{"id":6343,"date":"2022-04-04T09:47:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voile.com\/blog\/?p=6343"},"modified":"2022-04-04T09:47:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:47:16","slug":"a-field-guide-to-repairing-your-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voile.com\/blog\/a-field-guide-to-repairing-your-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"A Field Guide To Repairing Your Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Courtesy of Aidan Goldie-Ahumada<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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We\u2019ve all been there; one minute you\u2019re excitedly pulling your favorite puffy jacket on, ready to run out the door for a day of skiing, the next you\u2019re staring in shock and frustration at the zipper, split wide open as cold air billows through the jacket. Outdoor gear, like everything, has a lifespan and suffers from overuse injuries and eventual retirement. But outdoor gear is often not just gear. It\u2019s the skis you used on the deepest day of your life or maybe it\u2019s a piece of equipment gifted from a friend or family member who\u2019s no longer with us. For many different reasons, our gear often has more than just utilitarian value to us. With that, I’ve created a field guide to repairing your gear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Should Repair Your Gear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the personal value, keeping gear (particularly clothes) in use longer spreads out the environmental impact of that gear and keeps it out of the landfill. It\u2019s estimated that the average American throws out over 80 pounds of clothes per year<\/a>, and the vast majority of environmental impact (combination of carbon emissions, waste material, and other industrial pollutants) comes during production. The simple act of keeping a piece of gear in use results in dramatically decreasing the impact of the production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to working as a mountain guide, I\u2019ve spent the past several years running a side hustle of outdoor equipment repair in Bozeman, MT. By my estimation, I\u2019ve kept a few hundred pieces of gear out of the landfill. This is done by restoring functionality, patching holes, or modifying them to better fit the owner. That\u2019s just a drop in the bucket, but it\u2019s a step I\u2019ve pursued in helping reduce our collective environmental impact. Additionally, repairing your old gear is often a significantly cheaper option than purchasing new. Whether fixing a piece of gear you\u2019ve had personally for years or repairing a piece of gear bought at a second-hand store for cheap, keeping older gear in use lowers the economic barrier to participation in mountain sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips, tricks, and techniques for preventing and fixing common problems with gear.<\/p>\n\n\n

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An ounce of prevention…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

…is worth a pound of cure. Outdoor gear is no different. Some things you can do to prolong the life of your gear include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n