Exped Expedition Sewing Kit w/ Awl

http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage.nsf/b43HomePageE?openframeset

On the Left Hand Menu under:
-Exped Products>Accessories>Outdoor

http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_hom...Accessories.pdf

The Inuit say the two most important survival items are a knife and good sewing kit.

This is perfect timing to share a new discovery of mine.

There have been times that I have needed to repair or attach an item to fabric, but do not have access to the back side of the material or do not want to go all the way through the material. Glue just didn't seem like a robust enough standalone fix, so I and the item was left hanging.

Recently my wife's grandmother died and I was helping to clean out her house. I came across an amazing set of needles that were curved (almost a semi-circle)

"What on earth are these?" I cried out. My mother-in-law matter of factly stated "upolstery needles". "Eureka!" I shouted. Finally, a needle that can be used to penetrate fabric, then come back up on the same side of the fabric. The usefulness to an ETSer is obvious.

I carefully set them aside to later include them into my current PSK sewing kit. My wife then discovered my "set aside" upolstery needles and quietly said to herself "what are these?" Since no one replied, she promptly threw them away.
D'oh!.

Soon I will be haunting all the local craft and sewing stores to replace this useful tool. I highly recommend these as an addition to any well stocked sewing kit.

TR

Hey, while you're shopping for upolstery needles, don't forget to pick up a heavy gauge thread to go with it.

When you are in the middle of the boonies or the middle of a crisis, function will rule over fashion. The light guage thread that comes in most sewing kits is a bit frail to depend on.

TR

Actually a light weight fishing line works great for using as thread and is stronger than thread. I use the red cajun line, about 8 lb test. I keep a spool in my BOB and use it for everything including fishing.

That's probably because they have to make just about everything. Clothing, Pack's, Straps. You name it, they make it.

One useful tip - from someone who used to work with a Saddler - is to use saddlers thread for heavy duty repairs and to keep a candle stub (silicon) in your sewing kit. Cut a notch in the candle. Run the tread through the notch. Does two things: 1) waterproofs the thread & 2) lubricates it. Makes the sewing easier.

I just use dental floss. I wrap it around a set of different needles and put it in my PSK. It has excellent tensile strength. It is waxed. I've repaired blown out backpack straps with it among other things and it hasn't failed yet (actually, the old pack is stronger now). I fashioned a water jug carrier out of denim shorts using it once. It actually permanently reinforces any el cheapo quality stitching on any chew toys my dog makes quick work out of.

Usually the curved are found in household needle assortments

http://www.beaconfabric.com/vindex.html?cat147.htm

My grandmother gave one with some heavy duty thread when I went away to the service for darning.

I while back I ordered some thick kevlar thread, thin spectra thread, and heavy duty kevlar/stainless steel thread. Admittedly I love gadgets and I partly ordered them because they are high tech and state of the art, but they are about as strong as you can get and this strenght makes them versatile enough for other uses(i.e. fishing line, snares, perhaps even shelter building). I wrapped some of each around a rectangle of cardboard that I cut out of a tissue box(folded twice, glued together except for one side), stuck 2 needles at one end of the cardboard, with the folded side blocking the points. Makes a very compact and functional sewing kit. It sits in my repair kit along with safety pins, rubber bands, some thicker kevlar string, duct tape, and super glue. The whole thing is slightly larger than one of the original iPods(most of that volume is the duct tape, one of the prepackaged flat rolls you get at ems).

That sewing kit is the same as the old Chouinard Expedition Sewing kit from the 1970's -'80's. Except the little leather case is now a nylon one. Well worth the investment.

Exactly !!! Thats the one I have. It seems that these disappeared for a while.

Well, I've got good news and bad news.

The good news: Exped's sewing kit is an excellent piece of gear.

The bad news: it will cost you about $75 to get one here in the US.

The US distributor for Exped is Outdoor Research. I called them last week and they said that they do not import the Exped sewing kits on a regular basis. They would be willing to special order one for me, but the cost with all the duties involved would be about $75. I also googled for the kit and every place that had a hit was out of them.

The ultimate irony: Backcountry Gear had the kits on sale a while back for about $7... doh!

If anyone else has a source for these kits at a more reasonable price, I'm all ears.

I've purchased a few in the past from Altrec--they used to stock them steady, but now they are showing out of stock.... web page

Hey ... I just said i found where they went ... I didn't say cheap.