Gear Maintenance

Children can be quite rough on their outerwear, and this makes sense! It means that they are having fun and enjoying the great outdoors and making the most of their outdoor school experience! The muddier and dirtier their gear when they come home – the better! Just keep in mind that gear put to the test like this will from time-to-time show signs of wear and tear due to heavy use no matter how high quality these items are.

Wear and tear could manifest as a puncture to a rain pant or rain mitten or a tear to a shell jacket or snowsuit. The good news is that ODSS stocks all the little gear maintenance items to ensure that you get as much longevity as possible out of the items you have invested in for your child’s outdoor school experience. Browse our Little Necessities category here to find all the tricks of the trade to keep your child’s gear functioning into the next season and ready to pass on to the next eager wearer! Sometimes a gear fix is as simple as using electrical tape to create a waterproof seal to a tear to a rain pant!

Easy tips for ensuring gear longevity include minimizing washings and dryer usage and instead surface clearing gear when it gets dirty with a damp cloth and hang drying. For some garments there may also be spare parts available via our customer service. If ultimately you no longer are able to wear, or want to keep, the garment, we ask that you first try to pass it on to a new owner. Otherwise, please recycle it for the sake of the environment.