Duct Tape
How much duct tape do you carry?
I have about 3/4 of an inch wrapped around a pencil that I have carried on my hikes for the last 5 Or 6 years. I really don't use a lot of it out there. I find it useful for hot spots and I think I patched up a boot once. I find good cordage is more useful.
I roll a few feet around a hiking pole. This is for section hikes though.
Same here.Originally Posted by Nutbrown
Keep in mind, you are only doing a series of section hikes, even if you are a thru-hiker. Plenty of opportunities to buy more and replenish what you carry.
Same-Same here
I used to keep a few wraps around my nalgene until I had a tent pole catastrophe and needed a lot more. Now I carry a flat pack. Weighs about an ounce and has three yards or so on it.
I hold my wife's purse at the mall to stay close to my testes.
A couple of feet in its own roll. I keep it off my trekking pole--why lift it several million times over the course of a long hike?
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Garlic makes sense as usual. I carry about 10 feet though and use it often, commonly for blister prevention on a foot that has been cleaned and dried. I've also used it for things like repairing water bottles, pack, shoes or insoles. My running shoes tend to wear out inside on the backs. I will duct tape the back of a new pair or a worn pair to prevent/repair wear and reduce/eliminate chafing.
I got about three of four feet worth wrapped around my knife handle. It serves a dual purpose since my knife has an olive drab handle and is very hard to find if dropped in the middle of the night.
I roll it around my pole until it's thick enough to easily loop cord around it to hold up a tarp.
More important I think is the type of duct tape. On my last trip I brought Gorilla Glue Duct Tape. It's very sticky and doesn't seem to creep, but it's too stiff.
I have been told not to use duct tape to repair tents or sleeping bags or rain wear due to the sticky residue left behind, but I have put brightly colored duct tape on each of my hiking poles. Orange and Yellow. I used it to repair a boot that lost the sole from the mid section to the toe. I also figured the bright colors could help in the event of need for rescue (for the visibility from a distance etc)
I take a roll of Kenyon (sp?) tape to repair tent, down jacket, sleeping bag. It weighs almost nothing, clear, durable, holds up through washing.
About 24" wrapped around the film can that holds my sewing needle, a few pins and safety pins, some waxed dental floss, and some nylon thread, and maybe a spare button.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
Duck tape is like mothers milk to a hiker, so I just throw a whole SOL brand tape from REI in my backpack and not worry about it (yes, I know, all of my UL friends get mad at this, but its not much tape and its not heavy).
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Too much. Can't remember when I actually needed/used duct tape in the field. I think I have about a foot or so wrapped around my hiking poles...I should take Garlic's advice.
Another good question for this forum would be, "How much duct tape have you actually used on a thru hike?" I've never used more than a foot total. On the AT I made a few patches for my trash compactor bag pack liner and fixed one small tear in the pack itself. The only time I used more than a few inches at a time, on any hike, was to make a major repair on a spinnaker cloth pack I tried once. Spinnaker was a mistake. The duct tape worked great, though. I always carry it in my first aid kit.Too much. Can't remember when I actually needed/used duct tape in the field. I think I have about a foot or so wrapped around my hiking poles...I should take Garlic's advice.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
The myth busters made a hammock,kayak,tarp,and more,But I don't usually bring that much.
Because of my recent attempt at lightening my load I am now down to 3 rolls.
I find that if I kinda "stack them all together" the center hole in the rolls holds the quart of olive oil perfectly.
jd
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Save that for the humor forum- honest I don't carry any - I have never used duct tape in 25 years of hiking. I do carry a small amount of electrical tape on the pole - cus its less messy.
Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 04-29-2012 at 00:11.
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Woo
Don't carry it. Never missed it.
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