if not you really should. I cannot begin to count the number of times that it has saved my butt.
some notable memories of duct tape coming through when im in a bind on a trip…
-awesome bandage material. Gauze with duct tape is one of my favorite bandages and I use it more than regular bandaids even if im not kayaking. Several reasons, it stays attached. Most bandaids peel off or fall off from movement over a couple hours, not so with duct tape. Also depending on the application it can provide a watertight seal.
Ive had a couple major cuts/ lacerations (stiches later required) while uncomfortably far from medical help. Good ole duct tape has held my insides on the inside numerous times 
improvised rope… Twist/braid/roll a strand of duct tape up makes for a very strong (not too flexable but it works) rope. Ive strung many a clothesline this way.
Once duct tape rope held a 16’ canoe on top of my buddies van at 65mph for 2 hours when we accidentally left the straps out on the ground and someone took off with them.
-my kayak once got a cool duct tape flame job when I was bored one night at my campsite LOL
I have always been a huge believer in the phrase, if you cant duct it f*** it. i have long sung the praises of this magical product, but recently I have suprised even myself (a schooled and certified duct tape engineering pro) with what you can do in a bind with some duct tape.
Long story short, the river split, and my buddy went one way I went the other. We had never paddled this section before and we figured what better way to learn what way is better… we can compare notes at the confluence. Wrong.
My buddy came around a sharp bend to find a tree down, laying the entire way across his channel. This was earlier this spring and we had record setting rains all spring and the river was quite swift and swolen. noting he could do to prevent it, got stuck on the log and his boat capsized. Swept him and the boat under the root ball and held him there. Luckily he swam out and we were able to free his boat (it was lodged/ submerged under the root ball in swift water for about 15 minutes)
once we got all the gear retrieved and the water drained, we set off paddling again. Now every 10 minutes or so he would have so much water in the boat we would have to stop and drain it. We figured it was just water splashing over the bow (fairly good rapids in section, no spray skirt) At one drain stop I noticed at the very end of the keel on his boat there was a hole about an inch and a half long and as wide as several sheets of construction paper. Mind you we are several miles from the put in, 10 miles or so from the take out, and nothing around us for miles (ahh the beauty of the good backwoods spots) and here we are with a kayak that sinks. Gonna be a loooonnnng walk for you buddy LOL.
Lucky for me I packed my trusty duct tape. I almost left it in the jeep, but saw it as we unloaded the gear and figured, hey, you can always use it for somethin. Boy was I right.
We dried the hull, and using strips of duct tape (layed perpendicular to each other so water would have a hard time seeping in) I covered the back bottom part of his boat where the hole was with about a 1/4 roll of tape all in 12 inch sectionmaking sure it was smooth and there were no air bubbles to let water in.
its our only shot so it better work… otherwise we are S.O.L. Boy did it ever work!!! for 15 more miles that day, 20 the day after, and about 150 miles of paddling since, that duct tape patch is still going strong. Hasnt leaked a drop, and even getting scuffed/dragged on all the rocks we have in the ozarks streams we frequent this patch has held solid. Its worked so well that we arent even going to bother getting it repaired correctly (cheapest glue/patch repair kit I found was $150). Total investment in duct tape patch… maybe $1 for 1/4 roll and 15 minutes of work.
ive got a ton more of those, but I figured id list my most recent.
IF YALL DONT PACK A GOOD ROLL OF DUCT TAPE IN YOUR GEAR YOU REALLY SHOULD. It may save your butt someday
anyone else been saved by the awesomeness that is known as duct tape? Share your stories/ oddball uses for duct tape
Absolutely!
I’ve a small roll in my emergency kit and additional tape wrapped around a couple of Nalgene bottles.
Been riding/building Harleys since the '70s so I go nowhere without duct tape!
BTW, I prefer the HVAC version for its improved outdoor performance.
Cheers!
Holmes
Used to
I used to, but after it spent some time in my dry bag during the summer it turned into a useless gray hockey puck. Would appreciate any suggested remedies.
Try…
…the HVAC duct tape. It’s designed for temperature extremes and I believe it has additional UV inhibitors. More expensive but worth it in my experience.
Coincidence;
just today we were talking about our duct tape while we were paddling our canoe and decided that it was time to change it out and replace it with some new stuff, since the sun has probably done a number on it.
What we do is wrap a bunch of it around a spare paddle,. and in that way it is always with us and we don’t have to make sure we have a full roll of it with us.
cheers,
JackL
REI sells small rolls
they are great. Buy and take 2 …they are small and I’ve used them on 2 sot’s.
But I prefer electrical 3M tape for bandaids.
ps… tough guys don’t use gauze just straight tape.
Paddlin’ on
Richard
I’ve used on a lot of things…
…but never on my butt. You do know that the crack
is SUPPOSED to be there, right?
Yes
I have duct tape in my emergency bag for my kayak, in my CamelBaks for when I am biking, in my car, etc.
Same story with plastic cable ties.
Duct tape is the worlds band-aid
Always in my emergency kit. And it holds parts of my MG together
nah , never really packed it …
… along with me when out and about on the water or camp , but maybe I ought to second think that ?? … I like the foil faced type with the nylon woven mesh built in , the one used on fiber form ducts , it sticks like crazy and is stronger than the standard gray stuff you can rip with your teeth , but cost more … well all I can say is “RED GREEN” would be proud of ya , helloooooo Canada !! … tell ya what , wouldn’t want to have been pinned up in that strainer , the root stump ball must have been a bunch a spears by then …
I carry
Sumo tape, it is Duct tape + (sumo size me :)No kidding it is tougher than regular duct tape.
Bandage and fixing glasses!
In this month’s Field and Stream they had a tip to wrap some around a Bic lighter instead of taking the whole roll.
Tuck Tape…
…that ugly red stuff you see on housing construction, works well too…very sticky, tough when layered, and it can be made to stick to wet surfaces if you can squeegee the water out from beneath it as you go.
Re duct tape - there’s duct tape, and then there’s duct tape - the hardware store variety is useful for light work, but the real stuff is about 5x as strong and three times as expensive. Lee Valley has the good stuff, and it’s worth every penny if you’ve got serious damage to repair.
anybody remember the thread…
“say no to gorilla glue in your crack?”
We had some fun with that one.
Have y’all seen the new Gorilla Duct Tape?
first aide
It can be used to butterfly a cut once cleaned and skin that splits due to water( esp on feet) can heal quicker when ducktaped edges are tight.
Tail light on trailer malfuncitioning. I have ducktaped my redlight beam of my deadlamp on the trailer twice to work as a tail light. It is always with me in my dry bag. Gorrilla tape is good
Flat pack - in PDF NM
Yep
And lots of other goodies too!
Donn’t leave home wo/it
If it moves and it ain’t supposed too. Duct tape it.
If it doesn’t move and is supposed too. WD40 it.
I’ve got a Brandie New roll of Industrial strength tape.
yep
unlike pfds, rattlesnakes, handguns, etc this is beyond all arguement—everybody should carry ducttape and if you don’t you are beyond all redemption.
Drysuit gasket repair
Duck tape can make an on-site gasket repair. Once a neck seal ripped at the paddle site launch. Duck tape to the rescue - If you just tape the outside and roll it over the edge and on the inside it works great. The paddler later rolled a few times and said no water was coming in.