I'm not the most gentle person when it comes to gear and tools. That's why it came as no surprise to me that, upon landing on a large rock, that one of my 14 oz.throw bags broke open like a birthday piņata.
I know, I know, I'm not supposed to let the bag hit the ground. But this was one of those non-thinking moments when I neglected to keep the line in check with my other hand.
Anyway, as I looked through a certain tree climbing catalog for a replacement 14er, I discovered a brand of bag dipped in vinyl. Seemed like a good idea, to prolong the life of the bag.
Being the "I can do that" kind of person that I am, I went looking for a similar product. In a local hardware store, I found
Grip Dip http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/other/02/index.html I stitched the broken bag back together, filled it with shot (BBs), and tried my new discovery. It worked like a charm! I dipped my other bags too. I estimate that the "Dip" adds half an ounce to the weight of the bag, probably far less than that. My digital fish scale only measures in full ounces, so I really don't know.
I then sealed the ends of of my rope with the stuff and went through my work shop to find any unsuspecting tools that looked like they needed a bit of extra grip. Hammers, screwdrivers, wire cutters, etc. So far, I'm pleased with the way this product works. It adds a bit of stiffness to the bags, but it is still flexible enough to prevent bounce.
Grip dip comes in a few colors. All my local store had was black.
A word of caution: Use this product with plenty of ventilation. The fumes are very strong and flamable. I wore vinyl gloves just in case.
There must be hundreds of uses for this product. Belt/strap ends, spliced eyes, glove grips, shoes toes, wooden pruning saw handles, all kinds of stuff. Give it a try, let me know what you used it for
