Understanding the Damage
It’s always good practice to evaluate the damage and its implications for your specific jacket, whether it’s a winter jacket, puffer, or breathable shell, before starting any repairs. Try to assess the size, location, and how your ripped jacket has been affected before making a final decision to replace it.
Small Cuts or Punctures: These small perforations or rips tend to happen when our hiking shells get snagged on a branch or thorn in the woods, or when we take a bit of a tumble. Either way, these micro accidents happen often enough, but are fairly easy to repair using simple patchwork.
Seam Splits: Seam splits are more of a nuisance. It happens when the joining fabric pieces of your jacket rip apart. Seam splits will typically require sewing, depending on the severity of the tear.
Large Rips: Larger rips can occur if smaller tears are untreated and left to worsen overtime. They can also be the result of more aggressive snags and falls while backcountry skiing, for example. However, these can be patched easily too.
Jacket Materials:
Outdoor performance jackets, especially skiing shells like Helly Hansen’s, feature heavy-duty technology ranging from down to unique innovations like Helly Hansen’s own HELLY TECH® waterproof and breathable system. Whether you have a down jacket or a synthetic one, the repair methods are often similar. How you both treat and mend these can differentiate. The great news is that it doesn’t really matter what kind of jacket you have – nylon, polyester, down, GORE-TEX, or even waxed – the repair method to the damage is often the same, with only slight variations depending on the severity.
When to Repair vs. Replace:
It can happen that the damage is too extensive, in which case, it might be time to part ways. Ultimately, it’s up to you to make the final decision, but hopefully, you’ve given it your best effort first. We believe that unless the jacket is falling apart into pieces or refuses to be anything other than a sponge for the rain and snow, it might be time to swap it out for a new one. But holes, rips, and tears in our coats, or a little wetting out in our rain jackets are all curable ailments. So, if you’re ready and willing, the next section will guide you through giving your jacket a second life, restoring it to its full functionality.
Essential Tools & Materials
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Patch up your waterproof gear if the need arises.
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- Waterproof fabric
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Some other useful tools you may want to have beside you are:
- Scissors
- Clean cloth or antiseptic towelette
There are also some other tools that will come in later in this blog for re-waterproofing your shell coat after patching the holes or tears.
Patch Repairing for Different Types of Damages
Before you do anything, make sure to carefully read the instructions written on the packaging of your repair kit. Different kits require different application methods. Some adhesives need to be set with the help of an iron, while others, like the Helly Hansen repair kit in this example, require only pressure from our hands. While duct tape can be used for emergency repairs, it is not recommended for long-term fixes as it may lead to further damage.
Step #1: Clean the area of your shell jacket using a clean cloth, or you may also use an antiseptic towelette to clean the torn or perforated area. If there’s fraying or loose threads, trim them.
Step #2: Take a patch out with rounded corners from the repair kit. Cut the patch to the appropriate size of the tear. It should overlap the torn area about half an inch on all sides. Before placing the patch, make sure to join the torn edges together.
Step #3: Remove the sticker at the back of the adhesive patch and apply it to the torn area.
Step #4: Smooth out the edges by applying pressure using a circular motion from the centre outward using your hands. Let the adhesion cure for a full 24 hours to reach full strength.
Step #5 (optional but recommended): You can choose to only apply a patch to the front facing side of the tear, but you’ll get a better quality patchwork by adding a second layer on the inside. This will help add more weatherproofing as well. To do so, simply turn the jacket inside out, and repeat the same process.
Other types of repair methods might involve sewing, ironing (if a specific patch you’re using requires a heat application), or even glue. Whichever method you need, you should prepare accordingly. There could even be a mix of different methods. It all depends on the affected area of your torn jacket.
Waterproofing Your Jacket Post-Repair
Once you’ve successfully patched up your shell jacket, it’s time to make it as durable and performative as it was when you first received it. We strongly recommend doing this next part after patching, otherwise it’s a little like forgetting to tighten the screws on an assembly.
What makes Helly Hansen an authority on performance jackets isn’t just through their products like their Odin Jackets, but also because of their deep understanding of the technology they use. They offer various solutions, guides, and other how-tos to ensure that you get a generation’s worth of use from each and every one of their coats. After all, a Helly Hansen jacket is of premium quality, but like anything in this world, just needs to be shown a little TLC from time to time.
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When it comes to most outdoor waterproof-breathable shells, they’re often manufactured with a thin coating of what’s called Durable Water Repellent (DWR). It’s this that allows water to bead off. Overtime, however, this coating wears away. Whether your jacket has gotten dirty from dirt or sweat, or too much abrasion from nature that involves sap or grime, food residue, other liquids, and the usual wear and tear, DWR loses its potency.
You can see in the image below the difference between reduced DWR effectiveness and functional DWR.
There are a couple of ways to reapply DWR to your jacket and both are fairly simple: The first is to get a spray. The second is a detergent that can be used in the washing machine.
For spraying, you’ll get a better result by making sure that your jacket is a little damp beforehand, so be sure to put it through a wash cycle first. Then, you can take your spray. Stand back enough away to get a good mist cover, and spray over the whole jacket. Then you can take a cloth to evenly distribute the agent over the fabric.
The second option is a detergent that can be used in your washing machine. Again, read both the instructions on the waterproofing detergent and the care instructions on your jacket (Helly Hansen often has this on the left hip of their jackets). The process is quite simple: The detergent will replace your normal detergent—don’t use both–and, depending on whether you have a top-loading or front-loading washer, try to only wash one or two jackets at a time.
Caution: If you own a top-loading washing machine with an agitator, it’s better to go with the spraying method.
If you’re looking for spray and detergent options, Helly Hansen swears by products from Grangers, and we tend to agree. If you opt for Grangers, they recommend to wash your jacket before applying the repel for the best results.
After reapplying DWR, it’s important to dry your jacket. If you’ve used the spray-on method, you can let the spray air dry and then run it through a drying cycle or dry it immediately if you choose. If you’ve used a detergent, then just take your jacket from the washer and add it to the dryer. Jackets should be dried on a low to medium setting for about 50 minutes, but check the care label of your garment to confirm the best method.
Drying after reapplying DWR is essential. The heat helps reactivate the waterproof properties of the repellent. Don’t forget this crucial step.
How to Wash a Waterproof Jacket
Preventing Future Damage
Now that you have a jacket that’s functioning good as new, there are a few basic principles to ensure that it retains its reinvigorated performative qualities. For storing, make sure that you hang up your jacket in a cool, dry place, preferably an uncrowded closet if you can manage it.
Never leave your jackets packed into a pouch or left bunched up in your pack, especially after use, as this can cause mildew or mould to form and ruin the waterproof-breathable properties. It’s also important to know that as the outdoor industry moves away from PFC materials, a little more care is needed. Dirt and contaminates cause wetting out, which weakens the jacket’s performance. If it gets dirty or starts absorbing water, it’s always best to give it a good wash and dry, or reapply a repellent.
FAQ
How do you fix a hole in a shell jacket?
Clean the affected area and remove any loose threads. Avoid machine washing beforehand as this may worsen the tear. Using a patch, cut an appropriate size (leaving at least a 0.5” margin on all sides). Remove the backing sticker and apply the tape over the tear, rip, or hole. Smooth out any bubbles and make sure the edges are flat. Depending on the patch, it may require a heat application or friction to activate the adhesive. It also may need several hours to cure effectively.
How do you fix a ripped wax jacket?
Depending on the rip size, you can opt to use a tape, patch, glue, sewing, or a combination to repair a wax jacket. It’s recommended to adhere a patch from the inside (glue up), then follow up with a glue, stitching, or patch externally to retain the best waterproofing. For more severe tears, refer to the jacket's brand to see if they offer repairs or replacements. Babour offers repairs and re-waxing services for their wax jackets.
Can a ripped puffer jacket be repaired?
Most tears can be repaired with the right tools. Puffer jackets can be repaired with a variety of tapes or repair patches. It’s recommended to patch from the inside of the tear to retain the insulation and have a more invisible patching, or you may also patch both sides of the tear for a higher quality mend. The same repair techniques can also be applied to ski pants to ensure they remain functional in harsh conditions.
How to repair a rip in a waterproof jacket?
Some outdoor shops and brands offer adhesive tapes or repair patch kits that can fix most tears and rips. Always make sure to follow the instructions on the packaging as they can differ depending on the type or brand. The Helly Hansen Fabric Repair Patch Kit is fairly easy to apply and requires only hand friction to adhere it properly.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to keep in perspective that outdoor wear and gear like Helly Hansen’s shells and jackets are designed to withstand weather and the environments we expose them to for years, so on the occasion where your garment suffers a rip or a tear, remember that the functionality of your jacket is still very much present. You can restore a waterproof-breathable jacket in just a few minutes of your time.
If you feel the same, we’d love to hear about your successful repair stories, or share some other tips and tricks to keep our apparel looking and functioning their best and keep them out of our landfills.
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