Restrap Introduces the Tyre Boot Kit

Tire boots have been devoid of much innovation over the years. They simply exist as is, a requisite part of a repair kit. They usually live in some unused pocket of a tool roll and aren’t given much thought, until you need one. For those unfamiliar, a tire boot—such as the ubiquitous Park Tool TB-2 Emergency Tire Boot—is usually made of a tough piece of rubbery material and a sticky backing or glue. They’re used to apply directly to the interior of a tire casing to repair a sidewall or tread tear.

You can always improvise, of course, using a dollar bill, piece of innertube, Gorilla Tape, or a combination of other such material, stitching, and glue. Now, Restrap came up with a simple all-in-one Tyre Boot Kit using a material they had on hand for making bags. The Restrap Tyre Boot Kit came to fruition during their product designer’s ride in the Pan Celtic Ultra Endurance race. Familiar with all the materials and textiles they use, Danny decided to pack a few offcuts of Hypalon on the off chance they would come in handy. Somewhere along the way, he rode up on a fellow racer stuck on the side of the road with two large gashes in their tire sidewall. Danny offered up his Hypalon cuts to patch the holes. There and then, the Tyre Boot Kit was born.

The Restrap Tyre Boot Kit contains eight varied cuts of thin, durable, and tear-resistant Hypalon. Hypalon is a engineered rubberized material developed by Dupont for the marine industry and can often be found on bikepacking bags, used in areas that require an extra strong layer or one that’s resistant to abrasion. It makes sense that this material would work well for a tire boot. It’s waterproof, super strong, and very light.

Restrap specifies that the Hypalon patches work for sidewall and tread tears “on any tubed tyre,” but I’m wondering whether with a little stitching and glue, if it could maintain a tubeless set up, too. The kit also includes a tube of glue and a double-sided velcro retention strap to keep it rolled up and compact.

The Restrap Tyre Boot Kit weighs 18 grams, measures 8 x 2cm, and will sell for £8.99/€10.99/$13.99. It will be available on September 24th over at Restrap.com.

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