Fixed the rattling – Locus Gear CP3 flick lock poles

I'm going to try this as soon as I get home. I really dislike the rattling. It really disturbs the serenity.

Hi J C

Good luck :-)

I've been using my poles with the fix for 14 days / 400km with no issues.

Cheers
Peter

I've done a similar thing to my Fizan poles. A wrap or two of thick clear tape does the trick. Some risk of it peeling back and jamming up the works, but that hasn't happened yet.

Well, I spoke too soon. I've had the tape on for quite a while with no problems, but when I got to the trailhead at Glacier NP a couple of weeks ago, the middle pole sections were solidly locked inside the upper sections. Completely immobilized. The poles were useless, which is a big deal when your shelter requires poles for setup. I was able to use someone else's poles for the entire trip, but it could have been a showstopper.

To separate the sections once I got them home, I machined down a steel expanding anchor to fit the inner diameter of the middle section, expanded that inside the pole with a layer of sandpaper for traction, locked the expander in a vise, and worked the outer section. The sections still wouldn't separate until I sprayed penetrating oil between them to loosen the tape adhesive, and even then I had to work the outer section back and forth for a few minutes. No more tape on my poles!

I had tape on the lower sections as well, but I remove these sections to reduce the overall length for transportation so I didn't have a problem there. The poles worked fine just a few weeks earlier in Japan, and I have no idea what led to the problem (both poles suffered the same fate). The tape on the lower sections seemed fine.

Be careful!

I warned you guys about putting tape or anything sticky inside those poles!
Just asking for trouble.

Look to my previous posts regarding layers of clear fingernail polish instead of tape… and, if you have them, substituting aluminum pole lower sections… totally solves the problem without putting anything sticking inside.

billy

Yep, I'm sad to say this didn't work for me either. It sort of worked on one pole but the other one was too tight to slide in once the tape was there, and a thinner layer of tape did nothing to prevent the noise. I'm pretty disappointed, I feel like Locus Gear should really mention the rattle if they are going to claim it's a normal feature because it is a deal-breaker for me.