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Poles are so easily replaced, buy the kit ( a threader) and spare poles at most outdoor shops, 20 minute job first time, 10 min thereafter. If fabric was damaged I'd buy a new tent.

And that Lesley at Drumroamin is such a wonderful lady. We were there 2 months ago, no wind then though.

Quote: Originally posted by thorneywilson on 06/5/2011

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Have we just had a bad batch of poles, and do we try we another complete set at about £50 or do we cut our loses and go for a different tent altogether?

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Go steel poles

We had the same problem last year. We went for a new tent with steet poles, went away last weekend to Shropshire in the high winds and the tent didnt move at all.

Quote: Originally posted by Road_Hog on 06/5/2011

Quote: Originally posted by thorneywilson on 06/5/2011Have we just had a bad batch of poles, and do we try we another complete set at about £50 or do we cut our loses and go for a different tent altogether?

It could be down to the way you pitch your tent.

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I've got three Vango Oregons, the 400, 600 and 800. We've only had one pole failure and that was a really catastrophic one, when a horrendous gust of wind basically punched the entire end of the 600 in and knocked it flat. The end pole couldn't cope and went at one side, then the next one took the strain and went down too. Freak occurrence and not unexpected given the weather. We mended the poles as best we could (I always carry spare sections and duct tape) and finished the holiday though.

However when we got home I replaced the whole pole set. I just used the same again from Vango, I didn't upgrade them at all. If you put stronger poles than your tent fabric is designed to cope with in a tent the next gale will just rip the seams and fabric instead. Poles are easier to mend and replace imho. Remember leisure tents are really only designed to cope with wind speeds of 30mph or so, after that the manufacturer will gently point out that a two season leisure tent isn't designed for storm weather and is thus outwith the guarantee. Most don't guarantee the poles anyway.

The poster that asked if the tent pitching was as good as it could be is correct...so many tents fail in even moderate winds due to poor pitching. It's also why a well pitched cheapie can often be still standing in the morning after the storm while the megabucks tent is smashed flat. All guys in use and correctly pegged out, obviously, but positioning, tensioning and shelter are vital too. Type of peg...good enough for storms? After that you can go on to use double guying and storm guying techniques. And the TBS should be used correctly too. Poles break when they overflex but they do need to be able to flex a bit.

Also, fibreglass poles should be taken good care of. Tipping them out of the bag endwise onto the hard ground is my No1 pet hate, for example. Throwing them into the car and packing stuff on top of them is another way to damage them. (That ghastly valise bag with pole sections on the base and weight at the top that Vango use should be burned imho.) Also, poles should be inspected as the tent is taken down. White streaks in the fibreglass indicate the material is beginning to fracture, as do longitudinal cracks...you can feel these with your finger ends. Never think a damaged pole "will do"...one weak section only means the stresses are carried onto the next one. If you've had to repair a pole section with duct tape and then seen through another night of high winds with that, chances are the whole pole will need replacing. It's better if you damage a pole to replace the whole pole with the spare you always carry (of course!) asap before it can knacker all the sections. Bin any cracked sections, of course, but also bin any sections that look even vaguely suspect. You can end up with having a near constant series of breaks over several trips if you don't weed out these weak sections before the next camp.

Quote: Originally posted by PigletandTigger on 07/5/2011

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Nice to see you back Val

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