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-Clean it. Become an equipment expert: Get Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter's Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear , Maintenance and Repair ($20; falcon.com). Pitch your tent and hose i t down inside and out; sponge off dirt using a bucket o f wa­ ter mixed with a few drops of mild dish s o a p . Let a i r dry (while set up). -Eliminate mildew smell. Off the shelf: Add a cup of Lysol to a tub o f water and let b o t h the fly a n d t e n t body soak in the mixture for a few minutes. Rinse o f f a n d air dry. Repeat the process with 1 c u p o f t a b l e salt, 1 c u p o f concentrated lemon juice, a n d a gallon o f w a r m water. -Inspect tent for wear and tear. To repair holes in mesh walls, use back-to-back micromesh adhesive patches (we like MSR's Tent Fabric Repair Kit; $20; cascadedesigns.com). If you s p o t separated seams in the floor or rainfly, adhere a Tear-Aid patch ($10; tear-aid.com) to the inside and apply a sealant (Gear A i d SilNet for siliconized nylon or S e a m Grip for polyurethane­ coated nylon; mcnett.com) to the outside of the repair. Let i t cure overnight. 6 Refresh waterproofing BOOTS Even if your boots have a waterproof membrane, the outer layer o f leather or fabric can still get saturated if not properly waterproofed, which causes your feet to feel heavy a n d cold (even i f no water penetrates t h e membrane). Before each season, apply a sealant. Nikwax and ReviveX make waterproofing products for both leather and fabric boots. JACKETS All waterproof/breathable jackets have durable water repellent (DWR) finishes that eventually wear o f f . Test yours: Spray your jacket with water; i f it doesn't bead off, first t r y machine-washing and d r y i n g ( m e d i u m heat), then ironing the outer layer (on l o w steam with a towel or cloth placed between the jacket and iron). Retest. If those techniques don't reactivate the repellent, apply a spray or l i q u i d treatment finish, such a s N i k w a x T X Direct Spray-on ($14 to $22, depending on size) or ReviveX Durable Waterproofing ($17). e Cheat Sheet Problem Fix Canister stove sputtering in cold temps Put the canister in a shallow pan of lukewarm water. Pry off t h e cap from one e n d using a Shock cord in tent poles losing elasticity multitool, cut off a b o u t 5 inches of slack cord, re-knot the end, and replace t h e c a p . H y d r a t i o n tube bite valve freezing in Blow water back into the t u b e after winter 7 Repair a pack's m e s h side pocket drinking. Sew the rip with a large needle and #46 or #69 bonded nylon thread (dental floss and medical suture also work). Use the first few stitches to close the tear (if it's large, run the stitches from the outer edges of the pocket). Sew horizontally over the gap, then repeat vertically to create a grid-like patch. More tips! Get adVice from record-settmg distance pros; see pages 6 4 and 78 •