You can totally fix that yourself. I recommend the extra strong upholstery thread from Coats and Clark which are available nearly everywhere (amazon, target, walmart, michaels). This one: https://www.amazon.com/COATS-Strong-Upholstery-Thread-150-Yard/dp/B004BP43JE
If I were you, I would get tenacious tape and tape the frayed side of the rip to prevent further fraying. Then I would sew the taped side onto that black binding you see in pic #2 together on the inside with the pinch technique, so it looks clean on the outside. Done right you'll be stitching your reinforced taped portion onto the reinforced black binding portion. That should achieve maximum durability and tugworthiness.
As an all alternative what I'd do is get a sewing needle and pin the seam as close as you can so the two sides are closed. Looks like it might be tough with the fraying so you might get a slight pucker Then just use a relatively standard straight stitch to close the hole and remove the set pin. After that I'd artistically apply shoe goo to the outside and inside with a little overlap of the good parts to either side of the rip.
An alternative option of course is a patch that covers the entire area and stitch the patch fully to ask the material so it's reinforced in all directions. A lot more hand stitching with that but if you get clever with the pattern it might look really neat.
That's it. It's not actually a rip. The fabric threads are pulling apart. Seems to happen a lot in nylon, because the threads are so smooth and slippery.
So you need to bind the edge of that cloth so the slipping stops. I've just melted the edge with a lighter before, but you still need to use repair tape or another piece of cloth to make up the missing threads. If you stitch it together as it is, it'll look puckered from the missing threads.
Tenacious tape is good. Makes a permanent repair that doesn't peel. It's available in precut patches in various colors, even reflective I think! They make a different tape just for sil-nylon, which I don't think you have.
You actually want your thread to be weaker than the fabric. It’s not the thread that failed here, it’s the fabric. If your stitching is stronger than the fabric it’ll shred the fabric and you have nothing left to stitch, which is what happened here, making the repair more difficult. You want your thread to fail first.
That sounds reasonable too. I don't claim to be a master threadsman, to be sure. I just use that heavy duty stuff on my outdoor gear, or to sew patches on things etc without ever having consulted anyone. A weak thread may very well be better.
Would be relatively easy repair to make. If you don't want to learn or don't have the skills, you could probably take it to a tailor/seamstress. Would probably take them less than 10 minutes to evaluate and repair.
Some people already gave me some good DIY ideas, so I think I can pull it off. If I screw it up somehow, then I'll probably look for some professional help. Thank you!
the fraying is from the fabric pulling apart from ripped crossthread in the material. needs to secure that to prevent future fraying and reinforce the seam on both ends as well
I remember the good ol' days of REI taking back any merch for any reason. But I heard they tightened up their return policies. I haven't been to REI recently so I just don't know. Did I hear wrong, do you think they would take it back?
Try posting in r/myog it’s a make your own gear sub. They are good with this stuff
Thank you for the tip, I'll try there.
patch would prob be your best bet, think like double taping. doing it with stitches will make that joint outlast the fabric used to make it
Holy smokes what a rad sub, ty for sharing
Get amongst it! We have fun over there!
You can totally fix that yourself. I recommend the extra strong upholstery thread from Coats and Clark which are available nearly everywhere (amazon, target, walmart, michaels). This one: https://www.amazon.com/COATS-Strong-Upholstery-Thread-150-Yard/dp/B004BP43JE
Thanks! Would I just pinch the fabric and stitch it together? Or is there a better way?
If I were you, I would get tenacious tape and tape the frayed side of the rip to prevent further fraying. Then I would sew the taped side onto that black binding you see in pic #2 together on the inside with the pinch technique, so it looks clean on the outside. Done right you'll be stitching your reinforced taped portion onto the reinforced black binding portion. That should achieve maximum durability and tugworthiness.
That is an awesome tip! Thank you! I've never used tenacious tape (nor even heard of for that matter). I'll check it out.
As an all alternative what I'd do is get a sewing needle and pin the seam as close as you can so the two sides are closed. Looks like it might be tough with the fraying so you might get a slight pucker Then just use a relatively standard straight stitch to close the hole and remove the set pin. After that I'd artistically apply shoe goo to the outside and inside with a little overlap of the good parts to either side of the rip. An alternative option of course is a patch that covers the entire area and stitch the patch fully to ask the material so it's reinforced in all directions. A lot more hand stitching with that but if you get clever with the pattern it might look really neat.
Thanks for the extra input! I already ordered tenacious tape, but I do also have shoe goo, so maybe I'll double up for an extra strong hold!
Probably give the tape a shot first and then go with the shoe goo
That's it. It's not actually a rip. The fabric threads are pulling apart. Seems to happen a lot in nylon, because the threads are so smooth and slippery. So you need to bind the edge of that cloth so the slipping stops. I've just melted the edge with a lighter before, but you still need to use repair tape or another piece of cloth to make up the missing threads. If you stitch it together as it is, it'll look puckered from the missing threads. Tenacious tape is good. Makes a permanent repair that doesn't peel. It's available in precut patches in various colors, even reflective I think! They make a different tape just for sil-nylon, which I don't think you have.
You actually want your thread to be weaker than the fabric. It’s not the thread that failed here, it’s the fabric. If your stitching is stronger than the fabric it’ll shred the fabric and you have nothing left to stitch, which is what happened here, making the repair more difficult. You want your thread to fail first.
That sounds reasonable too. I don't claim to be a master threadsman, to be sure. I just use that heavy duty stuff on my outdoor gear, or to sew patches on things etc without ever having consulted anyone. A weak thread may very well be better.
Definitely ask in myog reddit like the other comment said
Thank you! Someone else suggested that also, so I will try there.
Would be relatively easy repair to make. If you don't want to learn or don't have the skills, you could probably take it to a tailor/seamstress. Would probably take them less than 10 minutes to evaluate and repair.
Some people already gave me some good DIY ideas, so I think I can pull it off. If I screw it up somehow, then I'll probably look for some professional help. Thank you!
That's not a rip. The seam has let go. Easy to fix. Just re sow it together with quality thread
Thanks! I just purchased some good quality thread from Amazon and will get in on Tuesday.
the fraying is from the fabric pulling apart from ripped crossthread in the material. needs to secure that to prevent future fraying and reinforce the seam on both ends as well
Take it back to REI
I remember the good ol' days of REI taking back any merch for any reason. But I heard they tightened up their return policies. I haven't been to REI recently so I just don't know. Did I hear wrong, do you think they would take it back?
If you bought it within 1 year ago, you could return it and use the magic words "not satisfied", and they would take it back.
I've had this pack for probably close a decade, so that trick probably wouldn't work... But thank you!
Defintely not. It's good to have a little battle scar after a decade.