Tent Pole Repairs

[Lady McGuyver]

Hi all,
I’m currently doing some maintenance on my tents and I’ve found some of the elastic in the poles has stretched, perished and needs replacing. Does anyone have any hints on the right length of elastic to use, (in relation to the pole length) or a tried and true method perhaps? Say maybe two thirds of the overall length of the poles, or one third?
I had success with restringing one pole but then the second one ended up too tight. And you can’t cut it longer!!
I want to get the optimum tension to avoid the poles chafing through the elastic when they're folded up, but not too loose that strong winds will flex the poles apart when the tents up. Any thoughts?

[geoskid]

Hi Lady McGuyver,
I need to do the same thing with one of my Minaret poles. Perhaps, prior to cutting, attach one end properly, thread thru all the segments and put a bit of tension on the cord and put a small nail thru the cord, then try pulling the segments apart. Adjust tension until you are happy and then cut after allowing enough for tying off.
I hav'nt tried it yet, but should work. I think any sort of relationship between cord on the slack and complete length of
pole would have a few variables involved.
Hows the walking going?
Mark

[samh]

@ Lady McGuyver, just found this topic. Did you actually get any segments of your poles replaced or just the elastic, cause I need some replacement pole segments
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2591&p=25578#p25578

[Lady McGuyver]

I did restring the elastic in two of my tents’ poles and after a bit of fiddling about, I think the best tension was achieved by having the elastic about 2/3 of the length of the overall pole length. (too loose and the pole segments can flex apart, which is not good if you need to pick your tent up and readjust its position onsite)
The other handy thing I did which people might find useful (or not!) is I wiped a little bit of Silicone-spray (via a cloth) onto the inner pole joint sections, to remove grit and stop any joints from sticking. Surprising how grimy these bits get, especially after camping on sand!

Thanks Sam, yes I did need a replacement pole segment for my tent and I found one, after an enjoyable visit to all the local bushwalking stores! (And a fruitless search through online distributors!) Many shops have a spare parts/odds & ends box and I was just lucky they had a pole seg the length I needed. I was reluctant to trim the split end off the dud pole and re-use it, but now I have spare parts for the future..

Gotta love those variables Geoskid! The walking is going ok.( the spine is not ) but I won’t let that stop a walk. Can’t wait for the weather to warm up; start to crank up this years’ adventure plans..are u coming on the next BWT Stroll?