Man Cave Monday Bushcraft Repair Kit

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Hey guys, welcome back to Man Cave Monday. So today's quick video for Man Cave Monday is going to be the Bushcraft Field Repair Kit

And this is something that in my bag is always evolving over the years. I'm always adding and subtracting things from it, but I tell you it's so nice to have something like this when you're out in the field

There are so many different times that I've needed to repair something and just didn't have the right stuff with me, but if I carry this kit it usually can accomplish a lot of different tasks

So I'm going to show you mine and where you get into it, so stick around

I think one thing to keep in mind when we start getting into this kit is that this is very highly personalized. You have to pick the items for what your activities are and what kind of equipment you carry

So the first thing, of course, is a nice hank of 550 cord. 50 feet or better is always nice. You just never know when you get into camp if you're going to need to pitch a tarp or maybe you forgot the guidelines to your tent or something, or something's broken and you've got instant cordage

Replicating cordage in the field is a pain in the butt. It's not easy, but having 550 cord gives you a lot of options and it's a strong stuff and I really like it and always carry some with me no matter where I go

Another item that I think is so important is some type of duct tape or repair tape. Now this is Gorilla Tape on an old credit card

Another product you can test out on your own is this 100 mile power tape from 5 Call Survival Supply. I haven't had a chance to use this stuff yet, but my understanding is that in the military this is the stuff

This is what every soldier would use to repair things and I've got a nice big fat roll from 5 Call. It didn't cost a ton of money. It's going to last me forever, but it has the same properties as duct tape. Very easy to tear, but also very strong

It has good adhesion. I'm going to make myself another credit card of just 100 mile power tape and have that in my kit as well. Maybe in addition to, or I might just replace this Gorilla Tape. Gorilla Tape is good stuff, but I've heard really good things about this and I want to test this out in the field

So that's another option for you. Another important option when you think about repair is the ability to sew. I carry basically two different types of sewing kits

The first sewing kit is a very basic, I need to repair my clothing kind of sewing kit. It has thread, needles, small safety pins, there's a couple buttons in there. So this is something I want to repair my pants or a shirt. I'm not looking for heavy duty repair with this, but this will get me by until I get back home

The second sewing kit I carry is this one, and this is Kevlar thread. This has two larger safety pins and it has a heavy duty sail needle

So this is going to be more for repairing heavier duty gear like leather, heavy canvas, things like that. Thank goodness I've never really had to repair anything in the field that heavy duty, but it sure is nice having that option in case something happens

So I got those. Another kind of oddball items I like to carry are mini zip ties and this braided steel pitcher hanging wire. I've actually repaired field chairs while camping with this wire that came apart. I was able to lash them back together and actually use the camping chair the rest of the weekend

So it's really invaluable stuff. You can unbraid it and make it single strand or you can leave it braided and it's more strong. And then the mini zip ties are just another way of attaching things together. They also work well for creating stuff in your fishing kit. You can actually zip tie some fishing line to a stick if you need to

So it's just a nice multipurpose item, but for repair zip ties are hard to beat. I like them a lot

And if you're camping with any kind of air mattress, silicone sealant is always a nice thing to have and then some kind of patching material to go along with that

Now these patches, this is kind of a cordura nylon and then these are actually stickers. So I could put some silicone sealant down to remove the tape on these and stick it on my air mattress and that would help a lot. More patching material. So this is stuff I've collected over the years I've found in kits

Another kind of unusual item I carry is hot melt wax. This is the kind of stuff you get in craft kits. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it's always in my kit. I feel like someday I'm going to be able to use this for something. I just don't know what, but I've got it

I also carry a small bobbin of floral wire. Now a lot of people would use this for snares, but I carry it in my repair kit. I haven't had a chance to really use it much for anything, but it's there. These sewing bobbins you can get at a sewing store and then you can wrap any kind of line you want around them. But it's just a handy item to have

And of course I always carry pocket knives with me, so having a way of taking apart a pocket knife or tightening up a pocket clip or even repairing my camera gear since I'm always carrying electronic gadgets, this little set of hex heads and a driver with a phillips and a straight on it are handy to have

It's not something that my multi-tool is going to have this size of stuff on it, so this is just an additional item for repairing those small little gadgets

The next thing I carry is a variety of steel beaners. These are from Night Eyes. This one is their figure 8. And then there's a big one. I've got two small locking ones and I've got two of these small blue beaners which are great for ridge lines

You just never know when you're going to lose a carabiner to your shelter system and you need to attach gear to your pack. It's just nice to have some extras of these lying around. They don't weigh hardly anything. I think it's a good idea to have them, so I always carry them

Alright, that's it for today. So just a real quick video on my repair kit. Like I said, you've got to personalize your kit to yourself. So depending on what type of gear you take, maybe you don't use an inflatable mattress so you really don't need seam sealant to repair a puncture

Maybe you do a lot of tarp camping so you do want some patches to repair your tarp in case something gets ripped or torn in a storm or while unpacking your gear. You just never know. So having a little pouch like this, and I got this pouch I think at Home Depot. There's a set of three of these that came in different sizes. This is the smallest one

All my gear, all my little kit fits right in this thing. And it's a peace of mind that I have with me. I throw it in my pack and I forget about it. It's something I don't have to keep fussing with or worry about because it's all going to stay right in this pouch. And then if I need it, I've got it. I'm ready to go

And that's the whole thing. It's just being prepared for the worst. You just never know what's going to happen. So if you're going to be a wanderer, you should have some kind of ways of repairing your gear because things do come up

So everything but that 550 cord and the carabiners fit in this little pouch. So I can just attach this like so

Now I've got my repair kit. So it's inexpensive. It's something, most of the stuff you have on hand in your workshop or at home. So you just need to rummage around, find it, put it together in a pouch, stick it in your backpack, forget about it. And then when something happens, you're ready to go

Alright, we'll see you next time on The Prepared Wanderer. Thanks for watching. www.ThePreparedWanderer.com