We all wreck our stuff from time to time. Or else others do it for us.
And then there's the whole scheduled field maintenance thing. One day I'll actually calculate how many weeks out of seven months on the Appalachian Trail were spent "cleaning" and "repairing" my white gas-fueled MSR stove. It always felt like I was rebuilding the thing on a daily basis. I did less care and feeding for my newborn.
It gives step-by-step care and repair instructions that don't suck. It even links to YouTube so you can attend GearHead University on the internet. And the app is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, at least on my iPhone, which is a bonus when you find yourself on the road, out of luck and not in the best of moods.
Heed Maxim No. 17: Don't Forget the Duct Tape. And don't leave home without a decent repair kit.
That doesn't mean you need to pack a separate suitcase. My travel kit always includes trusty ole SeamGrip, zipper repair tools, tweezers, mini scissors, eyeglass repair tools and spare parts, plus a ring-finger-size roll of duct tape, and it fits inside a sandwich-size Gladlock. My backcountry setup fits inside the smallest zippered pouch made by GearAid, the repair products division of Bellingham, Washington-based McNett.
I like the branded pouch because it's distinctive enough for kids to locate while you're standing in a gale beside your pitched tent, holding a snapped pole that got its compound fracture inside the fabric sleeve. If you let go of that pole to grab the repair kit, you'll return to a shredded tent.
So practice saying, "Go get the billy goat kit! And bring my phone!" calmly, like you're on top of it with grace under pressure. Repeat ten times. Make sure you charge your smartphone before every trip. Set it to Airplane mode. Bring backup power if you think you might trash your gear a few days hence. And then get out there!
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