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Found a weird way to fix a busted tent pole sleeve in the field
Got caught in a surprise storm up near Lake Tahoe last fall, and the wind ripped a six-inch tear in the sleeve of my old dome tent. No spare parts, and duct tape just slid right off the slick nylon. Out of ideas, I remembered I had a roll of that self-fusing silicone repair tape in my kit, the kind that only sticks to itself. I cut a strip, dried the fabric as best I could with my bandana, and wrapped it tight around the torn sleeve, overlapping it by a good two inches on each side. That stuff fused into a solid, flexible band. It held through two more nights of wind and even a bit of rain. The tent's retired now, but I still carry a roll of that tape. Has anyone else had to MacGyver a major tent repair with something totally not meant for gear?
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