I bought a new Lowe pack before I went to Rainier a few years ago and put it where I "thought" no mice would get to it...well, I was wrong. I hadn't used it in a few months and upon taking it out last week discovered a hole about the size of a plum directly in the front of the pack. No food was stored in the pack, just climbing gear which could possibly have smelled like food that had once been in there.

So, after that short story, has anyone experienced this and what type of repairs did you do or can you recommend?

Thanks...

I had much the same experience in the Valley a couple of years ago. No food in the pack, but apparently lingering odors that were attractive enough to motivate rodents to gnaw through the pack fabric. Since it was the first day of a two week stay, I simply got out a needle and thread and some patch material and made field repairs. The work has held up for the past two years, so I haven't bothered to improve much upon that initial effort. The one thing I did later was apply a seam sealer (left over from my last tent purchase) to the stitching to try to restore some degree of waterproofing.

If you have access to a sewing machine, you can neatly stitch the patch in place. Use a zig zag stitch to keep the chewed-through fabric and any other unfinished edges from unraveling.

In Seneca Rocks I had a little fury eat a hole in my bag. I guess it liked the whole wheat bagel with hummus and cucumber. It made nice little circles out of my pack material. First time in twenty years out in the wood that anything has eaten through my bag.
It's a Wildthing's bag so I may just drop it off next time I"m up there. The hole hasn't gotten any bigger and I've used it that way for a year.

I had a Tahquitz squirrel eat a bunch of holes in my Cilo Gear sack. The food, I'd stored in the top pouch and hung; but I'd made the fatal mistake of closing up the main pack.

Lesson learned - leave the main pack empty & open, let them burrow all over it, instead of closed.

I quess that proves the Cilo Gear to be SWEET.

Lesson learned - leave the main pack empty & open, let them burrow all over it, instead of closed.

It amuses me to realize that car owners sometimes leave the car parked with windows wide open for exactly the same reason.

rodents like to chew things...welcome to earth

sew on a patch, ideally made of the same or similar material, seam seal it, and move on

Oh, most gracious oracle...humble and heartfelt thanks. I can only hope and aspire that someday I may be as self-actualized and together as you.

Please consider myself moved on.

I believe the mice are attracted to the salt from sweat in the pack fabric.

Might there be a niche market for a spray-on rodent repellent?