Bushwalk Australia

A second broken tent pole within a few months has caused me to wonder whether DAC poles can suffer fatigue for any reason over time. I am always careful to not bang or throw them around when erecting or taking down my tent and always store them dry and clean and out of sunlight etc. This latest pole breakage was when removing a wet fly from the tent, no wind, no pressure so unsure exactly what caused the break at the end of a section. Any thoughts???

unsure exactly what caused the break at the end of a section
Most poles brake for the same reason : the insert (shiny male part) wasn't fully inserted into the next section when bent into shape.
This could have before and caused an hairline crack that came apart when you dismantled the tent.
If that is the case it will look somewhat like this :



the broken part is much wider in the last cm or so indicating that the pole insert was only in that section for a cm or so.
BTW, manufacturers call that "user error".

Franco, the below photo shows the break. Fracture is full length of joiner although it is wider in top. The poles were all still in place with nothing unclipped except the fly at the time. Because the fly was covering poles I did not see what happened underneath to cause the break but with no undue stress it has left me wondering what is going on with my poles. This is the second break within a few months with 5 years of usage prior never having a break.

Does the failure correspond to a guy-line point?
It does look like a stress related fracture and no pole is immune to those, I've had a few over the years
What size is the wand section/total wand length?

Moondog55 wrote:Does the failure correspond to a guy-line point?
It does look like a stress related fracture and no pole is immune to those, I've had a few over the years
What size is the wand section/total wand length?

This one was at the top of the dome. Last break was lower to ground. The wand sections are all 450mm in length.

Snowzone,
that is not a set up failure but most likely a manufacturing fault. Possibly the sleeve around the insert was too thin or damaged when manufactured .
I would check the other sections in that place to see if you can spot any signs of impending failure.
In the meantime I would carry a sleeve or two and some tape just in case.
If you don't have hubs in your tent, you can have poles made up (or do it yourself).
http://www.ansco.com.au/Easton-s/4565.htm

What is important is the tube size compared to total length, I've been reliably informed that the smaller the diameter the easier it is for the wand to bend to shape and 450mm section length is the reasonable compromise between strength and packability that most tent makers use.
Alloy poles do suffer from stress over time. I've lost a few poles with fractures like yours although none recently
I've a few spare sections here but I think they are all Easton and they're not compatible with DAC usually
That pole can be repaired with a sleeve but if Franco is right then check for a warranty replacement
EDIT
Out of interest what tent and which maker?

Thanks Franco and MD. It is a One Planet tent and I know they will repair it without an issue. Just an inconvenience and time issue for me. It is more my concern about it happening again and could be problematic if on a multi day walk. I will thoroughly check all of the sections now and will not be leaving home without a pole sleeve and tape.

At Tarptent we use Easton poles and I would love to tell you that they never brake but that would not be true.
All we can do is to minimise the risk and be ready if something does go wrong.