Tent Poles ?

[Silverclaws]

And so, up on Dartmoor saturday night my tent pole finally broke and it was not even bad weather. You see, I have an old Saunders Spacepacker plus, bought in 1986 and it being a single hoop design, the poles are kind of crucial. It has in ' 86 survived a storm which ripped Vango force ten tents out of the ground, but the tent hoop was never the same after that. The hoop was not helped by camping on the saddle between Yr Lliwedd and Snowdon one winter where the snow came down so much there was only a foot of the hoop apex sticking out of the snow, the snow weight on the tent sides must have been immense, but the thing stayed up.

So, given the tent has had a tough time over the years, only the poles, and a few elastic bits need attention, the rest is as good now as it was when I bought it. But where to get replacement poles ? I have tried emailing Robert Saunders, but no reply there, so my option is another supplier, so I have come here to ask, can anyone recommend a supplier of 'performance' tent poles, performance in that they are good and last well despite what conditions are chucked at it.

My old poles developed cracks longitudinaly near the ends, it was one of these cracks that finally created a weak enough spot to snap- cleanly. So, as to the night, I had lost two inches of pole, but a quick repair with stuffing in a hammered out ally tent peg between the broken bits made the pole work good enough for a hassle free night.

 

[scanker]

You should be able to find some spares somewhere. What material and dimensions are the pole sections?

I had a pole go on my old quasar, which Terra Nova replaced, so I've got some 8.5mm (I think) T5 alloy sections.

The Tiger paws tent that Argos sell has good quality poles - the complete tent's only about £25 - might be worth buying for spares?

 

[spamel]

I'd suggest taking your old poles into a decent tent selling shop and ask the bloke behind the counter. If you don't like what you hear, try another place. A set of fibreglass poles should be very easy to come by, there are also aluminium poles out there, not sure if they would be suitable but that is why you need to speak to a reputable tent selling man!

Good luck. it sounds like you are very attached to your tent. A simple thing like broken poles shouldn't be the end of an otherwise perfectly serviceable tent.

 

[woof]

I don't think they(saunders) have made it to the 20th century, never mind 21st.. they say that wednesdays are laid aside for repair work, so phone them as opposed to email, you may get somewhere then.

Rob

 

[gregorach]

I'd suggest taking your old poles into a decent tent selling shop and ask the bloke behind the counter. If you don't like what you hear, try another place. A set of fibreglass poles should be very easy to come by, there are also aluminium poles out there, not sure if they would be suitable but that is why you need to speak to a reputable tent selling man!

From the sounds of it, Silverclaws needs some very robust poles. Fibreglass poles wouldn't last two minutes in some of the conditions he's describing. I've seen far too many broken fiberglass poles to even consider them.

So, what you're looking for ideally are T9 alloy poles. My Macpac microlight has the best poles I have ever encountered - IIRC, they're made from Easton 7075-T9.

Somebody out there must be able to produce custom poles, surely? If not, it's a gap in the market... It might even be worth getting in touch with Easton themselves, although I don't know if they do retail at all.