Tent pole

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Tent pole

Postby rustyjus » Fri 29 Jan, 2021 11:11 am

Hi everybody!

I have a hexamid solo I want to use that requires a 121 cm tent pole to erect.

I have a walking sticks but I want I don’t want to take them with me and zpacks sell a tent pole also but I don’t want pay for the shipping.

Can anyone recommend the lightest and strongest option available here in oz... I’m happy to cut to size etc.

Thanks
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Petew » Fri 29 Jan, 2021 11:49 am

I got a longer pair of these from NZ, pretty good

https://www.intentsoutdoors.co.nz/colle ... t-pole-80g

Otherwise the zpacks ones are good, just have to pay 20 USD for shipping.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby rustyjus » Mon 01 Feb, 2021 3:48 pm

Thanks Pete!
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Thu 04 Feb, 2021 10:43 pm

I have just ordered, a couple of days ago, this 5-section carbon fibre pole:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32918962406.html

125cm long and each segment is only 28cm, which is what I want to be able to pack it horizontally in my bag. Weight is 83g.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes to arrive.

Oh, and I also ordered a couple of tents, with which to use the pole:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32965633475.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000910246238.html

...I thought, these are so cheap, why not get both? So I did.

Quite impressed that they are light-weight silnylon and apparently also seam sealed.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Thu 04 Feb, 2021 10:48 pm

Oh, and that tarp tent. If you look at the link, it says 400g, but I found out elsewhere that includes the stakes and cord. The tarp itself is 308g.

I got that weight info from here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Zt_Efd8YE

Sorry for taking this thread Off Topic!
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Thu 11 Feb, 2021 11:03 pm

I was astounded how quickly they got here. Only took 9 days, Aliexpress Standard Postage, from China to me in Perth WA. One tent and the pole arrived yesterday, the other tent arrived today.

I weighed everything, the carbon fibre pole is actually 92g.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Bill P » Fri 12 Feb, 2021 8:38 pm

Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Fri 12 Feb, 2021 11:42 pm

Bill P wrote:Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

Bill


Planning to test the new gear soon, just a quick overnighter, maybe next weekend 20-21 Feb. Will report back.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Sun 21 Feb, 2021 8:36 pm

BarryK wrote:
Bill P wrote:Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

Bill


Planning to test the new gear soon, just a quick overnighter, maybe next weekend 20-21 Feb. Will report back.


Just got back from an overnighter. Took one of those cheap tents that purchased from Aliexpress, and the carbon fibre pole.

My report on the pole is that it is really nice, well, it is just a pole, not much to say. Here it is, just 92g:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32918962406.html

However, as a replacement for a trekking pole, to hold up the tent, oh dear, see attached photo:
hike-feb2021-2x.jpg
hike-feb2021-2x.jpg (68.12 KiB) Viewed 30498 times


The fly is much too high. I did not realise this problem would occur, as quoting from Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32965633475.html

Adjust your walking stick to about 125cm support the tent.


The carbon fibre pole is 1254mm, so pretty much spot on, I thought.

The inner tent has a buckle to adjust to fit any length pole, so that was no problem. However, the fly is then way to high. Good for breezes in summer!

The other tent I bought, a tarp tent with inner mesh bivy tent, only AU$69, should, I think, be OK with the 1.254cm pole:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000910246238.html

So, a big lesson for me. I will have to use an adjustable trekking pole with the first tent.
But I have really gone off that first tent, it needed 12 stakes minimum -- God, 12 stakes!
Will test the tarp tent next, looking like a much better proposition.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Franco » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 8:17 am

Yes that page does say " adjust your walking stick to about 125cm" but the given dimensions for that tent, including in the diagram, the height is 110 cm.
looking at your photo I am guessing that the pole you have is about 15cm longer than it should be.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Nuts » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 8:40 am

Always liked that hex style tipi. Looks like they have down-sized in this version as the Hex/ Shangri-La needed a walking pole + extender. You may find this one a bit cramped at 110cm? (edit: I may be confused on which one is in the image)

Just one point for the OP being that roll wrapped CF is apparently a fair bit stronger tube variant, for when it's flexed.
These guys will make sure that the sleeve bit mates with the chosen pole lengths if you ask them: http://www.carbonfiber.com.au/category5_1.htm. (they are easy to DIY).

It probably wont matter much of the time but I was a bit shocked at the stress on this style shelter pole when it snowed. A light aluminium pole was bumped and immediately folded (which led to making some wider CF poles)
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 9:14 am

Nuts wrote:Always liked that hex style tipi. Looks like they have down-sized in this version as the Hex/ Shangri-La needed a walking pole + extender. You may find this one a bit cramped at 110cm?


I am 5' 10" and a thin frame, and anyone taller or wider would not like that tent, it was barely adequate for me. This is my first time using a tipi-style tent, and I didn't like how it closed-in so much when I sat up, so yeah, the tent height was barely adequate for someone my height. Also, the length was just adequate, the sleeping bag is likely to be pressing against the mesh at the ends if you are taller than me.

I own a Nemo Hornet 2P, purchased in 2016 for $510, only 1.0kg including stakes, and SO much more room. Considerably less stakes required! -- well, it will stand up without any stakes.

So compared with the Nemo, the cheapy from Aliexpress does not bring any advantages, only disadvantages. The Nemo pole is longer when folded, the only disadvantage.

Will test the tarp tent with carbon fibre pole next.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 10:37 am

I posted a report on the overnighter test of the cheap Aricxi tent and the carbon fibre pole, carrying everything in my Mountainsmith Daylight lumbar pack:

https://bkhome.org/news/202102/waist-pa ... -2021.html
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Franco » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 11:48 am

"Always liked that hex style tipi. Looks like they have down-sized in this version as the Hex/ Shangri-La needed a walking pole + extender. You may find this one a bit cramped at 110cm? (edit: I may be confused on which one is in the image)'

No wonder you are confused . Barry has several times mentioned tipi /tipi style (hence the Hex comes to mind) but the tent he is talking about here is this one
Aricxi tent.jpg
Aricxi tent.jpg (272.41 KiB) Viewed 30403 times

a 1 person shelter, a cross between a tipi and a bivvy tent style
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Dexter » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 11:54 am

Bill P wrote:Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

Bill



I'm also looking for a couple of support poles for my Tarptent Stratospire Li. TT sell them for about $16 each plus shipping. Seems to be good value compared to other options, even if the shipping costs as much as the poles.
I think 125cm would be a touch too tall for my tent. They have a few sizes, but 122cm is sold for mine.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Nuts » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 12:17 pm

Franco wrote:No wonder you are confused . Barry has several times mentioned tipi /tipi style (hence the Hex comes to mind) but the tent he is talking about here is this one
Aricxi tent.jpg

a 1 person shelter, a cross between a tipi and a bivvy tent style


Barry did link his choices (to be fair :) ).
I think I was projecting my own preferences as I found a 'Hex' tipi from his link (and his pitched image does look very much like a 'hex'):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3304749 ... web201603_
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Lamont » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 1:22 pm

Dexter wrote:
Bill P wrote:Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

Bill



I'm also looking for a couple of support poles for my Tarptent Stratospire Li. TT sell them for about $16 each plus shipping. Seems to be good value compared to other options, even if the shipping costs as much as the poles.
I think 125cm would be a touch too tall for my tent. They have a few sizes, but 122cm is sold for mine.

Might be a good idea to get them a wee bit too long. Unless the maker such as Tarptent who know their stuff says get that length.
You can cut them if you want a couple of centimetres lopped off. Just maybe watch a youtube vid to ensure you do it properly and safely.
Just a word of caution -use them a few times before you cut them and are sure you need to. You can put them on an angle to make them 'shorter' but I find if they are on too great an angle leads this leads to loss of stability and strength of pitch.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 10:33 pm

Franco wrote:"Always liked that hex style tipi. Looks like they have down-sized in this version as the Hex/ Shangri-La needed a walking pole + extender. You may find this one a bit cramped at 110cm? (edit: I may be confused on which one is in the image)'

No wonder you are confused . Barry has several times mentioned tipi /tipi style (hence the Hex comes to mind) but the tent he is talking about here is this one
Aricxi tent.jpg

a 1 person shelter, a cross between a tipi and a bivvy tent style


I didn't know how else to refer to that style. Sometimes I called it a tipi-style, sometimes a pyramid. Anyway, yeah, I did link to it, so you can see what it looks like.

Regarding cutting the pole, very nervous about attempting that. Anyway, won't bother, as reckon it will go well with the tarp tent (fingers crossed). Better post a pic of that one:
Image

It looks like can easily be adjusted in "closed" mode, sides right down to the ground, but will have to test to find out, with the fixed-length CF pole.

Saturday evening at Ball Creek shelter, I looked around, and there are a lot of conveniently-spaced trees, reckon could tie up that tarp without any poles. That's got to be on my to-do list also.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Mon 22 Feb, 2021 10:48 pm

This guy has posted some photos, with the tarp tent 130cm high:

Image

...sorry that the image is so big. The img tag on this forum does not accept "width=" or "height=" parameters. Most of the image has been cutoff. Here is the URL:

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/Ubb355edae5de4237ac978c7bc3b123e8W.jpg

Note, those sides that are off the ground, they can be staked closer-in, and also there are two loops on the top protruding section of tent, that can be tied together for when want the closed setup.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Franco » Tue 23 Feb, 2021 7:06 am

smaller-size.jpg
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Dexter » Tue 23 Feb, 2021 12:32 pm

Lamont wrote:
Dexter wrote:
Bill P wrote:Hi Barry,

Interested to hear what you think of the pole. I need a couple like that.

Some reviewers say there was some glue squeeze out that they had to clean up- but thats no big deal.

Bill



I'm also looking for a couple of support poles for my Tarptent Stratospire Li. TT sell them for about $16 each plus shipping. Seems to be good value compared to other options, even if the shipping costs as much as the poles.
I think 125cm would be a touch too tall for my tent. They have a few sizes, but 122cm is sold for mine.

Might be a good idea to get them a wee bit too long. Unless the maker such as Tarptent who know their stuff says get that length.
You can cut them if you want a couple of centimetres lopped off. Just maybe watch a youtube vid to ensure you do it properly and safely.
Just a word of caution -use them a few times before you cut them and are sure you need to. You can put them on an angle to make them 'shorter' but I find if they are on too great an angle leads this leads to loss of stability and strength of pitch.


Yeah Tarptent say 122cm for my tent... Angled could well work being that it's only a few extra cm.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Wed 03 Mar, 2021 7:59 pm

I reported above about the 125cm carbon fibre pole being too long for the cheap tents. All purchased from Aliexpress.

I don't want to cut the pole, it is such a beautiful thing. Instead, have bought another, 114cm (45 inches) long, from Backpacking Light in Melbourne:

https://www.backpackinglight.com.au/six ... -pole.html

Only weighs 60g. Five segments and folds to just 28cm, so will fit horizontally in my pack.

Plan to use this on upcoming test of the cheap tarp tent from Aliexpress (see photo above). If you like to watch YouTube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Zt_Efd8YE
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Dexter » Fri 05 Mar, 2021 8:52 am

BarryK wrote:I reported above about the 125cm carbon fibre pole being too long for the cheap tents.


Did you buy just the one of the 125cm pole? If you have two and wanted to move them on, I'd be interested in buying them.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Fri 05 Mar, 2021 11:25 pm

Dexter wrote:
BarryK wrote:I reported above about the 125cm carbon fibre pole being too long for the cheap tents.


Did you buy just the one of the 125cm pole? If you have two and wanted to move them on, I'd be interested in buying them.


No, I only bought one.

I will keep it, in case want a longer one sometime in the future.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Gold Coast » Mon 08 Mar, 2021 2:00 pm

Barry, when using the Aliexpress tarp tent, do you think you will need a wider pole dome cap to spread the forces on the tarp.
I'm guessing you will use the SMD pole upside down, with the tip in the ground, but the cap on the other end isn't very wide.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Mon 08 Mar, 2021 8:25 pm

Gold Coast wrote:Barry, when using the Aliexpress tarp tent, do you think you will need a wider pole dome cap to spread the forces on the tarp.
I'm guessing you will use the SMD pole upside down, with the tip in the ground, but the cap on the other end isn't very wide.


The SMD pole arrived today, and I posted first impressions to my blog:

https://bkhome.org/news/202103/two-cf-s ... pared.html

Admit to being scared about the need to flex it, because of the joins.

And yes, that SMD thin top-cap could be a problem. The Aliexpress top-cap was OK.

I intend to test both with the tarp. It might turn out that the 125cm pole from Aliexpress will be OK, not too high, especially if I can get it to sink into the ground a bit.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby Gold Coast » Tue 09 Mar, 2021 10:24 am

The best pole height might come down to if it rains or not.
With the taller pole, when you stake the sides of the tarp to ground level the floor plan becomes quite narrow, but you retain head height in the middle.
And you may need to have a certain height if you are hanging a bivvy net.

With the shorter pole, you get a wider floor plan, but lower head room.

If the soil is easy to dig, then making a hole to let the tall pole sink to the right height, allows you to take just one pole.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby BarryK » Sat 13 Mar, 2021 10:07 pm

Gold Coast wrote:If the soil is easy to dig, then making a hole to let the tall pole sink to the right height, allows you to take just one pole.


Yes, that is my conclusion also. I have a titanium poo trowel, so can dig a hole if required, and in sand the pole is going to sink down anyway.

I have done a basic setup test in my backyard, and tried both poles:

https://bkhome.org/news/202103/aricxi-t ... -test.html

...the photo is with the 114cm pole, erected on a hard paved surface, so that is a good height for the "closed" mode.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby rustyjus » Sun 21 Mar, 2021 8:34 am

Well, I ended up getting the Zpacks tent pole because it was the right length and the cost want much diffenent once I added a few extra sundries to the order that I needed.

Im quite impressed with pole itself..It folds up really small into 5 sections, it is super light and seems just sturdy enough for the application.

One thing to note, Zpacks has a lead time of 2-3 weeks on their accessories which I missed reading before ordering. So I was left anxiously waiting before my last overnighter.
Last edited by rustyjus on Sun 21 Mar, 2021 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tent pole

Postby rustyjus » Sun 21 Mar, 2021 8:39 am

IMG_6165.jpg
Zpacks tent pole w mini swiss army
IMG_6165.jpg (44.84 KiB) Viewed 28932 times
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