Military Surplus - Patching Holes & Tears

Whether you like military surplus gear because of fashion or you buy it for rough use out in the field, all of us who buy used military gear will eventually need to make some repairs. 

Common problems with milsurp gear is that the conditions can vary. One thing I will stress when deciding to buy equipment online is check, double check and triple check photos and make sure its the exact item you are buying. And secondly, READ the descriptions! 

Grading of milsurp gear is a gamble. If you order used-good graded clothing, even if the description says its still serviceable there is a high chance you will run into small holes or tears as part of the charm. For most of us buying clothing online in general a hole is "nicht so gut". But speaking strictly for aesthetic and for field use its a simple repair and sometimes left alone all together. For others if you are like me, its worth looking into repairing it. 

So lets tackle some of these defects and resolve any anxiety with it because face it. You should actually be more worried about fitment of the item as the conversion measurment sizes from EU to US can be a bit tricky.

Serviceable milsurp clothing can be had for dirt cheap. The minor defects are nothing to worry about if you set aside just a short time and some pocket change to patch them up. In the end the price and quality and time taken to fix them will be worth it. If you want to avoid this all together you can buy new graded or very good graded gear. Be aware you will pay for it. And in some patterns, dearly. In this example I will show some German Flecktarn pants listed in GOOD condition.

When you get get your gear the first thing you should do is try it on and inspect it. Inspect it while you wear it to see tears and holes that may be in creases or in common places. Crotch, seams along the butt, and knees or elbow areas. Flip the item inside out and check there as well. If you have minor tears you got two options. You can sew the areas up (hopefully) or you can patch them up. Try them on for inspection though! Its easier to spot defects in them in high wear areas. 

When I got these pants there were two notable spots that needed patching and then after working on them I found a third small hole in the seam on the butt. The two major holes I was worried about are on a faded crease above the knees. These were worn so thin they were barely held together with threads. I could actually see my skin through them. Patching seemed liked the best option here for a first attempt at repair. 

Here are the supplies you will need. 

Iron
Iron on patches (closer colors will hide the repair better)
Scissors 
Ironing board 

The garment should be clean and dry. You want to use pretty high heat on the iron and no water in it for misting. I take the iron and iron out the area as flat as I can first. Then I will try to move the seam and hole and make it as small as I can before cutting and sizing the patch. Patch should cover the whole area no problem and be a little bigger than what you think you need. 

When you have the hole area ironed and flat, and you have the seam how you like it then you can take your iron on full heat, put the patch over the area and work on it. I found pressure and 8-10 seconds will get the glue on the patch hot enough to attach it. Then after this let it cool and hit it one more time for 8-10 seconds and let it cool once more. Make sure its totally flat and totally attached to the area. Seams can be tricky but you should use the point of the iron to get it all gummed up and glued together. 

Here are the results after this method. 

I chose to do my patches on the inside so they didn't show but you can do them on the outside if you don't mind it being not the same exact pattern or color. Either way works. In hindsight I wish I could have had the seams of the holes closer together but I do think they will be alright. Sharp corners on the patches will start to come up after washing and drying, so maybe also cut the corners round before you do this. 

Overall the results were good and it was a good learning experience. Patches cost $2-3 dollars and I didnt even use one entire patch out of the three I got. That means this cheaper solution will work for many pieces that need repairs. I used probably not even .50 cents worth of patch on these. 

Time will tell if the patches will hold up due to the location of repairs but who cares right? If the repairs don't hold up, I will resort to sewing the holes up. In any case this method may work just fine for the long haul and its so cheap and easy to do realistically there is no reason not to try this repair first. After the fix the holes almost disappeared. 


Do you guys repair your surplus gear? If so do you use these methods mentioned above? What works best for you? If you like the subject matters I write about please support the blog by bookmarking and commenting. I write things like this so others have a quick guide that is linkable for others. 

Thanks for reading!