Make do and mend: fixing a rucksack

April 11, 2019

Why replace when you can repair? Outdoor gear is usually made to last and it seems such a shame to discard a whole product just because of a faulty zip or a hole.

It is wonderful to see so many brands offering a repair service for products, to extend the life of their gear even further.

Alpkit stores have a Hatch, Patch and Sew drop off station.
Patagonia have a worn wear program. They also have lots of repair guides for fixing clothing yourself.
DMM and Black Diamond cam trigger wire repair and sling replacements
Rab repair service, fill an online form and post item off!

This repair was born from frustration at not being able to find a replacement for a much-loved bag. The waterproofing had worn away and there was a pretty gnarly hole in the rucksack part.

From what I could see, buckles, zips and the main body of the bumbag were still looking good. It was all looking tired, and in true Dirtbags style, all replacement and repair would be done using materials themselves recycled.

It needed to be lightweight, and the bag part needed to be small enough to smoosh down and pack away. The main part of the rucksack was fixed using tent material and the rest some lovely blue waterproof ripstop material, which was an end of roll fabric. We replaced the hip straps with an orange tent material, and the rucksack straps, taken from a beyond repair bag.

We simply unpicked the panels and used the pattern to cut new pieces, remembered where they went – carefully stitching it back together. Recycled rope trim was used on the front panel and on the zip pulls.