Great Outdoors Is Not the Worst Enemy of Gear : Leslie Pemberton, who repairs outdoor equipment at her Costa Mesa shop, offers advice on care and storage.

Anyone who has walked through a backpacking or mountaineering shop knows that good outdoor recreation equipment is expensive. The upside is, the best stuff can take a pounding.

Leslie Pemberton, who repairs outdoor gear for a living, has a few stories to tell about that. There was one customer, for example, who brought in a down sleeping bag he found by the side of the Costa Mesa Freeway.

This guy apparently has a knack for such finds. “He calls them road kills,” Pemberton said during an interview at her Costa Mesa shop, Leslie’s Outdoor Gear Repair. “His wife says he finds all sorts of stuff on the freeway. All I ever see is trash.” In this case, Pemberton laundered the bag, patched a hole created when someone ran over it, and it was almost good as new.

That’s an extreme example, but it illustrates a point. “All your outdoor gear, if it’s taken care of, can last a lifetime,” Pemberton said.

Care is the operative word. Most people use their tents, sleeping bags and other equipment only a few times a year at most, and the items spend the rest of the time stuffed into closets or gathering dust on rafters. Improper storage or cleaning can do more damage to the equipment than even, say, running over it at freeway speeds, although that’s not recommended.

Pemberton, who founded Leslie’s Outdoor Gear Repair eight years ago, offered a few tips for the care of outdoor equipment. Brand names mentioned are ones she specified for particular tasks.

Sleeping Bags

Natural down still offers more insulation per ounce than any of the myriad synthetic fibers now on the market. It can easily lose its ability to fluff, or “loft,” however, so special care is required.

First off, all sleeping bags should be stored loosely, not stuffed into those tiny sacks used for carrying them on the trail. Secondly, down sleeping bags should be washed about once a year, because oils from the body can diminish the down’s ability to insulate.

To wash a down bag, use a front-loading washing machine like those found in Laundromats. Use one or two ounces of Woolite and wash in warm water. Dry at low heat for three to four hours, with a tennis ball or athletic shoe in the dryer to fluff up the down and keep it from clumping.

Down sleeping bags can also be dry-cleaned, but Pemberton advises using a cleaner with experience working with down. An improperly cleaned down bag can be ruined, because the chemicals can strip the down of its natural oils.

Sleeping bags with synthetic fill also can be washed in front-loading machines, with a mild fabric softener (such as Downy) in the rinse cycle. Synthetic bags can be drip-dried.

Tents

The most important thing to remember about tents is to make sure they are totally dry before storing them. “The biggest call we get is mildewed tents, and a mildewed tent is a dead tent,” Pemberton said. “There’s really no hope.”

There is some hope actually, if the mildew (a living organism) hasn’t spread too far. Mix a fairly high concentration of lemon juice in water and wipe it on the affected area--that should keep it from spreading, at least.

Also, a tent should be stored as clean as possible. Dirt is the main cause of zipper failure, one of the most frequent repair calls that Pemberton gets. Sweep a tent out before storing it. Nylon tents can be hosed clean or wiped with a solution of mild soap (such as Simple Green) and water.

Finally, store tents loosely folded or rolled. If rolled too tightly, some tents “delaminate”--the waterproof coating separates from the fabric.

Clothing

Most mountaineering and ski clothing made today can be laundered at home. In fact, dry cleaning can harm many outdoor garments, particularly if they contain elastic.

Gore-Tex, that expensive, waterproof-but-breathable fabric, can be particularly finicky. The material is scored with microscopic pores that allow water vapor to escape, but don’t allow liquid water to enter. Dirt, however, can clog the pores and destroy the breathability of the fabric.

Generally, liquid detergents are not recommended for Gore-Tex because they also can clog the fabric. Powdered detergents, or special soaps sold in mountaineering shops, are better.

Finally: Don’t allow Gore-Tex to come in contact with sea water.

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Pemberton was drawn into the outdoor gear repair business when the zipper on her own sleeping bag broke. In the process of trying to get it fixed, Pemberton said, “I realized there was a need for this kind of service.”

She started sewing when she was 4. In high school, she sewed bikinis in a shop on Balboa Island; later, she worked in a drapery factory and then sewed spinnakers for sailboats.

An outdoors enthusiast herself (she kayaks, skis, rides a mountain bike and climbs rocks), she started her gear repair business eight years ago.

Poor care accounts for many of the repair jobs that come to her, but not all. There are lots of holes to be patched, caused by falls or inquisitive critters.

“Animals love to eat through tents and backpacks,” Pemberton said. And there was one really major tent repair, she recalled: “A bear had walked through it.”

This time of year, much of Pemberton’s business consists of alterations of ski clothing.

“People lose or gain weight,” she explained. “Some of these outfits are $1,000 or more. You really want to be able to wear them as long as possible.”

In spring, tents are the big repair item.

“This store is just full of tents,” Pemberton said. “It’s tent city, because they’re so big.”

For many, the tenets of consumer culture require that once something is broken, it’s simply thrown away.

“I think people say, ‘Oh, my, the zipper broke. I better get a new sleeping bag,’ ” Pemberton said. Simple repairs can often extend the life of expensive outdoor gear for years--a form of recycling, Pemberton says.

Gear repair specialists can be found in the Yellow Pages, under Sporting Goods Repair, under Zipper and other sections.