If you are here to learn about fixing your surplus gear and have not read the previous 2 entries and installments in the series, you should. Primarily because the way this is laid out is according to an arbitrary level system I use and broke down for clarity and ease of understanding.
Sure, you can jump right in here and check out what I have to say but it may not make much sense because the levels of repair are not directly related to surplus grading. Well, it is but it isn't.
If you do want to check out the first entry you can click here. And if you would like to see what it takes to make level 1 repairs and see the previous post you can click here.
With that out of the way lets dive right into it. What is a level 2 repair? A level 2 repair is going to be:
Moderate tears. Zipper issues. Seam problems. Very Worn or damaged equipment.
If you are dealing with a reputable surplus company chances are that you will not encounter these sort of defects and damage on anything unless its Grade 3 condition gear. I say hopefully because lots of large retailers simply do not have the manpower or time to go over large quantities of gear. Sometimes pouches, bags and surplus items may slip through the cracks and written off as grade 2 normal surplus with these sort of issues. It happens.
The vast majority of all surplus is going to be grade 2. Its used gear but totally functional, complete, and sound.
Be careful buying online. In the ads and listings it should have the specific retailers condition guide clearly listed or linked. And the listings should have the info about the lot you decided to purchase from. If your item is badly damaged and it was listed as general used surplus, its not out of line to contact the seller. Be prepared to send pictures of the evidence that the item is not as described or listed.
In the level 1 repair post I went over the general order of operations I go through to fix minor superficial repairs. This is typically through patching, sewing, and gluing. In that order.
For new people getting into the repair game, level 2 fixes are where it could get hairy and a lot of learning can be done. So don't trip just yet. A lot of these problems are able to be fixed with some careful planning.
Sometimes the difference between a level 2 or a level 3 repair could be simply based on the location of the damage.
Level 2 repairs should be challenging but not out of reach to get back to snuff. Tears larger than a quarter will be common for this level. Issues related to zippers will plague your nightmares. Seams may be starting to come apart and cause problems. And finally the materials of said gear may be badly worn and faded.
The method I use a lot of the time are patching and sewing together. You can patch the backs of the gear and then hand ladder stitch the materials together for basic holes and tears. You will quickly see why ripstop is awesome if you take the repair path. It makes life a lot easier for you during the learning phase of this skill.
Zipper issues are awful. There is no way around it. These can sometimes be a level 3 repair. These wont be discussed here.
Issues with seams can be problematic also as they are usually not easily hand sewn to fix. If you have a heavy duty machine you might be able to fix the seam issues you will see and run into. There is also the possibility that because the heavy denier materials you wont be able to do this by hand. Smaller economy sewing machines may have problems attempting to get through the materials also. Leaving you with the option to hand sew it and use pliers to pull the needle through safely.
Use common sense about these level 2 repairs as they will require more thought and planning than the other superficial repairs.
Very worn or damaged gear presents its own problems. Sun bleached and sand beaten gear will show that whatever piece you got had a rough life. I own many Tan and coyote surplus items that were so sun beaten that they actually changed the color to white. Yes. That is UV damage.
UV damaged gear will have a host of durability problems. Take this into careful consideration for what job and task you have for the item.
Anything that is very sun damaged will NOT provide the same length of service for you as one that was stored in a crate somewhere. If you have a lower stress job for those items its much more likely to last a long time for you. Don't splurge on a huge inventory of "salty M4 mag pouches" and expect them to run in tip top shape for a daily beater piece of kit. Its just not realistic.
A lot of level 2 repair items will be able to provide a budget friendly way to build a kit or rig and have a great time running it. In doing so, it takes some realistic expectations of what each piece of gear is expected to do.
Budget friendly used and damaged gear is a great way in general just to learn the ropes of repair. After you learn, you have usable gear and have some skill acquired. Its a win, win. Pretty rewarding to say the least.
If you carefully mend and repair your pieces and pay attention to detail you can have a cost effective and earth friendly gear option. Up cycling surplus gear is what cool people do.
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