How to put together a repair kit for hiking?

The Repair Kit

When you set off on a hiking trip, you rarely think about the small annoyances… you tend to focus on the bigger challenges (weather, specific hazards, getting lost, emergency contacts) if you're the cautious type. But equipment niggles rarely cross your mind: on a day hike it's not a big deal, but over several days it can quickly become a real headache. So I'd recommend putting together a small everyday repair kit.

First, think through the things that could go wrong, then work out what you can prepare to deal with them. Here, in no particular order, are a few questions and problems worth anticipating:

• My rain jacket tore on a bramble patch
• One of my tent poles has snapped
• The strap on my backpack came unstitched when I put it on
• The sole of my shoe has come away
• The buckle on my backpack hip belt has broken
• My tent fabric has torn…
• And there are quite a few you can easily imagine…

The idea is to put together a small, lightweight repair kit — you're not setting off with a full toolbox and every possible material. On the spot, you carry out a temporary repair that will be properly finished off once you're back at the end of the hiking trip.

This lets you carry on with your hiking trip if something goes wrong, or at least get to a place where you can carry out a more substantial repair if needed.

Note: here I'm talking purely about a repair kit, not a first aid or survival kit — this is solely about fixing material items, with no impact on your health or safety.

How to put together your lightweight repair kit

First, there are ready-made repair kits available — for example, tent repair kits, self-inflating mattress repair kits, jacket repair kits, and so on. You can pick out the essentials you need from these kits. There's no need to go hiking with every kit for every piece of gear you own: make a selection and mix that will be sufficient. Then build your own kit if you don't have a base kit to start from.

Here is the list of essential accessories you should always take with you:

• Adhesive tape (duct tape): this is almost indispensable in any repair kit — there are so many uses for it. You can wrap some around an object such as a water bottle or hiking poles, so you don't have to carry a whole roll with you.
• Needle and thread: two very lightweight items that will let you carry out fabric repairs. Choose a reasonably strong thread and a needle that isn't too small, as the materials are often fairly thick — the finish doesn't matter here; what you're after is temporary strength, not aesthetics.
• Fabric patches: carry at least two self-adhesive fabric strips and two standard fabric strips. These will let you repair a rain jacket, a backpack or tent fabric, for example. Ideally, source ripstop fabric strips (which resist tearing far better) — available at hardware shops or specialist outdoor stores. Alternatively, you can cut strips from old backpacks, worn-out tents or a rain jacket you no longer use.
• Cord: an almost indispensable item in a repair kit due to its versatility.
• Wire: useful both for making temporary fastenings and for "stitching" together solid fabrics or materials, or as an alternative to cord.
• Patches: these often come included in repair kits for rain jackets, sleeping mats or inflatable mattresses, but you can also buy assorted-size bicycle tyre patches. They are practical and easy to use, making it simple to repair tears and snags.
• Glue: very useful for repairing a shoe sole that has come away, or anything else that's damaged. Choose neoprene glue — it's the best option in most cases.
• Silicone sealant: this can be used to re-waterproof a repair on a tent or a rain jacket. Bear in mind, however, that this will only be a temporary fix.
• Metal tubes: you can find these in tent repair kits or as spare parts in your tent's assembly pack. Alternatively, small metal tubes bought from a local hardware shop work perfectly well. If you don't have any, bear in mind that you can easily repair a tent pole by making a splint from wood you find on the spot — it takes a bit of searching sometimes, but it will hold just fine.
• Elastic bands: always carry a handful in different sizes and thicknesses. They'll serve as temporary ties to fix all sorts of things and to build splints for a broken tent pole.
• Finally, don't forget a knife and scissors — you'll almost certainly need them, and they should normally already be in your cooking kit or first aid kit (for the scissors).

One final point — and this is non-negotiable: never put off a repair. You'll have to deal with it sooner or later anyway, and I've never seen anything fix itself… quite the opposite, the longer you leave it, the worse it gets: a hole or a tear only gets bigger and the problems pile up. So take a little time to put together this small repair kit and keep it ready for every outing. More often than not, you won't need it… but the day you do, trust me — you'll be very glad you have it with you!