Stashes of Duct Tape
An Essential for the Ultralight Minimalist Traveler's Repair Kit
Confidentiality Note & Disclaimer: This former top secret file of the Travel Superlight Agency is now unclassified. However, the Agency takes no responsibility for any harm that results from the release of this information and denies that the work of Agent J, or that of any other field agent it employs in its mission to perfect the art of ultralight minimalist traveling, will actually help anyone at all.
Hi K. Just spent a few days wandering through the Tuolumne Meadows backcountry. As you’ve heard me say so many times before, it’s one of my favorite spots on Earth. There’s perhaps no better and easier place in California to access so much of the incredible terrain of the High Sierra.
BTW, you’ll be glad to hear that the Whoa Nellie Deli is alive and well. I’m hanging out on their patio right now on this nice warm Saturday afternoon in early August with drink in hand soaking up the buzz from all these people around me who seem so happy just to have found this cool corner of the planet.
Why am I here? Besides the obvious, K, I needed to pick up a roll of duct tape. So I was thinking to myself between sips, “what better place to write up a Purchase Order for that roll of duct tape I just bought?” So here she is. Please let me know if you need anything more to get this rolling along (ha ha).
P.S. I know I’ll get loads of crap from Agents O & P on this one. There’s already a huge supply of duct tape in the Vault. I can hear their ridicule already. “Why wasn’t it already in your Go Bag?! Especially for such a seasoned field agent!” Yeah, that means “old.” If this crowd here would just drop silent for a minute, I think I’d be able to hear all that razzing from even way down here. So it goes.
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Tracking
MISSION: J35768-2025F
DCN: 7390181
TDY: YOSEMITE NP, CALIFORNIA
DATE: 2025-08-09
TIME: 12:47 PM (PDT)
TO: AGENT K
FROM: AGENT J
CC: N/A
SUBJECT: PURCHASE ORDER 125 - DUCT TAPEPurchase
EQUIPMENT NO: MUL-TPE-0228
DESCRIPTION: DUCT TAPE
STYLE: HEAVY DUTY, WATERPROOF
SIZE: 1.88 IN X 30 YD
MATERIAL: FABRIC REINFORCED POLYETHYLENE
COLOR: SILVER
PRICE: BEST AVAILABLE
QUANTITY: ONE ROLL
MANUFACTURER: 3M
VENDOR: BUY LOCAL
DATE NEEDED: ASAPReason(s) for Ordering
One of the most useful items that adventurers may keep in their toolboxes is a robust supply of duct tape. Useful on a variety of fronts, it’s one of the best ways to keep the good times rolling when the world around you goes from bad to worse. Beyond obvious predictable uses like patching holes, mending fabrics, and attaching deely bobs to dooly dads, there will be a whole host of other unexpected but super useful field applications that would be difficult to predict ahead of time.
With an untold number of things that can and do go wrong while out exploring the wilds, keeping an adequate inventory of duct tape at one’s fingertips has never been more important. While typically it’d be no challenge to find a good parking spot for a roll of duct tape back at home, this is hardly the case for the ultralight minimalist backpacker who’s out on the road with a light pack.
The challenge for this particular population is that a roll of duct tape is heavy. It’s also bulky in size and awkward in shape. The internal cardboard hoop, which comes standard with every purchase, serves a couple of important purposes in most domestic, commercial, and industrial settings. First, it maintains the shape of a perfect circle - important to keep all that feng shui out there intact. The rounded shape also allows for fast and easy dispensing in even the worst of conditions. Second, the hoop provides a handy pocket for your hands and fingers to assist in storing, carrying and, most importantly, tossing the tape up and down to pass idle time.
While this salient feature may be useful for more mundane practical applications, it’s annoyingly inconvenient for adventurers who like to travel small and light and don’t want to be bothered by a stupid monstrous hoop yet would still like to leave the house fully prepared for the unexpected.
Uses for the tape run the full gamut at home, ranging from installing and repairing HVAC ductwork (believe it or not), labeling plastic storage bins surely never to be seen again, patching invaluable keepsakes that your rugrats have poked holes in, and as door stops when it’s faster and easier to grab a roll because it’s the closest thing in reach.
Among many of the other reasons why it’s so important to have the adhesive close at hand in the home setting, one of the most critical ones is that you can easily resupply all those satellite stashes that you keep on your adventuring equipment. Topping off these remote supplies when destaging from a trip that’s just ended makes embarking on upcoming future outings that much faster and easier. Your “Go Bag” will always be at the ready…just grab it and go.
For those of you out there that may be still wondering why something as dull as a roll of duct tape would be so useful in the field, beyond the obvious use cases stated above, there are almost too many to list. Many are simply unpredictable. Because potential uses will be custom tailored to the specific clothing, equipment, and gear that one takes on any given trip, it would be folly for me to attempt to outline all the possible reasons why you may want to consider carrying a supply of tape as you head out the door.
However, by way of example, it may be instructive to list out some of the past instances in which this particular traveler has found duct tape to be useful:
Blister prevention (yes! better than moleskin!)
Miscellaneous boot, shoe, and sandal repairs
Emergency repair of failed ski bindings deep in the backcountry
Temporary assist to worn out climbing skins on their last legs
Modifying orthotics to alleviate pain points
Strapping food to undersized packs for self-supported endurance events
Makeshift hand and finger wraps while out climbing with the wrong supplies
Desperate seam and cuff tapings of leaky rain gear in heavy downpours
Patching torn pages of books and field journals
Fashioning emergency clothes in the wilderness (hats, pants, ponchos)
Marking suspect climbing equipment after having been dropped
Temporary field repairs of leaking kayaks
Securing broken car parts on long road trips out in the middle of nowhere
Patching countless rips and holes in a variety of situations and settings (backpacks, tents, clothes, mesh, etc.)
As you scan the list above and think to yourself that few to none of these would apply to you and that perhaps buying a roll of tape would be an unnecessary added expense to an already microscopically small budget, it’s important to note that your list of potential use cases would likely look very different than mine. Should you not want to spend the time doing mental gymnastics to figure out whether or not to buy a roll, just trust me. With time, you’ll eventually find great uses for it and will be so glad that you brought it along.
Of course, carrying around a big roll of duct tape everywhere you go is hardly one of the tenets of ultralight minimalism. What’s called for is a small convenient stash to keep somewhere on you during your daily travels. A principal criterion for location would be a place that allows you to easily access and accurately dispense a small amount of tape that’s somehow retained all of its wonderful stickiness even after great lengths of time and exposure to harsh elements and conditions.
Some of the best vehicles to serve such purpose are equipment items that are small and cylindrical in shape. Materials of construction are not all that important provided that the shape remains intact to best preserve the life of the tape. The idea is to take a piece of gear that you’re already taking with you on your adventure, carefully wind a few wraps of fresh duct tape around it, tear it off, smooth it out, and voila! You’ll have a portable mini stash right at your fingertips just about anyplace you’ll be. When the need calls, simply unwind the amount the situation calls for and hopefully your problem will be solved (at least until you find a bigger roll of duct tape).
It wasn’t very long ago that duct tape came in only one color, dull silvery gray, and at just one standard width. About the only degree of freedom one had was in the length they chose to purchase. As with many things, it was often most economical to buy the biggest roll available - almost too bulky and weighty to keep in one’s house let alone store in a tiny little backpack.
These days, duct tape is available in a wide variety of colors, patterns, widths and lengths, allowing the ultralight minimalist to add color, character, and pizzazz to their travels so as to keep all those smiles from turning to frowns when things go horribly wrong. Have at it. Take your pick. You do you.
My only advice when it comes to finding a good roll is to: (1) buy one from a name brand reputable manufacturer, (2) look for one that’s labeled “heavy duty” and reinforced with a mesh of small fibers, and (3) make sure that it’s waterproof and rated for outdoor use. These attributes will help ensure that your small supply of field tape is of high quality and has been properly designed to fully withstand unscheduled run ins with unruly backcountry ductwork as well as hold up to the many trials and tribulations of world exploration.
Index Scores
MASS: 9 - WHERE’S THE BEEF?!
VOLUME: 9 - HAS ANYONE SEEN MY…
UTILITY: 10 - COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT
EFFICIENCY: 9 - HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?
OVERALL: 9 - HOT DIGGITY DOG###
Phew. You think that’s enough supporting documentation for ordering another roll, K? Please let me know if you think I should be adding anything else to help support the cause. Maybe if the Whoa Nellie Deli had other colors and patterns besides this old dull and boring standard universal silver model, it’d help grease the skids.
I can hear Tioga Pass calling my name just now so I’m going to wrap this up and head for the hills. If I’m bold enough, I’ll head up to that alpine lake I was telling you about for a quick swim. BTW, if Agent N gets back from his assignment before I do, please taunt him with this little tidbit. Tell him that you’d just heard from me and that I was down here working on my own “eleven lakes at eleven thousand feet” challenge, and that I was right behind him nipping at his heels ;) I bet you dollars to donuts he scurries off to pack his bag!
Cheers,
J
