Did you rip your inflatable sleeping pad, tent fly, jacket, etc in the backcountry? Pretty hard to fix those without some repair tape. (And no, duct tape is not the best.)

High-quality tape that has some sort of backing material on it is usually better than duct/gorilla tape for fabric repair. The backing lets you cut off a small square to carry with you, rather than a big roll, and improves the chances of the adhesive working properly after a long time in storage. (That's the problem with the old trick of wrapping some duct tape around the handles of your trekking poles or ice axe; the tape is going to be in pretty sorry shape when you someday need to use it.)

I've used LOTS of different brands over the years. My new favorite: Tear-Aid.

Tear-Aid tape works great for patching and fixing most any kind of outdoor fabric. This includes inflatable sleeping pads, which can be tricky to patch. I’ve used it to fix a tent fly, hole in a puffy jacket, and a rip in the fabric of my pop top Volkswagon camper van.

Tear-Aid comes in two different flavors, “Type A” and “Type B.” Get Type A for general purpose repair. (Type B is meant for vinyl only. If you do whitewater rafting, Type B in the repair kit is an excellent choice.)

It comes in a roll 3” wide by 12“ long (plus a pair of smaller pre-cut squares and rubbing alcohol pads) and cost about $10. Yes, that’s expensive, but to me that's a good thing. Quality over quantity! This is still more tape than you would probably need for a long time , so divide it up and share the cost with some of your pals.

How does it compare with Tenacious Tape? Tear Aid is better - stronger adhesive, and much more flexible.

To use it:

• Cut a patch with scissors about an inch or so larger than the area you need to repair.

• Round off the corners with scissors, so the patch is oval-shaped.

• Clean the area with rubbing alcohol, if you have it. (Pro tip: after you wipe off the area with rubbing alcohol, give it a good 15 minutes to completely dry. This can give much better adhesion on some surfaces.)

• Carefully peel away about half of the backing material. Center the middle of the exposed sticky part over the fabric, start smoothing it down, and then pull the remainder of the backing tape off. Important! don’t touch the sticky part with your grubby fingers!

• Press the tape firmly into the fabric, trying to remove all wrinkles and air bubbles.

from the Tear-Aid website:

“TEAR-AID® Repair Patches provide a simple and easy method of patching holes and tears, as well as an excellent protective film solution. Each TEAR-AID® Repair Patch is made from an exceptionally tough, matte finish, abrasion resistant, elastomer that resists puncture and tearing. It is combined with an aggressive adhesive formulated for high bond strength. Tear-Aid expands absorbing force on impact and always returns to original shape and size. This flexibility allows the patch to conform to irregular surfaces without restricting the movement of the repaired material.”

You can get it online, or at least in my corner of the US, at a local Ace hardware store.

Here's a video showing the simple repair process.