The Happy Camper: Best Tips on Spring Gear Maintenance
I can tell it’s springtime. Topographical maps are spread out across the living room floor, guidebooks have been tagged, paddling gear is pulled out of storage and the house smells of moldy canvas bags and worn-out camp sneakers.
It’s time to do a few gear repairs before the lake ice melts and the first black flies begin to emerge.
Tent Repair
Don’t wait until you get to your first campsite of the year to discover your tent fly is damaged. Set up your tent in your living room and check for mold and pin holes. Make sure the bungie cords inside the tent poles are intact. Put Vaseline on the door zippers and apply new seam seal along the seams. You also might want to apply a new coating of spray-on-water-repellent, too.
Restock Your First-Aid Kit
Empty all the contents of your first-aid kit and make a list of what needs replacement, like bandages and gauze. Update your old meds and ointments. And perhaps re-take a first-aid course before heading out on your first trip.
Sleeping Bag and Air Mat
Inspect your sleeping bag for mold or broken zippers. Also check that the insulation hasn’t clumped or flattened out through the winter. And make darn sure your air mat hasn’t gained any pin holes while in storage.
Stoves and Fuel Canisters
White gas stoves require more maintenance than isobutane-propane canister stoves or alcohol stoves. Make sure the fuel line isn’t clogged (a gentle poke with a thin wire can work wonders), lubricate the O-ring and tighten all connections to fix any possible leaky fuel connectors. Get rid of the old liquid gas. The shelf life of white gas is around six years. But once you open the container, it needs to be used up before one year is up. Methylated spirits, or fuel for alcohol stoves, have a much longer shelf life (10 years plus) because they’re not petroleum based. Isobutane/propane fuel will last a lot longer. But you’ll have to go through all your old canisters to see how much is left inside. A good method for this is to float the canister in a pot of water. A full canister is heavier than an empty one. You can judge the amount of fuel remaining by the position of the water line. A full canister will sink, with only the top section above water (like an iceberg), an empty canister will float and a half-empty canister will bob halfway. Some fuel canisters (like MSR) have a gauge printed on the side. Since the canister has a concave bottom, make sure to place it in the water at an angle first to “burp” the air from the bottom. You can use one of those handy field transfer devices (like FlipFuel) to top up used canisters.
Electronics
Remove all batteries from your flashlight, GPS and satellite communication devices (SPOT, inReach).If left in, they could leak and corrode the insides.
Axe
First, add a coating of olive oil or cooking oil to the metal. Also, place a coating of oil on the wooden axe handle, especially the top and bottom. Try out these oil and wax product for maintenance. Apply water to the metal edge and stone-sharpen it, and then, refine it with a field sharpener.
Paddles
I prefer to oil my wooden paddles, not varnish them. Oil soaks into the woods. Varnish puts on a plasticity coating. Yes, varnish is easier and quicker, and oil takes time and patience—but it won’t give you blisters. Badger Paddles makes an excellent hemp oil. Tung oil also works well, even cooking oil, teak oil and Danish oil. Linseed oil is okay, but hemp works well at naturally battling mold and mildew. However, it does take much longer to dry (a couple of days). Once it’s dry, give it a light sand with low-grit sandpaper, and give it a wipe with a dry cloth.
Bear Spray
Bear spray does expire. Its shelf life is three to four years after purchase. The active substance may decay and the propellant within the canister may have lost pressure this time. I like using expired canisters to practise spraying at mock bears in the backyard.
