Tent pole failure

[richardh1905]

I'm really not sure I've always just put it down to metal fatigue.

I presume that poles are heat treated - without heat treatment they would certainly be far too ductile for use as hooped tent poles. The downside is that heat treatment does make them more brittle, so more susceptible to damage when the dimples are formed. The smart thing to do would be to heat treat after the poles are dimpled, or to bond them with a suitable glue. No doubt it is cheaper to just stick them under a press to form the dimples.

[richardh1905]

Question - is titanium tubing ever used for tent poles?

[gunwharfman]

I had problems with two broken poles. They are OK now, I bent them to shape and to strengthen them at this weak point I wrapped a couple of layers of duct tape over the bend areas. I think its worked, I used the tent for 13 nights recently and had no problems.

[richardh1905]

To reinforce the cracked pole ends, I wrapped several dozen turns of extra strong polyester thread around the cracked area to stop the cracks opening any further, and tied it off; then I smeared superglue over the thread to bond it in place; finally I covered the thread with heatshrink sleeving to protect it - a good strong job that looks neat too.


Will keep me going until I take the plunge and buy a new tent.