Repairs and modifications

[gunwharfman]

I have a Vaude Poncho, (it's a good one - a phrase used by one of my elderly clients when she drinks wine!) and my wife's friend has just fitted a full length to it. I've put it on, and it feels transformed. I now need to find a day when I can test it properly.

She also fitted a new zip to my Paramo Alta 2 jacket, which I can at least now use if I want to. People with her skills to me are like gold dust!

[gunwharfman]

This is part of my 'new master plan' to keep dry (the poncho will go over my waterproof jacket when rain is really heavy and prolonged), and I can use it to cover my bivvy Hunka feet area if necessary, or use it as a basic groundsheet, to cover my rucksack, and to run off-road in.

At the moment just not sure what to do with my Paramo, maybe I'll just keep it in the car and can just slip it on if it's raining and I need to get from my car to a nearby address on foot?

[gunwharfman]

The lady is also making me a pair of lightweight Silnylon wrist tubes to cover my gloves when it's raining, but she's had a problem trying to source good quality elastic. The total cost for me is £10, she just refused to take more. I'm going to put more in an envelope this evening and push it through her letterbox.

[richardh1905]

My sewing skills are more akin to those of an amateur sailmaker, heavy and strong, but not neat. Boots, tents and rucksacks, that sort of thing. I am going to attempt my first zip replacement shortly, though.

[Birdman]

A sewing kit is an important item in my gear list. I regularly have to do small repairs on long hikes. Replacing zipper sliders on tent has become a standard procedure for me in dry dusty areas (=killing tent zippers). In my Double Rainbow tent, I can even do it while the tent is standing and I'm inside. Clothing repairs are common too. On the PCT I ripped my trousers in the middle of nowhere.  It was my only one so I sewed it on the spot to prevent the tear from getting bigger.