gear maintenance checklist

[wayno]

Backpacking gear is expensive and you need to take care of it to extend it’s lifetime. Here’s a checklist of gear maintenance tasks I try to do the morning after I get home from a backpacking trip:

do you have your own points you'd like to add to this list?

http://sectionhiker.com/backpacking-gea ... checklist/

[icefest]

When I use leather boots I usually re-apply snoseal when arriving home.

[wayno]

2.Wash my dirty trail clothes

I'd add to this,
wash wet weather gear in washing liquid for waterproof shells, eg nikwax, grangers, sportwash (not commercial washing powder or liquid) if worn on trip. and refresh DWR treatment if necessary with appropriate treatment liquid (nikwax, grangers).
you may not consider it dirty, but for breathable rainshells, washing in appropriate washing solution after wearing is important to maintain their breathability, commercial washing treatments can often clog up the membranes rendering them less breathable.

[icefest]

2.Wash my dirty trail clothes

I'd add to this,
wash wet weather gear in washing liquid for waterproof shells, eg nikwax, grangers, sportwash (not commercial washing powder or liquid) if worn on trip. and refresh DWR treatment if necessary with appropriate treatment liquid (nikwax, grangers).
you may not consider it dirty, but for breathable rainshells, washing in appropriate washing solution after wearing is important to maintain their breathability, commercial washing treatments can often clog up the membranes rendering them less breathable.

You wash your hardshell after every trip? Should I do it that often too?

[wayno]

if i've had it on for any length of time especially with minimal clothes underneath or i've been sweating in it, then yes.
it's been raised in previous threads how performance drops rapidly and issues with body oils can cause delamination , even top end gear like gore tex.
event especially needs to be washed with the frequency of your underwear.... it can be highly prone to degradation if not treated properly and kept clean.
It's debateable how good event is on raelly long trips if you can't wash it frequently.. gore tex and other polyeurethane coated membranes will stand up to sweat dirt and body oils better with less clogging up or degradation if left unwashed on long trips. although that may be debateable with gores no pro shell which has removed the polyeurethane coating.
follow the instructions with the breathable shells and dont expose them to harsh chemicals. in a thread on the tramper.co.nz forum one track worker says he destroyed his gore tex waterproofness through normal day to day work, possibly from fuel spilt on his wet weather gear...

[GPSGuided]

What kinds of detergent are recommended for the washing of membrane containing gears? Not general household laundry detergents?

[wayno]

no , most of the household ones contain chemicals like aromatics, they cling to fabrics and clog the pores.
bivouac were selling "sportwash" suitable for rainshells, but havent seen it recently. nikwax and grangers make tehir own treatments, they are widely available, if you're going to wash a lto they are way cheper purchased from overseas you can caget them in one litre or bigger containers. You're after something that you have to be sure leaves no residue behind. except DWR treatments made for waterproofs, they won't clog up teh membrane, there are DWR treatments for softshells, I dont think they are intended for rainshells, you might get clogging issues.
also fabric softeners are no no's same issue with residues.
also doesnt hurt to give the coats an extra rinse to ensure all the detergent is removed.

[GPSGuided]

Thanks. I wonder if those specialist cleaners are just versions of those common laboratory enzyme detergents?

[forest]

I hose out my mesh runners after a decent walk. I just take them off, allow them to make there own way to the hose and jam the hose spout down the hole where my foot goes.
Does wonders for the smell on the next trip.
Sometimes I'll dumble dry my down bag straight after a trip with a few clean tennis balls to clear out any moisture. A proper was for the bag after about 20 nights use.
Same goes for down clothing.
Ah remember to clean out any left over food or wrappers from your pack. Might not be a good start prior to the next trip if a rodent has chewed through something.

[norts]

Dry tea bags into my boots, helps take the smell out of them.

Roger

[Strider]

no , most of the household ones contain chemicals like aromatics, they cling to fabrics and clog the pores.

My Macpac Traverse just says "warm wash with detergent". And that's the treatment it got a couple of days ago, followed by two additional rinses.

[wayno]

no , most of the household ones contain chemicals like aromatics, they cling to fabrics and clog the pores.

My Macpac Traverse just says "warm wash with detergent". And that's the treatment it got a couple of days ago, followed by two additional rinses.

those aren't specific enough instructions for an eVent jacket...

[wayno]

if you're going to use commercial detergent it needs to be a pretty basic washing soap powder with as few additives as possible, organic perhaps...

[Strider]

Will see how it goes. I tend to sweat too much for breathability to make a difference anyway, so unlikely I'll notice any change. DWR revived really well after a trip in the dryer though!

[Joomy]

You wash your hardshell after every trip? Should I do it that often too?

Pretty much yes. The only factor would be preserving the original DWR if it's a fairly new jacket, however a good wash and a tumble dry on low heat will often restore a DWR that seems to have worn off.

What kinds of detergent are recommended for the washing of membrane containing gears? Not general household laundry detergents?

As Wayno says ordinary detergents contain lots of additives to make clothes smell nice and fresh or whatever, and are not designed to wash out. Also lots of detergents contain surfactants which is essentially the opposite of DWR -- it reduces the surface tension of the fabric to allow the detergent to penetrate more deeply. Both of these things can prevent your DWR and/or your micro-porous membrane from functioning properly.

no , most of the household ones contain chemicals like aromatics, they cling to fabrics and clog the pores.

My Macpac Traverse just says "warm wash with detergent". And that's the treatment it got a couple of days ago, followed by two additional rinses.

I believe GE themselves actually recommend washing eVent fabrics occasionally with deeper cleaning household detergents if it hasn't been washed in a while and needs a thorough clean, followed by a second wash with special garment detergent in order to get all the residue from the first wash out. To be honest I never bother and always use Atsko Sport Wash to wash everything even remotely gear related. It's awesome stuff.

[GPSGuided]

As Wayno says ordinary detergents contain lots of additives to make clothes smell nice and fresh or whatever, and are not designed to wash out. Also lots of detergents contain surfactants which is essentially the opposite of DWR -- it reduces the surface tension of the fabric to allow the detergent to penetrate more deeply. Both of these things can prevent your DWR and/or your micro-porous membrane from functioning properly.

Good explanation! Thanks.

[wayno]

arcteryx recommend washing gore tex after ten days of heavy use and about 20 of light use. Remember Gore tex doesnt need the frequency of washing that event or some of the other generic membranes do


http://www.arcteryx.com/product-care.aspx?language=EN

[Onestepmore]

I'd add to clean dust and grit from your walking poles. I returned from South Australia last week and I think I brought a small beach back with me in my poles.

[aaronhann85]

Much of my gear is well overdue for a wash and I was hoping to do so with the often recommended 'pure soap flakes'. I've seen various people including the famous Mr Caffin state that fragrance can wreak havoc with waterproof membranes.

Will I be ok using the ubiquitous Lux soap flakes? It contains some fragrance but that's all I've been able to locate thus far.

Cheers

[Orion]

A checklist?

I pull out the sleeping bag and the tent too if it was damp when I packed it. That's about it.

The dirty clothes I pull out when it's time to do laundry which is usually several days later. Trash and left over food I frequently forget about until it's time to pack for the next trip whereupon I sometimes discover something moldy. I don't believe I've ever washed my raingear.

Works for me.

[Gadgetgeek]

Lux is what we use at my work to clean pretty much everything. don't know if its the best thing, or the worst. It seems like maintaining water repelency and breathability is rather difficult. Another option is laundry soap bars, a little less convenient, but they do work as well as the lux once dissolved.