It may not be fancy, it may not be expensive, but let's face it, you can use it for just about anything. I make sure to keep an extra roll or two whenever I go out camping. I remember one time, the wind was so sharp that it tore a hole through my tent. Would have been a chunk-ton of unhappy if I hadn't brought the tape along, that's for sure.
Duct tape is on the most important things to bring on a canoe trip. It is amazing to see the repairs that can be made to a busted up fiberglass canoe.
thats true! you can nearly build and fix everything with it. I would not go survival if i dont have any duct tape with me. Ok, it depends on where you want to go survival. I think in the Forest you dont need it as much as you would do by canoeing
What about gorilla tape? I switched off of the silver duct tape to gorilla as it seems tougher to me.
Duct tape is kinda like bic lighters, for me I have rolls scattered about in boat, jeep , car, camper, house and shed. All with differing amounts and when I see one getting low I buy another roll so in the house and shed there are currently a roll and a bit. I am alos a hube fan of good electrical tape and am seldom with out a roll of that. It is stretchier than duct tape and easier to mold and almost as strong. Still aint decided about Gorilla tape I just started using my first roll. So far to me its over kill and stiff and hard to wrap.
If you cannot duck it then chuck it. I agree I always put some around my water bottle when backpacking and kayaking. I know some folks that do it around the middle of their paddles for kayaking.
Duct tape is great stuff as long as you pay for the good stuff. I like Gorilla tape, it's thick and holds up well.
I use Gorilla Tape now. It works quite well. I even made a template to create waterproof fletchings for arrows using this stuff. But duct tape is quite versatile. I fixed a hole in a buddy's canoe thirty years ago using this tape. I saw him again about seven years later and in conversation asked him if he ever repaired the hole in his canoe. He said no. He just changed the tape every season and it hadn't leaked a drop of water. I guess he was right. Fiberglass repair can be a little tricky.
We ran the John Day River in Oregon a few years in flood at about 6,600 cfs. My friend sunk his fiberglass canoe in a big rapid. We emptied our boat and ferried across upstream to get to the far bank. Then we hauled his gear to shore with a rescue rope. We got the canoe on shore and let it dry out in the sun. We pounded the fiberglass back into shape so it looked like a canoe, and used a roll of duct tape. It worked fine and we recovered most of the lost stuff by eddy shopping for the next 10 miles.
When the kids were younger, one of the girls married a guy who wanted to race cars. Didn't take long before I had two daughters and one son in law all racing local short track. Duct tape was essential to hold those cars together through the night. Even the high tech NASCAR racers use duct tape to keep cars going after an accident.
