Patagonia rain jacket repair

September 20, 2018 12:22 PM

Best patch for the spot where my Patagonia rain shell liner is delaminating? I called Patagonia and they can't repair the lining (they offered to replace it, but that seems like a waste when the rest of the jacket is in perfectly good shape). Any recs for an adhesive or iron-on patch? Photo inside. Thanks!

Here's the section of the lining that's delaminating, cracking and peeling. The Patagonia rep said it was probably from skin oils. The company can't repair delamination he said, but I could definitely request an exchange/replacement for a new jacket through their guaranteed-for-life program. I'd rather just repair it on my own, even if the patch doesn't match the original lining. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Here's the damage

posted by brozek to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

I've brought them back clothes that had manufacture defects that were present when I bought them, and even then Patagonia wanted to send them back to Reno to get repaired instead of just doing an exchange since that was company policy (although the dude said he'd bypass company policy since the clothes had never even been worn).

They literally have a truck on tour (see: Worn Wear events) repairing people's old stuff all over the country. And "fix your stuff until it can't possible be fixed so you never buy a new product from us, ever, since that's the least wasteful option" is practically the company motto these days.

All this to say: If they start off with: "Sorry, you will need to just let us give you a new one", I'm going to guess that the problem can't be repaired. At least, not a way that the product is still useful.
posted by sideshow at 12:46 PM on September 20, 2018 [5 favorites]

Tenacious Tape works great for repairing unsewable rips and holes in down jackets, tents, and sleeping bags. I expect it would also work nicely for a rain jacket.
posted by tapir-whorf at 12:58 PM on September 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have the same issue with a Marmot jacket and I tore out what I could and stitched the blown seals down. I've seen that on a lot of jackets of that era and I just don't think that stuff lasts as well as it should have.
posted by advicepig at 1:00 PM on September 20, 2018

Came here to suggest Tenacious Tape, until I saw how big the delaminated spot was and where it was located. Tenacious Tape would totally work, but it would make the neck area kinda stiff and weird. Sadly, their fabric tapes (colors other than clear or black; there are significant differences) would have worked OK for this except recently they've switched to a thicker, stiffer, less tenacious version that's really just not as good as it used to be.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 1:44 PM on September 20, 2018

You could also send it out for repair to Rainy Pass. I've worked for two companies (BMW and REI) who referred all repair work to Rainy Pass.
posted by workerant at 7:36 PM on September 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’ve had the same problem with deterioration of the lining with North Face and Patagonia products. So similar, I wondered if the products were made in the same factory. The culprit, I think, was sunscreen or, perhaps, insect repellent.

It’s not really fixable but can be covered with an adhesive-backed patch. Just send it back, get the free replacement, and expect to replace it in 2-3 years.
posted by sudogeek at 5:37 PM on September 21, 2018