tent types (1 skin,2 skin, 3 skin...)

[crazydave789]

Am sure you are right about dac poles pj. Have admired them close up on quality tents. Though am pretty sure that I have also seen them on at least one pretty cheap decathlon tent.

If i decided to change a tent to DAC poles do you know a good source?

Am not doubting their quality at all but assume that they can still SOMETIMES give up the ghost. Do you carry a spare section or two?

If not are you confident of easily finding spares on tour? This slightly concerns me as i have the impression that many are not the common, and admitedly often wobbly, 8.5 mil poles.

the USA and EBAY are the usual sources, is you find a big garden centre size outdoor store like the one south of gloucester whos name escapes me at the moment they used to have a rack of poles and sections. you can also find them off old tents with knackered fly sheets and cut them to size. it used to be most outdoor stores had a morgue of returned stock.

Haven't seen such a service here but there must be one where you can order poles with shorter sections to fit into panniers like you can in the US.

I've repaired a few pole sockets over the years, usually I fit it back together, crimp it closed with a multitool then bind it with anything from a drinks can and duct tape to the fix on my north face which is dentalfloss and electrical tape. you can move a stressed out section to a straight or an end as well which means you don't have to be so perfect.

it is vital to make sure any sharp edges are cover up though, I've seen someone crack the end of a pole (only half and inch and the joint was still sound) then slide it in and slit the flysheet open along the pole sleeve of a tunnel tent. not pretty.

back in the day (as da youf are fond of saying) lightweight (right up until the mid 80s) meant sectional bamboo poles that were fun. worked though and flishing rods are still made out of it. I have seen people refit fibreglass poles in home made bamboo to lighten a cheaper tent up a bit. easy to do with a belt sander and 10mm pipe to make the sockets out of. making a comeback too as NEMO are looking at using bamboo as part of making tents easy to recycle.

we have bamboo bike frames after all.

[Tangled Metal]

I think there's a German supplier that's good. You can buy a whole range of various types of pole in various lengths and all the different connector types too. I looked at it after reading an online recommendation. The choice was staggering. Basically you got the same choices as tent designers. You could make poles to fit any tent you own I reckon.

Now this is the issue I have, I can't find it again! Why don't I bookmark interesting sites? I can't find the company or the forum thread I read it in. Can't even remember which forum!

If it helps it's a German supplier of parts, not whole kit just parts like fabric and pole parts.

[pjclinch]

If i decided to change a tent to DAC poles do you know a good source?

Am not doubting their quality at all but assume that they can still SOMETIMES give up the ghost. Do you carry a spare section or two?

If not are you confident of easily finding spares on tour? This slightly concerns me as i have the impression that many are not the common, and admitedly often wobbly, 8.5 mil poles.

The first people I'd call are Scottish Mountain Gear, because they're a repair agent for several major brands and I've had them do work on various things in the past and been pleased with the service.

Hilles come with a spare pole section and a repair sleeve as standard, so I just take those. Never have had a spare with the Spacepacker, which considering some of the places its been over the years was not necessarily sensible, but thankfully never needed a field repair (I have destroyed a pole un-bending one that had suffered a bit in a gale when I got back home, too much pressure and put a crease in a section, d'oh!)

Lots of Nice Things are said about Easton Poles too, though no experience myself.

Pete.

[pjclinch]

back in the day (as da youf are fond of saying) lightweight (right up until the mid 80s) meant sectional bamboo poles that were fun. worked though and flishing rods are still made out of it. I have seen people refit fibreglass poles in home made bamboo to lighten a cheaper tent up a bit. easy to do with a belt sander and 10mm pipe to make the sockets out of. making a comeback too as NEMO are looking at using bamboo as part of making tents easy to recycle.

we have bamboo bike frames after all.

The main issue with wood and bamboo is consistent QA in mass production. It shouldn't be too hard making up a reliable set of bamboo poles, or a reliable bike frame or canoe/kayak/dinghy hull, but doing 100 odd to the exact same standard would be very hard.

Fibreglass poles appear to be generally dreadful though, and best avoided. Carbon seems to be one for the weight weenies at the expense of a bit of reliability and strength: unlike a bike frame you can't arbitrarily make it a bigger section.

Pete.