It’s surprisingly simple to save your hiking pants, leggings or base layers from unraveling. As soon as a hole is spotted, find a bottle of clear nail polish, an emery board and a piece of cardboard.
Step 1: Put a piece of cardboard underneath the hole, so that you don’t glue the pant leg together.
Step 2: Apply 3-4 thin layers of clear nail polish over the hole.
Step 3: When the nail polish is dry, inside the pant leg out, and reposition the cardboard to sit under the hole.
Step 4: Paint 3-4 layers of nail polish on the back side of the hole.
Step 5: When it’s dry, use an emery board to gently sand the rough nail polish to a smooth finish. Sanding helps to remove the shine, making it blend in more with the pants. I figure I’d rather have one tiny semi gloss mark on my pants as opposed to a giant patch or worse, having to toss the entire piece of clothing.