Do you carry a plastic pole repair sleeve?

I used to carry the standard short length of aluminum (maybe 3/8" o.d.)tubing splint that comes with pole sets. I did not, however, have it with me last summer when, for my first time ever, I had a pole snap. I scrounged around and found a tree branch that was slightly thicker than the pole and used some duct tape to splint the pole. I had to carry the poles outside my pack because of the length, but it worked fine for the rest of the trip. The pole that broke was carbon fiber and I replaced the pole set with aluminum poles. That's enough carbon fiber poles for me. The extra weight is about 3 ounces. Aluminum might bend but it probably wont break.

We have definitely had aluminum poles break, maybe 3 or 4 times over the last few years. Not in the middle, but rather a split beginning from the end of a section, where it goes over the insert from the next section. I think maybe it's caused by stressing the pole while the two sections are not fully joined. Maybe only once this has happened with a tent of ours, but other times with youth participants in our backpacking program (my volunteer gig with Camp Fire). I was glad to be carrying the little pole repair sleeve.

I've also been told (a long time ago) by an REI manager that if an aluminum pole takes a blow, it may not show damage but may be in greater danger of splitting at that point.