Gear Aid SilFix Sil-Nylon Repair Kit

Great repair kit for fixing holes and tears in sil-nylon material used by many manufactures of lightweight backpacks and tents.

As I've been adding lighter weight gear to my backpacking and hiking arsenal, I've run across the complications of making those choices. That being, these lighter weight packs and tents using sil-nylon materials are not as durable as their heavier weight counterparts.

My first purchase was the Marmot Kompressor Summit, which is a lightweight 28L day pack which uses sil-nylon along the sides and front of the pack. As I used it over the past summer, various damage occurred from carrying various objects inside the pack that ultimately poked small holes and in one case, tore a corner.  

I really like this pack so I searched for a way to fix it. Initially I tried the patch kits for my tents/air mattresses and those didn't work. Next I tried the Gear Aid Tenacious Tape and that failed as well. Nothing would adhere to the sil-nylon.

So after some research, I found out I needed a silicon based adhesive to stick to the silicon nylon material and Gear Aid provided that too with their Sil-Fix Kit.

After searching all over south Denver (REI, Sierra Trading Post, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Authority) I ended up having to order it from an online provider. I was really surprised no one carried this considering the proliferation of sil-nylon gear being released over the last few years. So once it arrived I was eager to give it a try.

The packaging contains:

• 1/4 oz silicone adhesive
• one adhesive repair patch
• one sil-nylon repair swatch
• one application brush
• user guide

Following the instructions, I repaired three holes and a tear in my pack and have been really impressed by the fix itself and the durability of the fix over the rest of the summer/fall.

Below is an example of two repairs (one for a hole and the other for the tear). In one case I put the swatch on the outside and on the other on the inside. I wanted to test which way is more durable and so far I'd say they both work fine either way. Putting it on the inside maintains the color of the pack, whereas on the outside you see the patch.

My second application of this product was a more challenging repair. The tent floor on a Marmot Starlight 1P bivy tent. I was in Cabela's Clearance Cave and saw this tent on sale and listed as "ripped". Regular price was $220 and they had it priced at $120. I bargained the guy showing him the two rips (one on top and the even bigger one on the bottom), offered him $60 and he accepted it.

I figured for that price, I'd see how good this Gear Aid Sil-Fix kit really was and if it worked, I'd score a really lightweight brand new Marmot tent for an incredible price. The bonus was the tent actually came with repair patches that stick to the treated inside walls of the tent.

So far the repair using the Marmot adhesive strip has held for the top smaller rip but the floor rip was about four inches long.  Since it takes abuse from the ground, I wanted to double repair it with the Marmot adhesive strip on the inside and the Gear Aid Sil-Fix on the outside.  Below shows the outside repair.

I'll post an update after I've put this repair through its paces and let you all know how its doing. So far the silicon has remained pliable and feels pretty rock solid.