Lightweight, adjustable tarp poles…

Sorry for the commercial response, but we have lightweight strong poles that can be configured to that length. We do not have the trekking pole type end.

One option you might consider rather than fabricating an end is to make a little pole pouch to connect to the grommet.

Thanks for the help. I'll take a look.

Any other ideas out there?

I had these guys make me some poles once: http://www.polesforyou.com/

It is the place Henry Shires links on his build your own tarptent instructions. I was satisfied with the cost and quality I got.

Hmm…that looks more like tent poles that a straight, adjustable length tarp pole. But, thanks anyway.

Titanium Goat makes custom tarp poles; I had one of them made for my pyramid (before I realized that Seek Outside offers a lighter one).

IIRC AppyTrails and BearPaw also make custom poles, both straight and curved.

If you want value for cost, consider the telescoping aluminum tube golf ball retrievers that I have seen in Kmarts. They extend longer than you want; but you can easily remove the smaller diameter sections at one end, or the larger diameter at the other, depending on how much strength you want.

The shortened assembly will be quite light. The price at Kmart was $12, and the twist locks functioned surprisingly well for such a low cost item. Wanderlust Gear used to recommend these for its Nomad tents for folks not using hiking poles.

For a grommet worthy pole end, try installing some tent pole tips. The plastic ones used by TarpTent are probably the lightest around, and don't wear down the grommets.