Twisted Throttle – Great Customer Service

[Beemer Dood]

About three years ago my wife got me a set of DrySpec bags, the D56, for Christmas. It consists of two bags, a 38L roll top with a hard plastic liner, and a 26L double-ended bag that allows access from both ends.

 

I used them on one trip and then consolidated my gear and put them away until just recently. I'm prepping for the RFTW and I'm planning on camping on the way back, so I broke them out again. While I was checking them over I discovered that a seam on one of them had opened up a couple of inches.

 

I called Twisted Throttle expecting to be told that they were out of warranty and then get info on how to best repair them. Instead the tech support guy gave me a choice. I could either return them and then he'd send me a replacement bag. Or he'd take my CC number, send me a new bag, and after I'd returned the old bag, they'd cancel the CC charge. I chose the latter. I've always gotten good info from their customer service but I think this was a step beyond, and should be recognized.

 

On a related note, I got two suggestions for repairs. One was to use the same sort of glue that is used on water beds and other PVC products. (Anyone remember waterbeds?). The other suggestion was "Shoe Goo."

 

[Bud]

Good on them!

[elkroeger]

I've ordered a variety of stuff from them. Two thumbs up for twisted throttle.

 

shoe goo? really? Stop taking advice from that person.

[RandyShields]

Actually, Shoe Goo would likely be a very good fix for a torn dry bag. It is a rubber adhesive invented by a Hughes Aircraft executive to repair his tennis shoes that were wearing down. It was initially designed for shoe heels and toes, galoshes, roller skates, etc., but is pretty effective stuff. Back in the 80s when I was poor and played a lot of tennis, it extended the life of my Stan Smith sneakers pretty well.

[szurszewski]

+1

 

I used to work in a tent (think circus - not camping) shop that welded a lot of vinyl the same way they weld drybags. If we got a big piece of something back in that was damaged, and it was either too awkward to get into the welder without tearing it apart (or so dirty we didn't want to clean the whole thing), we'd use basically the same stuff. Helped if you applied to both sides, let it tack up a bit and then clamped the repair for awhile.

[Beemer Dood]

Actually, Shoe Goo would likely be a very good fix for a torn dry bag. It is a rubber adhesive invented by a Hughes Aircraft executive to repair his tennis shoes that were wearing down. It was initially designed for shoe heels and toes, galoshes, roller skates, etc., but is pretty effective stuff. Back in the 80s when I was poor and played a lot of tennis, it extended the life of my Stan Smith sneakers pretty well.

 

I asked Twisted Throttle if it was OK if I tried the Shoe Goo recommendation that came from one of their tech guys and they gave the green light, even though it's being returned. They're still going to replace it.

 

Using a gloved finger, I smeared some of it between the two parts of the seam that had separated, let it set up for a few minutes and then pressed them together. There was no way to get a clamp in there to hold it and I was afraid that if I used one that I might starve the joint. Next, I smeared a thin layer over the area extending it out 3/4" in all directions. I put another layer of Goo on it, 4 hours later, per their instructions. Then I turned the bag inside out and put two layers of Goo on the inside of the area, also extending it out from the repaired area of the seam.

 

Today, about 24 hours after the repairs, I grabbed the bag on both side of the parted seam and gave a pretty hard pull for several seconds. The repair held. I think that was a tougher test than it would receive in 'normal use' or even in 'rough use.' And given that Shoe Goo cures over the course of 72 hours, it would only get stronger. I'm not going to have the bag long enough for a long term repair test, but I wouldn't hesitate to use SG for a repair if I was keeping the bag.

 

I've also used it to prolong the life of my running shoes, back in the day, I used to do quite a bit of running to stay in shape, these days, not so much.

 

I sometimes use a cane, when my hip acts up, and always when I fly, it's the last 'tool' they let me bring for self-defense, (whole 'nother discussion) but I've fine-tuned the length of it by adding some SG to the bottom. I formed a 'cup' by wrapping some masking tape around the rubber tip and then added 1/2" of the SG, removing the tape after the SG cured. It's held up for a year without showing significant wear or coming off. I rank it with JB Weld and duct tape for its usefulness.

 

[szurszewski]

There was no way to get a clamp in there to hold it and I was afraid that if I used one that I might starve the joint.

 

 

If we couldn't get a piece into a welder we couldn't generally get a clamp on it either. Instead you can just use weight (books, gold bars - whatever you have around) to keep pressure on the repair, making sure you have a rigid surface against the material. If you then want to put a layer of goo to cover the repair area, you can do that after the initial repair sets. As I recall, we would keep pressure on for 24 hours and recommend two more days to set before use.