Bushwalk Australia

Hey,

I've been using a Sea2Summit Ultra-Sil dry day pack http://www.seatosummit.com.au/products/ ... -day-pack/ for my UL overnight pack. The straps were pretty uncomfortable, but that was easily fixed with the addition of some foam tubing. I've found it being waterproof a great advantage as I can leave it outside during the night, and it's great for walks along rivers when it is hot.

However after only a few uses, it developed small holes all over the place where it's rubbed on a rock or something similar, so that it is no longer waterproof. Being unable to fix the holes with tape as it doesn't stick, I'm quite annoyed!

Does anyone know of any similar backpacks that I should look at as a replacement? The pack weighs around 140g with the foam straps, so anything close to that weight or less would be great. Also, if it's not waterproof, then that's ok.

Sounds like you should just patch the holes. Buy some sil nylon and some silicon seam sealer. That should do it.

20L for an overnight pack is impressive. What weight are you carrying?

Cuben Fibre TERRA NOVA - ULTRA 20 RUCKSACK 136g (4g lighter than your current kit!)
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/packs-rucks ... a-20-pack/

osprey have various lightweight offerings, and more widely available in the shops..

Phil - Thanks for the suggestions, some of them look quite interesting! Do you know if the Cuban Fiber bags are waterproof?

Gusto - I might try that, do you know if you can get Sil-nylon and seem sealer locally?

Avatar - When I use that bag I try to pack light and compact (I don't really have a choice!), so my total weight is around 5kgs. That back pack is quite nice, but at £130.00 it's a little bit more that what I am willing to pay!

Wayno - I already have a 85L pack from Osprey, I'll have to check out the other end of their pack range.

What about something like the Zpacks Zero http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/zero.shtml around USD100, and about 110 grams.

I suspect that silnylon is going to wear with any extended use as a backpack, the S2S is probably more of just a summit pack.

Cuben fiber is waterproof, the only area you would have water eventually getting in, is the stitching.

I use a garbage bag inside my pack and put everything inside the bag.

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zimmerbuilt.com
Chris will make anything you want for a great price and superb workmanship.

wow, what a range...

http://www.zimmerbuilt.com/custom-backpacks.html

For patching holes in dry bags use sticky back sail cloth, sail makers sell it or just give small bits away. The sail makers have left over black bits all the time from cutting out peopls sail numbers.
It is great stuff and cheap, waterproof and does not come off. If you clean the cloth you are applying it to with a little isopropyl alcohol before applying it helps adhesion but not really needed.
You can buy it in ready made tapes from some marine shops
http://www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/sho ... epair+Tape
Also works on tent flys etc. Great stuff

I've used Sailing Tape and Sticky Back cloth for lots of repairs on PU Nylon. I've never tried on Silnylon though. I don't think it would work as well.

For what it's worth, Whitworths have a good range of repair tape https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_listitems.asp?cat=152&Cat1Descr=Sailmakers+Accessories&cat2=307&Cat2Descr=Tapes&cat3=957&Cat3Descr=Sail+Repair+Tape

It's can be difficult to buy sticky back cloth on a wide roll in Australia. I ended up buying it from here http://www.sailmakerssupply.com/prod_detail_list/39 . I needed it as I used to manage a fleet of commercial outdoor gear.


If you want to patch Silnylon then you are better off buying Silnylon.
eg. http://www.questoutfitters.com/coated.html#SILNYLON%201.1%20OZ%20RIPSTOP
http://bearpawwd.com/fabrics_misc/fabrics_misc.html

Silicon Seam sealer can be found in most outdoor store.

iluvhiking - Wow, what an impressive range!

Scottyk and Gusto - Thanks for the info, I'll look into those links and I think I actually have some sail tape at home so I'll give that a go and report back!

Sil-Fix™ Silnylon Repair Kit

http://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/sil-fix#10465

I tried using sail tape on the bag. Nothing so far has stuck to the outside, the sail tape didn't stick to the inside, but some cloth gaffer tape did stick on the insides surprisingly. The material on the inside seems to have a rubbery finish as opposed to the slippery surface of the outside so I guess that might be what makes the difference.

Wayno - I think that I've seen that repair kit at Paddy Pallin so I'll try and pick some up next time I make a visit.

That Sil-Fix you referring to don't last long.

I had a tiny branch go through my Silnylon Tarp a while back, left a small hole, I used the kit reffered to and it did not hold on for long before it started to peel off, and I prepped it as per instructions and made sure the tarp was clean.