Gear Care: Packraft, PDF & Paddle
How To Care For Your Gear When It Is Not In Use
Protecting your investment in gear to make it last and function for as long as possible is prudent behavior. At Livesoutside, we take this type of thinking seriously as we love the outdoors and want to have as many good times as possible there. Safety is also a concern, gear that isn’t clean or cared for will fail on a long enough timeline. To have a great time we hold safety up as the primary concern for all that we do. There are several manufacturer guidelines and best practices you can utilize in addition to general maintenance.
Why Post Trip Care Is Important For Your Packrafting Gear
Aside from extending the longevity of your gear’s life, you can make sure that you are using safe and solid equipment. When you return from a trip on the water, cleaning, inspecting and maintaining gives you insight into the durability and quality of your hardware. By seeing how your gear holds up you can see when it is worn out or if it needs replacement/repair. To preserve the quality, washing and drying is beneficial. Since this is water gear, reducing the transmission of micro organisms to foreign environments is a priority.
Post Trip Care For Packrafting Gear
Packrafts can be cleaned by washing with mild soap and water followed up with drying. Keeping your raft out of direct sunlight, avoid using chemical treatments and, if applicable, cleaning plus lubricating a cargo zipper. Wiping out the threads to the air valve every once in a while is good too.
With PDF’s you can use a small brush to spot clean and mild soap to loosen up any loose dirt or debris before drying. Paddles can usually be taken apart, washed, dried and stored correctly after storage. Doing this with both your PDF and paddle gives you a chance to check for any unsafe wear or damage.
Pre Trip Inspection & Testing
Although post trip cleaning and inspection is great, checking everything before heading out is another best practice. The goal here is ensure that your gear is top notch and working before a potential fail. Anything you return from a trip and head out on another one you need to check your gear. If something happened or if your gear was damaged due to improper storage or cleaning you will know ahead of time. For no other reason, you at least know your kit and how it works in detail by doing pre trip tests.
At this point you have a chance to do something about your gear while you can. Cleaning, repair or replacement are always important to consider (in that order) when you come across issues minor issues. For larger and more complex problems with gear you may want to consult a professional or expert for repair/replacement advice.
