Tent Poles, New And Replacement Ideas.

Tent poles are one of the most critical parts of your camping tent, but they're also one of the easiest things to overlook. Without them your tent is little more than a lump of collapsed fabric.

The best poles are usually aluminum tent poles (7000 series, DAC aluminum or Easton). Aluminum is strong and flexible, it also handles cold temperatures well which can't be said for fiberglass poles that can snap if the weather gets too cold. But if you never camp or hike when the weather turns frigid this may not be an issue for you. Fiberglass poles are usually less expensive (although I've come across some great camping tents now that offer aluminum poles at amazing prices) and probably won't be an issue for you if you only do summer camping.

Good poles should also have high quality shockcords built into them for easy set-up and to keep the pole organized. Instead of trying to figure out which section plugs into what it's all laid out for you so that you don't have to think about it. This may seem like a simple thing not to spend much time on and it is... until you set your tent up late one night and misplace one of your black tent pole sections among the leaves, other hiking equipment or camping gear.

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There are a few ways to fix tent poles but I can't say that I've been impressed with any I've come across. From wrapping something around the broken shaft and securing it with hose clamps to using an aluminum repair sleeve as a splint, these repairs might get you through an emergency but the fact is they're band-aids for something that already broke, meaning it's weaker than it was, and it's going to be a problem again. You get what you pay for. The best thing is to either replace your poles or replace your tent and make sure you get high quality poles with it.

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