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I don't think anyone has mentioned Tenacious Tape - brilliant stuff for any type of repair job.

And a Pringles lid  - every spares box should have one - used it several times with frame tents - makes a great pole 'foot' when one mysteriously goes missing and stops the pole sinking into the ground. Also good for pyramid type tents to protect the groundsheet from pole damage.

Quote: Originally posted by yt53ozh on 06/3/2011

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 Beer, lots of!.

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I use a £5 toolbox from one of the pound shops, in it I have tenacious tape, a roll of black insulation tape, spare guy rope, a roll of shock cord for the poles, a few cable ties, some clothes pegs and in the main compartment a whole lot of pegs and a claw hammer. I find the claw hammer invaluable for beating rock pegs into dry ground and also makes a great peg puller as it means I don't have to bend over so far. I also carry a mallet but it doesn't fit into my tent repair box.

I use another toolbox for cutlery, satchets of sugar etc etc and it's called the kitchen box. Both the tent repair box and the kitchen box are in the shed ready to go when i'm packing the car and I got the tip from here last year, so thanks whoever said it!

Quote: Originally posted by victoria1 on 06/3/2011

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I use a £5 toolbox from one of the pound shops,

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Quote: Originally posted by Hacksaw Bob on 06/3/2011

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Quote: Originally posted by victoria1 on 06/3/2011

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I use a £5 toolbox from one of the pound shops,

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Great thread, Scep, I tend to over do it on the amount of gas cannisters as I am always worried about running out.  Duct tape is great.  Stitching came loose on one of the straps, which is on the corner of the tent,  Bound duct tape around the strap, it's still going after 3 yrs.

pliers are a handy tool.  I need to get shock cord and spare poles.  Bungees sound great to have, I never thought of that one.

Heather

Quote: Originally posted by jennywoodcutts on 05/3/2011

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after a dreadful night with a child with a sickness bug, we now always take a spare sleeping bag 

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We do the same as the extra time spent getting out of a sleeping bag for a 3 year old can result in little accidents...

Our tent and bed repair kit fits within a Woolworth's red pencil case including short metal sleeves of 2 diameters to do temporary pole repairs for the various tents, various hold-on gadgets, cabinier clips, buggies, a couple of velcro cable ties and small torch with battery along with the usual stuff. Spare poles and tent fabric repair kits stay with the tent bags. In addition to all the items so brilliantly listed above by others we keep the original pegs (unused) with each of the tents (just in case we forget the peg bags) and carry Kleenex On the Go toilet rolls and Milton wipes.

Helen

Quote: Originally posted by Sceptical Camper on 05/3/2011

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There is no definitive list of 'spares and repairs' of course. But there are some suggestions below. The list is not exhaustive but includes things I usually take if I am car-camping. (As an aside, I even take my spare small tent as back-up - but that's a bit OTT and definitely outside the scope of 'spares and repairs')

First aid kit (vital);
Roll of Gaffer tape (also vital - but get proper Gaffer not a cheap substitue from Poundland);
Length of shockcord sufficiently long to repair a complete pole (shockcord does more than just poles; can replace flysheet cord loops for instance);
Plenty of spare tent pegs of various types and lengths;
Two or three spare guy lines with runners;
Spare pole sections (preferably pre-cut to the length or lengths required);
A 'pole threader' to hook shockcord through pole sections;
Two spare pole ferrules;
Junior hacksaw (only if you haven't pre-cut the spare pole sections to length);
Clingons or similar to attach extra guys and/or to stand in for damaged eyelets;
Needle and thread (plus needle-threader if your eyesight is poor like mine);
Clothes pegs, assorted cable-ties, some safety pins and assorted rubber bands (all these are handy for all sorts of things);
Seam sealer;
More gaffer tape;
Small tent fabric repair kit (a piece of fly fabric plus adhesive; usually supplied with new tents but can be bought separately);
SIM (or airbed) puncture repair kit (usually supplied with new airbeds and SIMs but can be bought separately);
Small pliers and screwdriver;
Spare batteries for torch(es) and lamps;
Spare gas cannister or bottle as appropriate to your cooking gear;
Replacement bootlaces if you are hiking;
Small ball of string; and finally...
Yet another roll of gaffer tape

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Many good suggestions there that I would not have though of.

Have you thought about sourcing several of these items in bulk and putting together a pack for selling on UKCS or eBay?

The reason I say this, I've just had a look on eBay to see if I can get a start repair kit, and believe it or not - but I couldn't find anything like this list.

I'm not saying try to put EVERYTHING into a pocket size pack, but from your experience you know what are the essentials that people may usually forget... so why not look at expanding on that?

Just an idea :) Might turn out to be a totally bonkers idea... :)