Patching a tent

On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 16:48:47 +1200, Mark Houghton
<[email hidden]> wrote:

|I *mean* patching ! (I point this out 'cause I just googled "patching a
|tent" to find lots of sites with a typo for "pitching" :-)
|
|The other night I was sleeping in the hills when a possum jumped on top
|of my tent - not a problem I ever had in Wales. Not surprisingly, since
|they have long claws, I've now got a hole there - lucky it's just the
|one small one.
|
|My tent included a (non-adhesive) patch, but I'm not sure whether to
|stick or stick - and if stick, what adhesive to use.

The sticky patches work surprisingly well, one I used stayed in place for
years.

The sac in which the tent came is often the same material as the tent, so
you can cut a bit out of that and sew it in. Keep the rest just in case
and make a new large sac.

Sewing tents is quite difficult with a domestic sewing machine, because
getting the rest of the tent through the throat is challenging. Also you
have to adjust the thread tension, if she will let you, and then put up
with the complaints as she gets it right again ;-) There are tent repair
places all over the UK who have Industrial machines which do the job much
easier.
--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk> Google Groups is IME the *worst*
method of accessing usenet. GG subscribers would be well advised get a
newsreader, say Agent, and a newsserver, say news.individual.net. These
will allow them: to see only *new* posts, a killfile, and other goodies.

Mark Houghton said:

The other night I was sleeping in the hills when a possum jumped on top
of my tent - not a problem I ever had in Wales. Not surprisingly, since
they have long claws, I've now got a hole there - lucky it's just the
one small one.

Cute little buggers aren't they. You'll be sorry when they're all gone.
Maybe sticking a little blue or pink triangle on top of your tent would
keep them away.

Quoted message said:

My tent included a (non-adhesive) patch, but I'm not sure whether to
stick or stick - and if stick, what adhesive to use.

Any suggestions?

I've got no experience of patching tents but I'd have thought the glue
you get in cycle puncture repair kits would be worth trying if you've
got some lying around anyway. You'd need something that dries to be
flexible, I expect there's something more specific in camping shops.
There's always gaffer tape ofcourse.

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from
the wonderful person AndyP <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

Mark Houghton said:

The other night I was sleeping in the hills when a possum jumped on top
of my tent - not a problem I ever had in Wales. Not surprisingly, since
they have long claws, I've now got a hole there - lucky it's just the
one small one.

Cute little buggers aren't they. You'll be sorry when they're all gone.
Maybe sticking a little blue or pink triangle on top of your tent would
keep them away.

Quoted message said:

My tent included a (non-adhesive) patch, but I'm not sure whether to
stick or stick - and if stick, what adhesive to use.

Any suggestions?

I've got no experience of patching tents but I'd have thought the glue
you get in cycle puncture repair kits would be worth trying if you've
got some lying around anyway. You'd need something that dries to be
flexible, I expect there's something more specific in camping shops.

Bostik all purpose extra strong clear works for me on trousers, jackets
etc. which have come across barbed wire or blackthorn, however it won't
look nice (but then I tend to spread it around 'generously'😉.

When I can't find matching patch material, I've even used heavy duty
polythene (on the inside).

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
Google may be your friend, but groups.google.com posters definitely aren't.

What about some seam seal?

Roger

In message <[email hidden]>, Mark Houghton
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I *mean* patching ! (I point this out 'cause I just googled "patching a
tent" to find lots of sites with a typo for "pitching" :-)

The other night I was sleeping in the hills when a possum jumped on top
of my tent - not a problem I ever had in Wales. Not surprisingly, since
they have long claws, I've now got a hole there - lucky it's just the
one small one.

My tent included a (non-adhesive) patch, but I'm not sure whether to
stick or stick - and if stick, what adhesive to use.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
Mark Houghton

I have an old tent which I would like to keep going a bit longer. Some
tears in structural points need patching. I have googled and found that
UHU do a fabric glue that bonds nylon, and is supposed to be waterproof.
Being a fabric glue it should be flexible. Unfortunately I have only
found companies on the web selling it. I will get a tube and try it out
in the next few weeks. Might be worth exploring?
--
Paul reply-to is valid

"AndyP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've got no experience of patching tents but I'd have thought the glue
you get in cycle puncture repair kits would be worth trying...

It isn't glue. It is vulcanising solution, so would only work with rubber
patches and a rubber tent.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know what I end up using when I
get around to that job.

BTW - the possum population is, IIRC, estimated at about 70 million, so
I think that they're safe for now.

M.