Time To Treat: When to Repair Gear
How do you know that your gear is crying out for help? Consult our handy list of signs and solutions.
The Gear: Outerwear
The Signs That It’s Time: Water doesn’t bead up; you start to FEEL wet
What To Do:
1. Wash it. Use a front loading washer, cold water, and a mild soap.
2. Machine dry it. This reactivates the coatings in the fabric.
3. Iron it. Make sure the iron is clean-wipe the face with denatured alcohol.
4. Reapply a DWR. Your choice: spray-on or wash-in
The Gear: Boots
The Signs That It’s Time: Leather starts to look dry and thirsty; Boot fails to keep water out
What To Do:
1. Apply a waterproofing wax to leather areas.
2. Apply a spray-on or paint-on DWR to the fabric areas.
3. Seal the seams.
The Gear: Tent
The Signs That It’s Time: Coating on rainfly or floor begins to flake and peel; previously applied seam sealer cracks and peels
What To Do:
1. Remove old coating and/or sealer (see sidebar).
2. Reapply coating and/or sealer
The Gear:Bivy Sack
The Signs That It’s Time: Water no longer beads on surface; leakage.
What To Do:
1. Wash it. Use a front loading washer, cold water, and a mild soap.
2. Machine dry it. This reactivates the coatings in the fabric.
3. Iron it. Make sure the iron is clean-wipe the face with denatured alcohol.
4. Reapply a wash-in DWR (since bivies have no liners, wash-in treatments are the best choice).