Discovering wader leaks is an inevitable part of fishing and hunting. But, you don’t need to suffer through a day of wet socks and pants when you can fix your boots on the spot. Assemble a patch kit of standard household items and toss it in your fishing bag or vest. You’ll make immediate repairs that will get you back in business in an hour-if not in minutes.
Patch Kit Materials and Purpose:
- Small pouch or zip-lock bag for patch kit storage.
- Tube of Aquaseal for glue.
- Bottle of Cotol-240 to speed up dry time.
- Alcohol swabs for cleaning the area to be patched.
- Small bristle brush for spreading Aquaseal.
- Women’s nylons are great, flexible patch materials.
- Knife or straight-edge razor blade for cutting a patch or nylon.
- Rubber glove to keep fingers from sticking.
- Lighter for melting neoprene.
- Masking tape for holding a cut together.
Neoprene waders are the easiest to fix because rubber melts.
- Peel away the nylon fabric covering the neoprene with a knife or razor blade.
- Close the tear with a strip of masking tape on the inside of your boots.
- Brush away any debris.
- Carefully heat the neoprene around the cut with a lighter until it starts to melt.
- Spread the hot rubber with a coffee stirrer. Lay a bead in the cut as well as around the cut.
- Hold and let cool.
Breathable, Canvas or Rubber Waders typically require 24-hours to fix due to the cure-time for glue. But, if you use Aquaseal, a waterproof sealer, you can mix in an accelerant called Cotol-240 that reduces the required dry-time to an hour. Kill that time re-rigging, scouting, or eating lunch.
- Clean the area around the cut with an alcohol swap.
- Close the tear with a strip of masking tape on the inside of your boots.
- Cut a patch from a woman’s nylon stocking to cover the hole.
- Mix 1 part Cotol-240 accelerator with 3 to 4 parts Aquaseal with a coffee stirrer or brush.
- Spread mixture around the tear in your waders. Extend the glue 1/3 of an inch beyond the size of the patch.
- Place patch in the Cotol-240/Aquaseal mixture and lay flat.
- Apply a light additional coat of glue on top of the patch, and lay flat to dry.
For a quick fix, Loon Outdoors offers a Sun Set Super Patch for about $4.00. Apply the product to the tear, expose to sun for 5-20 seconds, and go fishing. Comes in a ¼ ounce tube and works best on small tears or punctures. For more information on the patch
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Tom Keer is an award-winning freelance writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.
