Cuben Tape

This stuff is wonderful. First, there is its obvious utility in joining/repairing cuben fibre. There is a single-sided and a double sided version – and it comes in various widths). You normally use it to make joins to create a wider tarp, or to make ‘no-sew’ cuben fibre stuff sacks.

Where it really comes into its own is for repairs. This stuff sticks (well nigh invisibly) to all sorts of things and makes excellent waterproof repairs. My house and camping equipment have bits of it stuck in all sorts of unlikely places. It repairs most ripped raincoats and tents very well (Check first). Packrafts too.

Where I have found it really wins out is in repairing leaks in Thermarest Neoair pads. These guys are so light they are fairly easy to puncture. Mostly I get minute thistle holes in mine which take ages to let the pad down (in the middle of the night!). They also suffer from my habit of using them for padded insulated floors in our packrafts. Jumping in and out of them at portages drives all sorts of nasties into their delicate fabric.

Here is a really big hole repaired in My Exped Ultralight Pad:

You can prevent some such holes made by dogs with these: DIY Dog Booties

Spot has excelled himself here too. In his puppyhood he managed to drag one pad out through the doggie door onto the lawn where he had quite a lot of leisure time chewing it. That pad looks somewhat like Kevin Rudd after a very bad morning’s shaving. It doesn’t quite have more tape than pad, but you can certainly tell that it has been repaired.

The great thing about cuben tape for repairing air mats is that it works instantly. The proprietary Thermarest repair kits (in my experience) work slowly and poorly at best – be warned!

Available eg: https://dutchwaregear.com/product/single-sided-dyneema-tape/ or http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/tape.shtml or https://ripstopbytheroll.com/products/1-cuben-fiber-repair-tape or http://www.questoutfitters.com/coated.html#Coated%20Fabrics

PS: I repaired that pad 7 1/2 years ago and it’s still going strong!

First Published Jun 12, 2015