Down south, in the desert, where the plants are pointy and evil, rode a lone biker in the second half of a double century, doom smote upon his tire repeatedly....... Well to make a long story short (too late), I had 14 flats one day. I can't carry 14 tubes with me but 14 patches is much more manageable. I had a kevlar tire bite it due to a road hazard and the spare tire was not kevlar. The rain had caused the road to become a bed of thorns. Anyway, I carry 2 tubes and a bunch of patches. I have never had a tightly lidded tube of glue dry up and that is after being stored in 110+ degree heat on a regular basis over 3 years now. I always close the tube as soon as I have applied the contents to the tube.

incidentally it irks me to no end having to pick up faster peoples tubes on the side of the road at organized rides. If you started with the weight you are certainly strong enought carry it back to the start.