Any ideas how to fix this bag?

This is my ancient (15 years I guess) camelback that’s torn apart at the seam between zip and the top of the bag.

It actually still works fine, and I love this bag, but the gap is providing a little too much ventilation to the contents, especially when it rains. Is there some kind of adhesive or a super sticky repair tape that might put this back together?

If you are near Brecon maybe Kamal Sewing could do it for you. They’re proficient and reliable and very reasonably priced. I don’t know if they do postal service.

+441874625902 is the number.

Have you tried CamelBak ?

They may warranty it for you.

Many years ago I ripped the pocket clean off mine and they replaced it gratis, no questions asked.

Thanks for the contributions. I think I’m honestly looking for a bit of a bodge, as structurally the bag is sound, I’d just like to seal up that gap.

I don’t think a sewn repair is possible due to the way the fabric has given way at the seam,  and there’s absolutely no way I’d expect anything gratis from camelbak given the years of good service this bag has already given. But I might just make a few phone calls next week… be nice to keep the old girl going. And she did look smart when I washed her the other day rather than grotty in these pics 🙂

If you don’t get anywhere I could patch that for you and get it serviceable.

I have some black nylon material from a donor 2020 Mule.

For a quick repair spinnaker / sail repair tape applied inside and out, then sewn through along the zip seam, otherwise a fabric patch job.

If you don’t get anywhere I could patch that for you and get it serviceable.

a kind offer indeed. But I’m keen to learn. What are you thinking you’d do? Sew a bit of fresh material into the zip and replace the broken bit, or join to it? Obviously fairly impossible for you to answer without it in your hands. Tell me how much I don’t know.

Yeah, I’d cut a patch big enough to cover the frayed area but make sure it’s central and symmetrically placed.

Fix that in place with a double row of stitching to make a nice secure fix, then unpick the taping on the zip side and stack it as it should be and stitch it in.

If it was mine i would 100% fix that with aquasure. Its tricky stuff if youve never used it before but i’d be confident of a solid repair. Its all in the prep though, youd need to put a temporary backer in, flatten the area to glue, line everything up, mask it, then run a thin bead along the damage area to bond the zipper backing to the pack material. I’d also pin the whole lot down flat so it cures without running. Might do it in two havles so you aren’t working on a large curve

Im no good with needle and thread but I see Mandy’s proposal is a good one.

There are various types of awning repair tape if you want to bodge it. Horrible stuff to use as so sticky but have patched various things in the past. A good sew repair will much much better. Can even seam seal the stitches for extra water resistants.

Heavy duty hand sewing needle kit, cheap off Amazon and sew it yourself – pretty easy, especially if it doesn’t need to look overly pretty.

Phew. After the amputation thread I almost didn’t open this one…just in case!

I’d be using Gorilla Tape on the inside. Working fine on my restrap frame bag.

what reeksy said, I made sure it wasn’t WCA that started it before I opened it.

You need to be more creative…

work out a back story for this bag; was it gifted to you by a world class cyclist who’s no longer alive? Or perhaps your (grand)father won it in a cycle race and passed it on.  Does it bring back memories every time you ride with it – of picnics with a loved one on long gentle bike rides?

once you’ve got your story right:

email the Repair Shop: applications@ricochet.co.uk

they’ll have it sorted for you!

Good point poly, where they film the repair shop is a <30 min bike ride from my house…