Homemade light-weight tent pole. Any ideas?

Thats really light and you can customize the length and ends.

You can take an aluminum arrow and slide a carbon arrow inside of it. EXTREMELY strong and UL. Use arrow inserts and threaded rod to attach the the sections together to desired length. You can also go through quest outdoor fabrics and they sell carbon, aluminum, and different inserts.

http://www.questoutfitters.com/tent_poles.htm#TENT%20POLES

I made a 5 section 54" Easton .344 pole for my home made tent. With shock cord and ends it only weighs 2.5 oz. I need to be careful setting it up because the pole flexes easily. I don't think it would do well in wind. If I had to do it again I would probably look for larger diameter carbon tubing.

The lightest option is a carbon one from Fibraplex (8 grains/inch). You can custom make one at their site to fit your needs.

Next lightest would be an Easton Nanolight pole which you can order from QuestOutfitters. I think that's about 13 grains/inch. Quest has other options too if you want something heavier. Most lightweight poles (ie. DAC Featherlight) are around 17-20 grains/inch.

Oh, Easton Carbon FX poles are 11-12 grains per inch and quite a bit stiffer than the Fibraplex.com ones, but I don't know of anywhere you can order them in small qtys.

I use .334 alu sections. The stresses on a tent pole are greatest in the center section because of leverage applied at ends, so try to use an odd number in making up the length you need, avoiding joints at center point. I also insert a carbon fiber section in the center section as this really stiffens up the pole. Use 1/16 inch bungee cord from a fabric store. Using longer fewer sections also reduces the number of ferrules (joints) for weight savings. (.344 ferrules weight .051 oz ea.)

I need to modify some Fibraplex poles.

I have a set of Fibraplex poles that I use with my SpinnShelter, and I've used them several times in a couple of years. Each pole very blunt plastic end caps.

Over this past weekend, I was camped out in Yosemite and got snowed on. Between the weight of the snow on the shelter and the wind blowing, the bottom of one Fibraplex kicked out, so the foot of the shelter collapsed on me despite all of the guying. So, I had to get up at 3 a.m. to tighten everything up again.

I'm thinking about putting some kind of a dull spike (finishing nail?) on one end to stick better in soil. Then I am thinking about putting something similar and fatter at the top end to poke into the grommet hole. I could fasten the nails to the Fibraplex using some steel wire covered by plastic tape.

Has anybody else had to do this?

–B.G.–

If you can remove your existing tips, you could replace them with the 'point tips' from Fibraplex:
http://www.fibraplex.com/ProductPages/Pointed_tips.htm

Or you for an even bigger point you could replace your tips with the locking tips and then file down the locking tip that contacts the ground so it's a nice 1.5" long point. This might not work though if these are hollow.
http://www.fibraplex.com/ProductPages/Locking-tips.htm

I think I need something as long as a locking tip, but much more pointy. I envisioned a solid finishing nail sticking out about 3/4".

–B.G.–

Get someone to machine up replacement nylon tip inserts exactly how you want them. Rounded ends advised!

Cheers

The very end needs to be smooth so as not to abrade anything in my pack. A finishing nail coated in epoxy is my current thought. Besides, this is MYOG, not farm it out to a shop.

–B.G.–

Why not use a locking tip and file it down as pointy as you wish? This seems a lot stronger than epoxying a nail to the end of your pole.

Dan, I don't have any locking tip to cut down. Also, I had no intention of epoxying the nail to the end of the pole. As I stated, I intended to coat the nail head with epoxy and to fasten it to the pole with wire. Thin steel wire is strong.

–B.G.–

If you're not in a hurry, the locking tips are $2 ea from Fibraplex, but if you're confident that the nails will be strong enough then you may as well do that since it's quicker and cheaper.

Appreciated.

We have been working on something for 6 months now to give you and adjustable height pole that adds less then 4 oz. weight at a 72" or less height. Larger diameter as well to keep it pretty strong yet super light. Hope to post some more info soon!
Sorry to be so vague but I just wanted to let you know this has been in the works for a while.

Kevin,
Are you planning on selling these?

Thanks
Dan

I'm maknig them for a company that will be selling them. They are going to be very light and should work great! I think they will be well received!

Kevin,

I believe that I am using a prototype of this pole that you gave me, if so I can attest to the fact that it is working well and I think will be popular. The adjustment mechanism may need some tweaking for long term durability, but every time I use it I am amazed at how light it is. It is comforting to know that I will be able to get more if the need arises.

Scott

I use a couple of 47" carbon golf club shafts for my GG 'One'. They weigh just over 2oz each. They are tall enough to use as trekking poles if needed.

For my Golite Hut 1 I use 3 sections I cut down from 3 39" shafts, Two join for the front pole, giving me 41" or 43" height depending which way I join them.

For my Golite Hex 3 I join all three together.

Scott,
Great news that they are working well. I have "tweaked" the design slightly from what you might be testing to make them slightly stronger in some key areas. New tooling should be delivered in a week or two to make more "test samples". I'm sure you know how much testing goes into these products so they won't be released until the big GUY says they are ready!

Since I also design and make golf shafts I can tell you that you can probably get by using them BUT these are designed completely different in several key areas that make these better for their intended application. Golf shafts have huge amounts of torque applied to the shaft during the swing and impact so they are designed with plies running in a direction to reduce the torque. Much less is needed in a tent or hiking pole and the plies are used in different shapes and patterns to give you much more strength and stiffness. Also, a golf shaft is designed for a taper from the butt (.600" average) to the .335" or .370" tip section to accommodate a golf head and not a hiking pole tip. If you grind this down to be used with a tip for a hiking pole you are left with a VERY thin cross section of fibers. We have revised the tip section of a hiking pole a dramatically compared to a golf shaft and use a very special grinding process. I'm all for do-it yourself projects and using golf shafts can work out o.k. but have limitations compared to hiking poles and tent poles that are strategically designed for this application.

Kevin I'm interested in one, where can I get one.

Thanks

I just got the new tooling in yesterday and plan on making some test samples this week. They have to be put through the ringer first and IF there aren't any problems they could be selling them in a few weeks maybe?? I will let everyone know as soon as they go up for sale. Gossamer Gear is the company that will be selling them. Grant at GG has a lot of great ideas and things he is working on!

Hi Kevin,
What is going to be the minimum and maximum dimension of the pole, assuming it will be adjustable?

Grant has come up with a great idea in being able to have lots of options on this adjustable pole. JUST GUESSING … I would say you can use different lengths and options to go as low as 22.5" up to maybe 74". These are just my rough estimates based on making the parts and Grant may decide to add or subtract pieces or revise the lengths to go shorter or longer.