Trying to fix a broken tent pole in the dark was a nightmare

On a trip in the White Mountains, a pole snapped at a joint after a gust of wind. I thought I had a repair sleeve, but it was the wrong size. I spent over an hour trying to rig it with duct tape and a stick from the woods before it finally held. What's the best actual pole repair kit you guys keep in your pack?

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.drew1mo ago

Oh man that sounds awful lol. Was it one of those shock corded aluminum poles where the piece actually broke, or did the ferrule just come loose? That changes what you'd need to fix it for real.

taylorcarr11d ago

Wait, was the break actually clean right at the ferrule or did it splinter a bit? I feel like that makes a huge difference in whether you can even attempt a sleeve repair without just making it worse. Plus if it was shock corded, trying to fix it on the fly means dealing with that cord snapping back at you which is its own special kind of nightmare. I've seen a few people try to epoxy a broken ferrule back together on a trail and it just ended up being a wobbly mess that failed again a few hours later. What kind of tent was it? Some brands have really specific pole diameters that are a pain to find replacements for.

rowank691mo agoMost Upvoted

Remember my buddy's tent disaster last year? His pole snapped right at the ferrule, the metal sleeve part. We tried a field fix with duct tape and a stick, but it was a shaky mess all night. He ended up having to replace the whole pole section because the break was too clean to sleeve properly. Total pain, and way different than if it had just slipped apart.