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Equipment care

If you want to enjoy your equipment for a long time, you will need to do maintenance occasionally.

Your backpack has been a faithful, reliable companion on your trips and now deserves a break. Empty every pocket, shake out sand, pine needles and dust, then brush it while dry. Clean gently with a damp cloth or sponge; for heavier dirt, use a mild soap solution. Avoid chemical or aggressive cleaners, and keep the backpack out of washing machines and tumble dryers: these damage the high-quality materials and coating, potentially bringing your investment’s life to an early end.

Treat your tent, tarp or basha just as gently, because incorrect handling and cleaning will soon affect even robust material. Let your tent and backpack dry thoroughly after cleaning. If stored damp, remaining moisture damages the coating and allows mould and mildew to develop. After drying, check all your outdoor equipment. Have any cracks appeared? Are all straps, buckles and fasteners intact? Is anything missing from the tent or backpack? Make any repairs before storing it, so everything is ready for your next trip.

Store outdoor equipment dry and well ventilated

Store your outdoor equipment in a suitable dry, airy room that is neither too cold nor too hot. Protect it from light, especially sunlight, and do not compress it under heavy objects. Store your tent, backpack, sleeping bag and sleeping mat loosely rolled, outside their stuff sacks. Fasten backpack straps loosely, particularly the hip belt, to help them retain their shape.

Caring for technical clothing

If you care for outdoor clothing properly, it will serve you faithfully for years, provided you bought decent quality. Remember: you get what you pay for. Cleaning and water-repellent treatment extend clothing’s life; waterproof and breathable materials can become brittle and fail within a season after hard use. Good outdoor equipment withstands a lot, but retains its performance only with careful, appropriate maintenance. Heavy dirt impairs performance, so clothing and equipment need regular cleaning. This especially applies to technical clothing, which should be washed more than four times a year under normal use and soiling. The rule is: as often as necessary, but as little as possible. Cotton needs frequent washing; wool as little as possible. Close zips and hook-and-loop fasteners before washing to protect these already hard-worked parts. Use a special unscented detergent for technical clothing that leaves no residue. Use as little as possible, particularly in soft-water areas. An exception is clothing with a non-porous PU membrane, which can be cleaned with commercial detergents. Wash technical clothing at 30 °C on a gentle cycle and rinse thoroughly to remove detergent residue. Avoid spin-drying.

The outer fabric of robust clothing is usually water- and dirt-repellent. Its treatment supports this function through a mesh-like molecular finish and needs heat after washing to restore it. This can be applied in a drying room, with a hairdryer or with an iron over a protective cloth. The treatment fades or wears away with use and needs renewing after several washes. When water no longer beads on the outside, the jacket becomes saturated in rain and feels wet. On a Gore-Tex or similar jacket, this greatly reduces breathability. Renew the water-repellent treatment in good time, using a spray or, better still, a final wash-in treatment.

Shoe maintenance

Will you be leaving your shoes or boots unused for a while, perhaps a week? Remove the insoles.

Leave a layer of lukewarm water in a bowl or sink. Put a cap of detergent in there. Teneplus for synthetic inner soles. Put the inner soles in and shake them back and forth. Then leave them in that water for one night.

The next morning, you may be shocked: did all that filth really come from your insoles? Yes. Rinse them thoroughly, first under the tap, then by shaking them vigorously in clean water. Repeat until almost no dirt comes off. Doing the same with the laces gives similar results.

Treat your shoes or boots much the same way. Put them somewhere suitable, such as a shed or shower area. Fill them with lukewarm water and some Nikwax Tech Wash. Leave them for several hours, then rinse thoroughly under the tap or with a garden hose.

Now put them under the lukewarm tap (laces out) and brush them off with a sturdy brush.

Then leave them somewhere to dry. Not in the sun, and not beside a heater! This will take several days.

Dry? Treat the outside with a product whose packaging states that it is suitable for Gore-Tex, Sympatex and similar materials.

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