Fixing a hole in a down bag

After hanging up my new EMS Mountain Lite 40° Sleeping Bag, I found a pin-hole in the shell. It is very small, but it is big enough so it needs to be fixed.
How do you go about fixing it? Do you sew it, or is there some kind of patch you can put on it?

By pinhole, I mean a very small hole, but big enough so that there was some down sticking out.

This from the EMS web site:
725 fill power goose down bag, with 20-denier Pertex Quantum® shell is the lightest weather-resistant shell fabric available.

"I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
and stops my mind from wandering
where it will go"



A pinhole? If it's that small I would probably try to gob it up with some tent seam sealant. If it's too big for that then I'd try some Tear-Aid type A. Make sure to cut patch into a circle.

I asked my wife to place a couple of small stitches on it and then I sealed the tiny edges of the seams with either nail polish or seam sealer (it's been that long ago) and it has held fine.

If you've lost down and need to order more, I found the best way to put more in a bag is to set up your tent (but not rainfly) inside the house and get in with the bag and the down and repair your bag there (bring the sewing machine in as well. That way when you are done you have all the stray down bits that you didn't get into the bag, held captive and ready for the vacuum.

cbcbd said:

A pinhole? If it's that small I would probably try to gob it up with some tent seam sealant. If it's too big for that then I'd try some Tear-Aid type A. Make sure to cut patch into a circle.

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It's probably small enough to put a small glob of something to seal...
That Tear-Aide looks interesting. Where do you get it?

I've used adhesive backed ripstop nylon tape with good results. It's available in many different colors.

Onestep

4000'er said:

It's probably small enough to put a small glob of something to seal...
That Tear-Aide looks interesting. Where do you get it?

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Cabela's online seems to have the best price:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...com/products/Cpod0028443.jsp&_requestid=24523

...then Campmor:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39178291&memberId=12500226

Duct tape.

I often start out using the adhesive nylon patches, but usually end up using the Silver Solution.

Tear Aide looks like good stuff - will have to keep my eye out for it. I use Kenyon tape for any variety of repairs. I think that's what onestep is referring to.

onestep said:

I've used adhesive backed ripstop nylon tape with good results. It's available in many different colors.

Onestep

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I've done the same to repair a small tear in a sleeping bag, and was able to match the color of the bag closely enough (purple) that unless you knew where to look, you'd never even notice that it was repaired. I believe it's the same kind of tape used to repair sails/parachutes with.

a little dab of seam grip

el-bagr said:

Duct tape.

I often start out using the adhesive nylon patches, but usually end up using the Silver Solution.

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And now it comes in many other colors including CLEAR ...personally I like the look of the silver...

M

"And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right, where I belong
I'm right, where I belong. Silly people run around, they worry me and never ask me why they don't get past my door..."

Gris said:

"And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right, where I belong
I'm right, where I belong. Silly people run around, they worry me and never ask me why they don't get past my door..."

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Posts like this are bad news because they stop my mind from wandering...the good news is that they let the rain in.
And rain is good. Rain is lovely, just like Rita.

Fixing a hole in a down bag....my mother took a very fine needle and some very fine thread and she sewed a piece of nylon over a hole in my bag. That patch has been in place for nigh on 25 years.

Neil said:

Fixing a hole in a down bag....my mother took a very fine needle and some very fine thread and she sewed a piece of nylon over a hole in my bag. That patch has been in place for nigh on 25 years.

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The shell is very light weight (20-denier Pertex Quantum), and the hole is very small, so I hesitate to sew it. I am leaning towards using seam sealer or the like.

4000'er said:

The shell is very light weight (20-denier Pertex Quantum), and the hole is very small, so I hesitate to sew it. I am leaning towards using seam sealer or the like.

Click to expand...

On closer examination, the hole is from the pointy end of a piece of down that poked through the shell. I also found another spot where the same thing happened. The pointy end is sticking half way out through the shell.

Do I try to push it back in, or do I pull it out and seal it?

This is my first down bag, and it makes me wonder if this common with lightweight down sleeping bags?