What items are so useful they should be issued at birth to everyone?

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

A few items/products/gadgets are so useful they should probably be issued to every newcomer to our little world. Care to share your nominations here?

One candidate I can offer is a product called Tear-Aid. It comes in two varieties, one for vinyl based items, the other for everything else. Assuming you use the right kind, it is ace for patching holes in waterproof Ortlieb products. Incredibly tough stuff! I carry a kit with me on every tour. See: https://www.tear-aid.com/ Of course Amazon carries it.

A Swiss Army Knife might well be another such item...and the original P-38 and P-51 Army-issue folding can openers (in stainless, not the crummy chrome-plated steel variety).

I could add endless items, but am interested to hear your choices, so...?

All the best,

Dan.

[John Saxby]

+1 for both of those, Dan.  I've found the Wenger brand of SAK to have the best quality steel among the various claimants (tho' I'm not an Arsenal supporter). Victorinox has gobbled up the Wenger firm, but the factory is still producing the knives; they now have the Victorinox scalloped shield logo.

To those two I'd add:
     > 5-minute epoxy
     > JB Weld
     > QR rubber ties from Lee Valley Tools
     > Sugru

[Bill C]

the things i use the most and carry with me  daily/can't live without are my petzl headtorch (dog walking, night riding, camping) and a zippo lighter (I do fancy a wenger fidis but baulk at the cost, maybe for my birthday)
 

[energyman]

An RST (well you could grow into it)

[rualexander]

Dan,
That Tear Aid looks good stuff, I haven't heard of it before but it seems to be available here, how does it compare with McNett Tenacious Tape?

[Danneaux]

Not meaning to ignore you, Rual. Just have the 'flu at present and had to drive to the Coast to fix some storm damage on the little vacation cabin. I've got only the phone with me and my Tear-Aid notes are on one of the home PCs. I'll answer more fully on my return.

All the best,

Dan.

[IanW]

An RST (well you could grow into it)

Maybe not an RST but at least a bicycle (or tricycle, or pedal-car) of the appropriate size and specification from the earliest possible age.
The sooner people (i.e. children) are introduced to the wonders of human-pedal-power the sooner they will get the health benefits and the more likely they are to continue using human-pedal-power rather other-planet-damaging-and-unsustainable-power transport.

[IanW]

I actually think that, subject to safety and level-of-responsibility consderations, there are various basic "tools" (penknife, hammer, screwdriver, drill, pliers, magnifying glass/lens etc.) that children should be introduced to as soon as possible because they then aquire practical skills, knowledge, aptitude and thus inclination to be able to do things for themselves rather than relying upon (and this paying for) someone else to do things for them.

For example: I was given a screwdriver at the age of about 5 and I have never looked back (and somehow survived).
My brother was never the same-way initiated / inclined and our lives have noticably different "costs" as a direct result.
But a nephew from another of my siblings is turning out rather like me (poor-probably-not-so-poor lad).

It also inclines them towards fixing and repairing things rather than simply buying shiny new stuff.
You learn to appreciate something that, whilst not necessarily aesthetically beautiful, something can be highly functional and reliable and thus useful.

Oh dear I seem to be slipping into a grumpy old man rant again 

[Bill C]

I actually think that, subject to safety and level-of-responsibility consderations, there are various basic "tools" (penknife, hammer, screwdriver, drill, pliers, magnifying glass/lens etc.) that children should be introduced to as soon as possible because they then aquire practical skills, knowledge, aptitude and thus inclination to be able to do things for themselves rather than relying upon (and this paying for) someone else to do things for them.

For example: I was given a screwdriver at the age of about 5 and I have never looked back (and somehow survived).
My brother was never the same-way initiated / inclined and our lives have noticably different "costs" as a direct result.
But a nephew from another of my siblings is turning out rather like me (poor-probably-not-so-poor lad).

It also inclines them towards fixing and repairing things rather than simply buying shiny new stuff.
You learn to appreciate something that, whilst not necessarily aesthetically beautiful, something can be highly functional and reliable and thus useful.

Oh dear I seem to be slipping into a grumpy old man rant again 

That's not a grumpy old man rant, mention Ebikes or how great derailleurs are and sit back for a real grumpy old man rant 

[John Saxby]

how does it compare with McNett Tenacious Tape?

Rual, I've used both, and have found both to be high-quality durable fix-it tapes.  I've used the variants for vinyl much less than the more general ones, which I've used on tents, stuff bags, Goretex jackets, etc. (Don't have the two packages with the names & applications in front of me as I write.)

These days, I tend to use the Tear-Aid more often -- not entirely sure why, it may simply be more widely available in Eastern Ontario, where I live.

If you've found the Tenacious Tape does the business for you, I'd stick with it.

Hope that's helpful,

cheers,  John

[energyman]

Seriously - Self amalgamating tape & cable ties.
Never come across Tenacious tape but it sounds the bees knees.

[John Saxby]

I actually think that, subject to safety and level-of-responsibility considerations, there are various basic "tools" (penknife, hammer, screwdriver, drill, pliers, magnifying glass/lens etc.) that children should be introduced to as soon as possible because they then acquire practical skills, knowledge, aptitude and thus inclination to be able to do things for themselves rather than relying upon (and this paying for) someone else to do things for them.

Yep, you're right about that, Ian.  During our visit to our son and his family in SE Queensland, I was chuffed to see that our two wee granddaughters have a plastic tool set among their toys (and toy cookware too.) Hannah, the elder (at 4 and a bit) is absolutely intrigued by How Things Work, and wants to take moving bits apart. She's also convinced that grandpa can fix just about anything, and who am I to set her straight at such a tender age?

At another generational level, our daughter moved back to Canada a couple of springs ago after five years in Berlin. I was helping her to set up her flat in downtown Toronto, and asked her if she'd like a housewarming prezzie. She said, "Dad, I'd love a decent electric drill!" She complains that most guys her own age aren't very handy with tools and repairs -- her new beau, however, is a mechanical engineer who also builds furniture :-)

[RST Scout]

Cable-ties and WD40.


Janet

[David Simpson]

Thorn touch-up paint.

- DaveS

[Danneaux]

Dan,
That Tear Aid looks good stuff, I haven't heard of it before but it seems to be available here, how does it compare with McNett Tenacious Tape?

Rual,

I've come to prefer the Tear-Aid over the McNett product in my use because the kind of Tear Aid can be matched more exactly to the chemical composition of the product being repaired. In the case of my Ortlieb "Plus" cordura panniers, they are made with a "PS36C" fabric that is PVC-free because it is coated with a heavy polyurethane. The appropriate Tear Aid (Type A in my case) seemed to actually bond with this coating (I applied it to the backside, using Seam Grip to adhere cordura nylon patches to the outside over my small holes) and could not be picked or lifted off in any way once it had cured in place. It is almost rubbery and remarkably elastic so it will bend nicely 'round corners and such. As with most such patches, it pays to make them oversize so there is a healthy band of adhesive 'round the hole or slit being patched.

In this application the McNett product did not bond as securely, there was some adhesive creep that left sticky residue exposed at the tape edges, and it was less tolerant of high heat exposure in the desert.

I now take Tear Aid with me on every tour. When I was crossing Croatia, I got to a bridge just as a bus was about to pass me from behind. At that moment, an oncoming car passed another, forcing the bus over and in turn forcing me to the overrun the bridge's apron with the bottom of my front pannier, holing it. It was a really close call; I put up my left arm and hand to avoid being sucked under and my fingers left four clean streaks the length of the bus...and my fingertips with water blisters from the friction.

At the airport in Paris, my carried handlebar bag scraped the side of the airport walkway as people crowded off the plane. The friction instantly wore a hole through the mesh side pocket. A spot of Tear Aid inside and out repaired it completely and reliably.

I think the McNett Tenacious Tape is a really good product that I like for general fabric repairs, but I prefer the Tear Aid Type A for repairing my Ortlieb bags made of Cordura "Plus" fabric.

All the best,

Dan.