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

[leftpoole]

Bacon and eggs! 

[bobs]

Thorn touch-up paint.

- DaveS

It would be no use to you as it only lasts a few months seemingly.

[sd]

Should have asked first before buying. Does the tear aid A work on ordinary clothing? I have a jacket which I damaged badly in a fall I repaired using mcnett, it didn't do a bad job but the patches are starting to come away. I have a great pair of waterproof breathable trousers which I use for beating on shoots but they are constantly being ripped on barbed wire. I have took them to a seamstress but they have been ripped again and again. Obviously she ain't cheap and there is a 6 week waiting list for repairs. Also I keep repairing a water butt with puncture patches but as you know they deteriorate in sun light. Thanks for your awaited replies!! SD

[sd]

+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

These ones? Is there UK seller?
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=65393&cat=1,58953,71897&ap=1

[dc]

                                  Primus Stove.

[Danneaux]

Does the tear aid A work on ordinary clothing?

I...don't know! 

I've had stellar luck with TearAid on outdoorsy stuff like tent flies, panniers, even rain jackets and such but in all cases, nylon-based materials and things that would not get the sort of continuous flexing of a trousers knee.

By rounding/radiusing the corners of my TearAid patches, I've not had them lift, but again this was on nylony fabrics.

TearAid is stretchy to a degree and seems to remain sort of rubbery to the touch. It can be pulled to conform a little and if it is clamped till it cures, seems to stay that way afterwards.

SD, where your trousers are waterproof/breathable, TearAid might well work...or it might not. I think the best chance for success will come if the fabric surface is smooth and regular and petroleum based and does not "fuzz". I would say the chances for success on cotton would be very low.

Nothing definitive, but I want to follow the dictum "Primum non nocere" here...first do no harm. Not having tried it, I think you'll have to experiment. I'd try Tear-Aid first on an inconspicuous part of your trousers, say inside the hem at the lowermost part of the leg, where it is cuffed over. That way, if it did not work it would be neither a structural nor aesthetic failure.

Best,

Dan.

[John Saxby]

Does the tear aid A work on ordinary clothing?

I've used these patches on my unlined North Face Gore-Tex parka, esp on areas of the cuffs which have worn over the 15-plus years that I've owned it. As our winters have become milder, I don't wear the parka as much as I used to, so I hardly ever wash it--maybe once every few years--so I can't tell you how these patches stand up to washing.

I recommended them to a friend who has a very good Outdoor Research Gore-tex rain jacket, and he used them to fix a split seam. He fixed the patch to the interior lining, which is less "grainy" than the outer surface.

As for the QR rubber ties, you can order them online for Lee Valley. They don't cost or weigh much, and LVT ships their stuff all over the world. I find that the ones I use most are the 4" and 8" ones.

[sd]

Does the tear aid A work on ordinary clothing?

I've used these patches on my unlined North Face Gore-Tex parka, esp on areas of the cuffs which have worn over the 15-plus years that I've owned it. As our winters have become milder, I don't wear the parka as much as I used to, so I hardly ever wash it--maybe once every few years--so I can't tell you how these patches stand up to washing.

I recommended them to a friend who has a very good Outdoor Research Gore-tex rain jacket, and he used them to fix a split seam. He fixed the patch to the interior lining, which is less "grainy" than the outer surface.

As for the QR rubber ties, you can order them online for Lee Valley. They don't cost or weigh much, and LVT ships their stuff all over the world. I find that the ones I use most are the 4" and 8" ones.

I have just emailed brother to buy them  4" 8" 12" a little over the top but I have a bank account in the US with about $600 to $800 in. I rarely use it. I just emailed him with a list of other stuff I want. He is a bad person always sending stuff with an import note saying present and cost $20 which means no import duty. He also regularly forgets to take the money out of my account. I am always bollocking him over it. Honest. I will sell the excess ones on here. I will use some for there proper use as I am in the middle of building a terraced garden.

[John Saxby]

4" 8" 12" a little over the top

You could try the "sample" pack which has all 3 sizes, and order the ones you need/prefer after testing.

OTOH, if getting things via your bro is a bit of a hassle, you could order more of one size. You can loop 2 shorter ties together to make a longer one, so that 2 x 4" gives you about 71/2", and so on.

I will use some for there proper use as I am in the middle of building a terraced garden.

I've never used these for their proper use -- just use twine in the garden. I use the QR ties for camping & on the bike: wrapping bulky rolled items (e.g., rain jacket, tent) tightly (8" length excellent here); tensioning my tarp against the wind (any length); locking brake levers against the bars (4" or 8"); for stopping the bike's front wheel from flopping in the workshop (wrap around rim & downtube - 8"); stopping seat-mounted tool bag from flopping (also 8"), etc.

Still don't know how I survived the first 5 decades or so of my life without these things...

[sd]

Bacon and eggs! 

Agreed but I would include Lincolnshire chipolata sausages.

[energyman]

Bacon and eggs! 

Agreed but I would include Lincolnshire chipolata sausages.

oooooooooooooooh yes  !!

[jags]

bike

[Danneaux]

bike

Duh. Why di'n't I think of that? 

Cuts to the heart of it, Anto!

'Always said you were a genius.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

  i was going to add rohloff then i thought better not

anto

[Andre Jute]

i was going to add rohloff then i thought better not

Giving the kid a bike at birth is right, but a Rohloff is something men of distinction earn.