Checking Your Gear

Author: Dr Brenton Gray Date Posted: 6 June 2020

Stuck at home? Use this time to check over and level up your equipment. Danae takes us through keeping your outdoor gear and equipment in tip-top shape.

It's important to take care of your outdoor gear and equipment so it can take care of you when you're off on adventures. Nobody wants a sleeping bag to soak through or a jacket to rip halfway through a gruelling trek! Use your time inside wisely and check over your gear for any repairs or care you need to take care of.

Sleeping Bags

Store safely - wedging your sleeping bag into a tight stuff sack or compression sack is great for transportation and travel, but not for storage. Long term, that can impact the loft (fluffiness) the fill material, resulting in inferior performance. Use the storage bag that comes with your sleeping bag or an old pillowcase to stow your bag away. If you really want to let it air out, hang it over a large hanger in your wardrobe.
Repair snagged or stuck zippers - if you spot a snag, ease the fabric out of the zipper teeth; most modern sleeping bags use forgiving zippers with rounded teeth that are less likely to damage caught fabric. Fix stuck zippers and lubricate your zipper to prevent sand, dirt and salt build-ups that cause sticking with a product like the Gear Aid Zipper Cleaner and Lubricant.
Check for holes, rips or tears - you want to fix these quickly before they grow into bigger problems. Make sure to check for them before washing your bag, because a washing machine could rip the fill material or stuffing out through the hole. Use specialised repair products like Gear Aid Tenacious Tape (also available in Reflective fabric and Round Patches).
Wash your sleeping bag correctly - for down sleeping bags, use performance washes like Storm Down Wash-In to safely machine wash your bag. Unlike normal laundry detergent, these specialised washes don't strip down of its natural oils, which help protect and loft the down for its warm. For synthetic sleeping bags, use a general performance wash like Grangers Performance Wash, Gear Aid ReviveX Pro Cleaner or NikWax BaseFresh.
Recondition waterproofing with a DWR treatment - there are two main ways to reactivate a sleeping bag's DWR (durable water repellency) treatment, which is what makes small amounts of moisture bead off instead of wetting your sleeping bag. DWR wears off with use, so it's a good idea to reapply after each wash or if you notice that water no longer runs off your bag. You can tumble-dry your sleeping bag on a low setting (pro-tip: throw in one or two clean tennis balls halfway through to break up down clumps for the best loft). Or - which is more effective - you can use a DWR treatment like Nikwax TX-Direct.

Tents

Inspect your set up for missing pieces - pay special attention to small bits like the guyline, poles, stakes and clip anchor points and replace any broken or missing pieces before you go camping
Check tent poles for cracks, splinters or bends - nothing is worse than trekking out to the backcountry and setting up for the night, only to have your tent poles snap in the middle of a nighttime rain storm and come crashing down on you. Get any dodgy poles replaced ASAP!
Check the floor, canopy and fly for holes, rips or tears - you want to fix these quickly before they grow into bigger problems. Use specialised repair products like Gear Aid Tenacious Tape (also available in Reflective fabric and Round Patches).
Repair snagged or stuck zippers - if you spot a snag, ease the fabric out of the zipper teeth. Fix stuck zippers and lubricate your zipper to prevent sand, dirt and salt build-ups that cause sticking with a product like the Gear Aid Zipper Cleaner and Lubricant.
Revitalise DWR with a performance wash - UV light eventually reduces fabric tear strength and destroys water repellency treatments. Try Nikwax Tent & Gear Solar Proof Spray to protect against UV degradation and revitalise DWR treatments.
Re-seal tent seams - your tent's seams are where it's most likely to spot a leak. Keep them sealed with Gear Aid Fast Cure Seam Sealant (for nylon, canvas, polyester or vinyl tents) or Gear Aid Seam Grip Silicone Tent Sealant (for silnylon or silicone-treated tents). Gear Aid Seam Grip Waterproof Sealer and Adhesive is a heavy-duty option for when you plan to camp in more extreme conditions.
Reapply the urethane coating to the tent floor or interior rainfly - if you notice flaking on these areas, carefully scrub off the flakes and apply a thin coating of tent sealant using the same products as above.
Reapply DWR to outer fabrics - Gear Aid ReviveX Instant Water Repellent for tents works great.

Packs

Clear out debris - get those trail bar crumbs out from the bottom of your pack!
Check for holes, rips or tears - you want to fix these quickly before they grow into bigger problems. Use specialised repair products like Gear Aid Tenacious Tape (also available in Reflective fabric and Round Patches).
Repair snagged or stuck zippers - if you spot a snag, ease the fabric out of the zipper teeth. Fix stuck zippers and lubricate your zipper to prevent sand, dirt and salt build-ups that cause sticking with a product like the Gear Aid Zipper Cleaner and Lubricant.
Spot clean or wash - use some water and a damp cloth with a little gentle soap to spot clean any dirty patches. If you want to give your whole pack a clean, try NikWax Tent and Gear Solar Wash Spray-On or Grangers Gear Cleaner Spray.
Re-seal seams - your pack's seams are where it's most likely to spot a leak. Keep them sealed with Gear Aid Seam Grip Silicone Tent Sealant for silnylon or silicone-treated fabrics, or Gear Aid Seam Grip Waterproof Sealer and Adhesive for nylon, canvas, polyester, vinyl and most other fabrics.
Reapply DWR treatments - even the best DWR treatment will lose its ability to repel water over time or with extended use. Grab Grangers Tent Plus Gear Repel Spray to replicate your pack's original water repellent finish.

Apparel

Eliminate odour - Grangers Odour Eliminator is a spray-on odour neutraliser that works on all types of outdoor apparel. It works to remove unpleasant smells at their source instead of masking odours with perfumes.
Repair snagged or stuck zippers - if you spot a snag, ease the fabric out of the zipper teeth. Fix stuck zippers and lubricate your zipper to prevent sand, dirt and salt build-ups that cause sticking with a product like the Gear Aid Zipper Cleaner and Lubricant.
Check for holes, rips or tears - you want to fix these quickly before they grow into bigger problems. Make sure to check for them before machine washing, because a washing machine could rip the hole larger. Use specialised repair products like Gear Aid Tenacious Tape (also available in Reflective fabric and Round Patches) on outer and sew up tears on baselayers.
Re-seal outerwear seams - your jacket's seams are where it's most likely to spot a leak. Keep them sealed with Gear Aid Seam Grip Silicone Tent Sealant for silnylon or silicone-treated fabrics, or Gear Aid Seam Grip Waterproof Sealer and Adhesive for nylon, canvas, polyester, vinyl and most other fabrics.
Recondition with a performance wash - many technical fabrics found on outdoor apparel require special products to wash them with in order to preserve their high-tech benefits. Make sure you choose the right product for your fabric:
- Sports kit (lycra, polyester, cotton, etc.) - use Grangers Active Wash
- Baselayers - use NikWax BaseFresh Fabric Conditioner or Grangers Active Wash
- Wool - use Grangers Active Wash
- Nylon - use Gear Aid ReviveX Pro Cleaner
- GORE-TEX, eVent, NeoShell and other wet weather clothing - use Grangers Performance Wash or Gear Aid ReviveX Pro Cleaner
- All other / Any - use Grangers Performance Wash
Reapply DWR treatments - even the best DWR treatment will lose its ability to repel water over time or with extended use. Again, it's important to match the waterproofing product to your gear's fabric:
- Fleece - use NikWax Polar Proof
- Soft shells - use NikWax Soft Shell Wash-In or Storm Eco Proofer Wash-In
- GORE-TEX, eVent, NeoShell and other wet weather clothing - use NikWax TX.Direct Wash-In, Storm Eco Proofer Wash-In or Grangers Performance Repel Spray
- All other / Any - use Grangers Performance Repel Spray

If you don't want to do two wash cycles (one to clean and one to waterproof), try the Grangers Clothing Wash Plus Repel - although this will require heat activation via tumble drying or similar.

Footwear

Eliminate odour - Grangers Odour Eliminator is a spray-on odour neutraliser that works on all types of outdoor apparel. It works to remove unpleasant smells at their source. You can also stick the Boot Bananas Shoe Deodoriser in your footwear to absorb moisture and replace smells with a nice fragrance.
Spot clean or wash - use some water and a damp cloth with a little gentle soap to spot clean any dirty patches. If you want to give your shoes and boots a more thorough clean, try the Gear Aid ReviveX Boot and Shoe Cleaner to safely clean all types of footwear, including GORE-TEX and leather or Grangers Gear Cleaner Spray.
Recondition and waterproof leather, nubuck and suede - NikWax Nubuck and Suede Proof will waterproof and maintain nubuck and suede footwear, while NikWax Waterproofing Wax Cream for Leather will provide immediate wet weather protection to dry or wet leather.

Other Tips

Carry a field repair kit - the Gear Aid Seam Grip WP Field Repair Kit allows you to make easy in-field repairs
First aid kits - check that medications are still in date, bandages are restocked, and nothing is missing from your kit
Books & maps - keep your knowledge up to date and discover new adventures to go on!
Masks & face coverings - stay safe and help stop the spread so we can all get outdoors faster.

About The Author

Dr Brenton Gray - Orienteer, Hiker and Wildfire Sports Owner

Brenton has orienteered around the world, from Finland to Romania and New Zealand to Italy. In his travels he keeps abreast of the latest trends for athletes running both on- and off-trail. He also loves testing gear for multi-day hikes (see his Larapinta Trail gear checklist blog) and participating in cycling adventures in far away places such as Korea and Lithuania.

Brenton isn't looking for absolute perfection in gear; rather, he seeks items that are affordable and effective and that work without fuss. To that end his favourite gear is the Brooks Adrenaline, Salomon Speedcross and 2XU clothing. And his favourite piece of gear? His Osprey Farpoint Trek 75 has gone around the world three times and completed 60 days of rough multi-day hiking. It just works for every adventure.