Got a rip? Got a tear? Don’t throw it away! Chinook Klear K-Tape to the rescue! Seriously, this stuff has got to be a serious answer to saving money on all sorts of camping, clothing and other synthetic equipment that can be ripped up and torn.
Back story…dear heart over at Vacreepinoutdoors and I were getting ready to go into the woods one rainy day, he took out his water resistant camo pants (I still have yet to figure out why when you go into the woods outside of Turkey hunting season why it seems everything is CAMO, but that is another story) and lo and behold a NICE rip was on the right, er, posterior hip area (the technical term for buttocks). Typical DH fashion, it was a shrug and out the door we went. He’d just wear them and not worry about it. But me, the typical woman is thinking…okay buddy, just sit on something wet or in the snow and your rear end is wet and cold, both of which can be deadly (think hypothermia). I must admit it was rather attention getting following through the woods as I do (no feminist issues here!) but that is besides the point.
Since he is not the type to replace things unless it is 75% off or comes from a thrift shop, I was left wondering how the heck to fix it. These water resistant pants are lined with some sort of mesh so turning them inside out and sewing them wasn’t going to work, not to mention the fabric is a rather thick cotton/nylon who knows what material. Sewing from the outside would allow moisture in still, not to mention be UGLY. The only thing left in my mind was a patch, but how to match the fabric? I know they make iron on patches and after a bit of discussion about this with DH he left it up to me, after all, it was less than 2 inches long and the right color patch wouldn’t really matter. So off to my one of my favorite places to shop…Amazon…just google iron on patch and boom! Well, this Chinook Klear K-Tape came up along with iron on patches (which were rather expensive and from past experience not exactly easy to use and not that hardy sometimes).
The following is taken directly from their ad on amazon:
No need to match colors with this transparent, highly durable, UV stable, abrasion–resistant urethane tape. This tape is truly universal and can be used on all smooth synthetic fabrics, fleece fabric, plus vinyl. – 3″ x 18″
It is also washable!!!
And only $8 (free shipping with Prime)…the back of the package gives a ton of suggested uses from nylon type pants, tents, grill covers, down coats, bags…just about ANYTHING you can imagine.
Hands down, my new best friend! Forget the ‘sewing’, the ‘sewing glue’, hot iron patches….I mean how many times over the years have I (and you for that matter?) struggled to repair something nylon or nylon like only to have a mess on your hands, it looking ugly or just having it rip even more or throwing it away, thus having to replace it?
So I bought it, after all, $8 bucks nowadays is a meal at McDonalds which I can skip and the pants are rather pricey to replace.
IMPORTANT NOTE: what you are repairing has to be DRY!!!
First you will want to cut off a piece that is at least ¼ inch longer on both ends of rip/tear. Next, to avoid corners that will peal you will want to trim this section of tape into an oval or at the very least round the corners (especially if it is a long rip/tear). Lay what you want on a hard flat surface, peel the tape away from its backing, bring the two pieces together and FIRMLY put that tape over the rip/tear and smooth down hard to make the bond. Personally I found a glass bottle with a rounded edge and went over it with that to make it smooth and to give a harder ‘pressing’ than my fingers could.
Bingo…repaired…it is a bit shiny and noticeable? as it is not REALLY clear tape but you know something? It WORKED. And I am thinking that after use/washing it will be even less noticable.
I have scratched at the tape, pulled, tugged and its staying PUT…knowing what I know about glues I am not washing it yet, but Vacreepinoutdoors will be wearing them out this weekend when we go ‘test’ our cold weather survival gear. Its supposed to rain and be cold so we shall see if it stands up to hunting, camping, sitting, and all that, but my guess is it will.
My only wish is that I could have gotten to the backside to reinforce the rip with another piece of K-Tape. People use this to repair tents and if that was my purpose I would do both inside and outside of the tent. Hmmm, I can see lots of applications outside of the woods…kids jackets, rain jackets…they say it works on fleece too (but use it on the inside for appearances sake).
So don’t throw that tent, frog togs, jacket, cover or whatever away! Repair it! Save yourself a lot of money and get the K-Tape…try it…it will make you a believer. And btw, this would be great to have in your bug out bag or camping/hunting pack…just in case!
As a side note, Vacreepinoutdoors and I, Survivingshtfmom, are teaming up to bring you live and in person lessons and hands on training to prepare, survive and thrive through Eastern Woodlands Prepared Survival School in central Virginia.
survivingshtfmom 
Product Review A Tale of Two Pressure Cookers
I am all about saving money and getting the most bang for my buck, however, I do live by the rule ‘pay now, pay later, but pay you will’… in other words, you can buy the cheapest or mid-grade item right now, because its ‘cheap’, but you wind up having to replace it later on down road because it wears out faster, quits working or doesn’t work properly because its ‘cheap’.
The flip side to that saying is that sometimes you can find great items, expensive ones on ebay, craigslist or yardsales and be cheap but get the ‘expensive’ product. And that is what I usually like to do, find what I what I want at the cheapest price available.
But sometimes, like with pressure cookers, you really don’t want to buy used (too much of a risk and many time pieces are missing and yes, you can buy the replacements, but that just adds to the cost doesn’t it?) so last year, when I went looking to purchase a pressure cooker I turned to Amazon to get one at ‘cheaper’ price. There were two available by Presto and here is my tale of two pressure cookers:
Of course I wanted to save money so I went with the cheaper 6 quart Aluminum pressure cooker (about $25 at the time) by Presto. And this is a direct quote:
• Cooks three to ten times faster than ordinary cooking methods, saving time, energy, and money.
• Pressure regulator maintains the proper cooking pressure automatically.
• Strong, heavy-gauge aluminum for quick, even heating.
• Includes cooking rack and complete 64-page instruction/recipe book.
• 9-3/4 by 16-2/3 by 8-1/2 inches; 12 year limited warranty.
4 and half stars from over 300 people…heck yeah I thought! The other one available was the Presto 6 quart Stainless Steel pressure cooker and at the time was almost twice the cost…nope, I thought, why spend the extra money for something ‘fancier’ and honestly what I thought was just a ‘shinier’ version designed to make Presto extra money?
And of course, I had done my research on pressure cookers and found mixed comments on using them on induction and glass cook tops (I have a glass one). So…I went cheap, ignoring my ‘pay now, pay later, but pay you will’ rule….
Fast forward over the past year…I used this aluminum pressure cooker weekly, not one problem…everything came out perfect, no problems, quick, easy meals…until one day last week…I put in my meat, proper water amount, etc. did everything I was supposed to do, got it wobbling properly and knew I had at least 20 minutes before it would be ready so I jumped in the shower (that one of the pleasures of using a pressure cooker by the way, get it going and move on to something else). When I got out of the shower I smelled the food, which is not usual, but this was really strong…something was a foot. Got dressed quickly and went to check on the cooker and the closer I got the more burn smell I got and then I noticed the whole POT was wobbling along…NOT A GOOD SIGN!!!
Alright, even though the timer said I had at least another 10 minutes to finish cooking I took it off the burner and did my quick cool down, the pot itself definitely no longer sat flatly on the stove, in fact it very rounded at the bottom. Got it open and the meat was burned beyond recognition, 1 inch think burned crap on the bottom of the cooker…lets just say, something went horribly wrong this go around. Warped and burned beyond saving it was…sigh…trash…complete failure on many levels…so much for trying to save money…
So, I bit the bullet and purchased the stainless steel version, a bit more money, but having used stainless steel pots and pans for YEARS I know this one will last forever….it even clearly states:
• Chicken, fish, meat, and vegetables cook to perfection fast; Helps tenderize economical cuts of meat
• Pressure regulator maintains the proper cooking pressure automatically; Complete 64-page instruction/recipe book included
• Ideal for use on regular, smooth-top and induction ranges; Dishwasher safe for easy cleaning
• Cover lock indicator shows when there is pressure inside the cooker and prevents the cover from being opened until pressure is safely reduced
• Helper handle for ease of handling; Extended 12-year limited warranty
You can check the stainless steel one out here:
<a href="Presto 01362 6-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
Good news is that now that the old one has died I now have another base plate, weight regulator…threw away the seal as I suspect that the seal also failed since the pot warped on the base…at least I was able to salvage something from ‘trying to save money’…sometimes its just not worth it and in a SHTF situation, or another situation where you might not be able to replace something easily, just keep this little story in mind… cheaper is not necessarily ‘better’.
I have used my stainless steel pressure cooker and to be honest, wow! What difference I notice in the texture and taste of the food and the clean up was so easy (the aluminum was a bit of scrub to clean well)…all over the type of metal used…who woulda thunk it? So ladies and gents, do yourself a favor and spend the extra money if you are wanting to get into pressure cooking…it’s a great way to save time, money (energy bills) and get the slow cook taste in no time…get stainless!!
And be sure to browse the books for pressure cooking for great recipes and a few other favorite things I have found: