riverman wrote:

However, it seems like the old bag has now become just a wrapper to protect
the new bag, and as such, there must be several other things that would work
better in this capacity? Maybe like an old pillowcase, or making a sturdy
covering from an old tarp, or tent fly or something?

The thing about the old bag is it's (presumably) the right shape to
start with. I've not come across many pillow cases the same shape as
paddlers' air bags. Tent flys are actually pretty fragile: they have
very good tear strength for their weight but they're not designed to do
abrasion and IMHO they'd wear through far more quickly than the tough PU
of your old bags. Tarp should be fine, but if you've got basically
useless old bags in the right shape might just as well save yourself the
bother of being needlessly creative with the tarp!

being done by the new airbag, and it is sounding like the older one is
becoming more of a doctored-up liability than anything truly useful. I think
I'd just spend my money on a high-quality airbag and repair kit, and toss
the old bag with its headaches.

Punctures are your problem, putting a layer of fairly tough plastic over
the top basically gives you a double walled airbag so there should be
less need to repair. Prevention is better than cure, and repairs don't
work so well when everything's wet, which could fubar your day's paddling.

That being said, however; maybe inflate the new bag, then cut up the old bag
and glue on double layers at any potential hotspots in the new bag?

Maybe, but hotspots have a habit of being unpredictable! Charlie's
method assumes the whole bag is vulnerable, which is belt and braces but
that can be a good thing...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/