I've been reading a lot of posts on broken fibreglass poles recently and what's struck me most is that a lot of folk have (a) a deep sense of indignation that poles break at all and (b) no idea what to do about this. So I just thought I'd post a few suggestions about what to do here.
1) Fibreglass poles break. They break with depressing frequency and it's a rare camper that won't experience at least one broken pole eventually. Most tent manufacturers won't guarantee fibreglass poles because they break for a number of reasons which are totally outwith the manufacturers control, ie extreme weather conditions, including gusting; during erection and striking of a tent due to a lot of weight being put on unsupported poles; poles being handled roughly as in the pole bag being thrown on the ground, poles stepped on or a lot of lugguage being placed on top of the pole bag and finally because many people basically don't pitch their tents properly, with correct pegging and all guylines pegged out. All of these things can contribute to pole breakage. It's not just that the pole was faulty from the start!
2) You can check your poles for weak spots and should do each time you take your tent down. Look for white streaks in the poles, or hairline cracks that you can feel with your nails. Or splitting ferrules. If you find these you should replace the affected pole section asap.
3) If you break a pole section during the erection of a tent then stop and mend it on the spot. If you put a tent up with a weak or broken pole it will place undue stress on the other poles and the tent fabric and you can end up with the whole pole set breaking and/or causing damage to the fabric of the tent. Worst case scenario is that you have to come home early because you're tent has fallen down and is damaged. It's easier to be prepared and take immediate action!
4) You should always carry the means to mend poles. Obviously the easiest and quickest way is to have an entire replacement pole of each thickness and length your tent uses so you can just substitute the new for the old, but this can get expensive. The very least you should carry is one spare pole section of each size your tent uses, a length of spare shock cord and either a rethreading needle or the patience to do the repair without one.
5) To replace a pole section, pull out the knot that secures the shock cord into the end ferrule of the pole ( needle nosed pliers are helpful here), undo the knot, unthread the pole, replace the damaged section and rethread the pole.
6) If you have a lot of damaged sections, use your spares on the sections/poles that take most stress ie curved areas near the guying points, and reinforce the other broken ones with duct tape. (You should always carry a roll of duct tape!) Tape up and down the pole, then go round it spirally. It won't stop the section bending but it will stop it splintering to pieces and shredding the tent fabric.
7) You can do all of this without having to take the tent down totally in many cases. But it is tricky and not a manuvere to attempt in the middle of a storm! In terrible weather try to support a damaged pole in other ways, such as adding extra guylines to support the pole.
Bottom line(s)? Take care of your poles and treat them gently and with caution, especially when erecting a tent in less than calm conditions or without assistance. Be prepared to mend a pole at the first sign of damage and carry the wherewithal to do this. And finally when a pole breaks, be resigned but not indignant. It happens to the best of us!
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Topic: Broken Poles..what to do.
LOL
