the holes with decent clearance on either side. Then take a lighter to singe the edges of what you cut so it doesn't unravel. 

Repair Option 1: Seam Sealer and light sewing

1: Prep the bottom of your backpack by cleaning it with water to get rid of most of the dirt and then alcohol to remove any oils. Also, use a scissor and cut away loose threads and hanging pieces of fabric. 

2: Make sure the fabric patch and the bottom of the backpack is taught. Fold it or stuff some pillows on the inside to make sure. Then, put seam sealer on the underside of the patch and smoosh it onto the bottom. If you can find a way to put pressure on it to dry, even better. 

3: Using some nylon or polyester thread sew a straight stitch (or even better a backstitch) around the circumference around a cm from the edge of the patch. Then, go over what you sewn with seam sealer to protect it. This will prevent an edge from peeling off should it abrade off.

Repair Option 2: Heavy-duty sewing with an awl.

This is a bit time consuming because you need to do some finger gymnastics given the other side of the awl is on the inside of the backpack, but it'll produce a robust repair. 

1: Get a speedy stitcher sewing awl. Using either the stock thread, or even better, 1 - 2 mm accessory cord, sew a lockstitch around the circumference of the patch. Afterwards, go over the exterior threads with seam sealer. Burn the ending knot a little bit so it doesn't unravel, and add some seam sealer to the knot too. 

Option 3: Seam sealed patch with a sewn lockstitch by the awl. 

Combine option 1 and option 2. This will produce a super robust repair which'll be overkill, but undoubtedly strong. 

Don't do sewing with regular sewing thread alone. The threads will be exposed at the bottom of the backpack and it doesn't take much abrasion to cut the thread and then for your patch to unravel in the middle of nowhere. 

Some picture examples below from my own gear

Best tape I found is the kind they use for roof repair, more bomber than anything else.
Use it on the inside of the pack because it's often pretty ugly. 

I am interested in this topic as well.

Is gorilla tape more robust than tenacious tape??

Fabien M wrote:

Best tape I found is the kind they use for roof repair, more bomber than anything else.
Use it on the inside of the pack because it's often pretty ugly. 

Agreed. Super sticky, waterproof, durable. Make sure to set the adhesive with some exposure to heat, a dryer on low for apparel or a hairdryer for packs work well.

I'd recommend against Gorilla Tape. It's been my experience that the adhesive starts to fail in the cold, and then the tape leaves a ton of residue when you pull it off. It's also so stiff that it doesn't do well around corners, or on things that are constantly getting folded or crumpled. It is however, pretty cheap and super easy to find. Pros and cons.

I'd also add, on a pack with normal sewn construction, a good repair shop would be able to just put a new panel on the bottom for you in the fabric of your (or their) choice. On the Arc'teryx packs with the welded construction, that's not an option, leaving us with the current discussion about repair tape.

OP - I have various pieces of red cordura from an old pack I took apart. PM me if you want enough to patch things up.

Gregory H wrote:

Ellen, did you sew or use glue for your repair?

I had it sewn by a neighbor who has some kind of special heavy-duty sewing machine.

Arnav V wrote:

There's a few ways to fix it, but don't use tape. It won't hold up well if you abrade the bottom of your backpack a ton -- which it looks like you do. It'll eventually peel off. That said I don't have experience with the roofing/industrial tape other people are recommending.

I'd say you need to do a sewn-on patch and ideally some work with seam-sealer but sewing it is a fairly easy job. Not an issue at all. After this the repair will be stronger than the rest of your backpack. 

Step 1: Get some heavy duty nylon fabric. You can cut it off another backpack, a rope bag, or from a crafts store. I like 500D Cordura, though high denier ripstop nylon should work as well.  

Step 2: Cut it to fit over most of the bottom of your backpack, covering all the holes with decent clearance on either side. Then take a lighter to singe the edges of what you cut so it doesn't unravel. 

Repair Option 1: Seam Sealer and light sewing

1: Prep the bottom of your backpack by cleaning it with water to get rid of most of the dirt and then alcohol to remove any oils. Also, use a scissor and cut away loose threads and hanging pieces of fabric. 

2: Make sure the fabric patch and the bottom of the backpack is taught. Fold it or stuff some pillows on the inside to make sure. Then, put seam sealer on the underside of the patch and smoosh it onto the bottom. If you can find a way to put pressure on it to dry, even better. 

3: Using some nylon or polyester thread sew a straight stitch (or even better a backstitch) around the circumference around a cm from the edge of the patch. Then, go over what you sewn with seam sealer to protect it. This will prevent an edge from peeling off should it abrade off.

Repair Option 2: Heavy-duty sewing with an awl.

This is a bit time consuming because you need to do some finger gymnastics given the other side of the awl is on the inside of the backpack, but it'll produce a robust repair. 

1: Get a speedy stitcher sewing awl. Using either the stock thread, or even better, 1 - 2 mm accessory cord, sew a lockstitch around the circumference of the patch. Afterwards, go over the exterior threads with seam sealer. Burn the ending knot a little bit so it doesn't unravel, and add some seam sealer to the knot too. 

Option 3: Seam sealed patch with a sewn lockstitch by the awl. 

Combine option 1 and option 2. This will produce a super robust repair which'll be overkill, but undoubtedly strong. 

Don't do sewing with regular sewing thread alone. The threads will be exposed at the bottom of the backpack and it doesn't take much abrasion to cut the thread and then for your patch to unravel in the middle of nowhere. 

Some picture examples below from my own gear

Thanks,  be using option 1!

Willard K Haynes wrote:

Both are crap. Use the Dacron spinnaker stuff. I’ve done almost exactly this repair on a Dyneema pack and it’s lasted 4 years. It’s probably stronger that what the packs made of and the adhesive is for marine conditions.
Comes in wide rolls. 

Can you tell me which one?

https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?page=categories&category=10427%7C11381

Good recommendations here:

https://bettersailing.com/best-tapes-for-sail-repair/

Terry E wrote:

Good recommendations here:

https://bettersailing.com/best-tapes-for-sail-repair/

If you did a patch job for a pack using one of these, did you still sew the boundary or seam seal the edges?

I sew (morale) patches onto my packs if the holes aren't too big. The patches are thick enough so that it protects the thread from abrasion. You have to use bonded 69 or some tec 70 thread. Not just anything out of your moms sewing kit.. If you use patch material like ripstop nylon etc. and want to seal the edges. Sew it first then apply sealing agent to edges and over threads, especially if you use a machine or it'll gum up the needle and thread as Willard said above.

Gear aid is only good for light weight material and you almost need to use a heat gun (low setting) and something heavy set on it to make it "set" to make it stick good. Repaired puffy's that lasted years this way.. and lots of washes.

I've tried several other tapes and they just end up peeling and leaving residue after a while. 

I use Siga Wigluv tape for various repairs, including patching up a hole in a favorite daypack.  

The stuff has a very strong grip and doesn't peel off.  

I bought a large roll of it for something around $50 at a building supply store and this amount should last me a lifetime of repairs.