Observations of Fibraplex Carbon fibre replacement poles for Hilleberg Soulo

I found that what is listed as having a ‘pre curved middle on short pole’ was actually as straight as an arrow!

Was that middle section in aluminium ?

Hi there Franco,

The Fibreplex poles are all Carbon Fibre and the Hilleberg ones are all Aluminium.

Lawrie

The reason I asked is because the pre-bent one has to be in aluminium…

Sorry buddy, I’m not following you? You mean that Carbon Fibre won’t bend or ‘pre curve’?? If so that would be a little strange for Fibreplex advertising as such….

Lawrie

no they don’t…

http://fibraplex.com/index.php/store/#!/Soulo-precurved-middle-on-short-pole/p/52825258

see the bottom of the page

Now I’m with ya.

Ok so the ones I have received have no curve and no aluminum. I guess I’ve been gibed eh?

Lawrie

Two observations:

**  The regular DAC Soulo poles look light enough although you don’t mention their weight versus the 10.6 oz weight of your carbon fiber poles.  Odd.  So how much of a weight difference is there?  And is this difference big enough to, in effect, appoint yourself an engineer on Hilleberg tents? (snicker snicker).

**  And Hilleberg designs the Soulo with their poles in mind, and not designed for the Fibraplex poles.  Does Hilleberg work with Fibraplex and endorse their usage??  If not (and doubtful they do), I’d go no where near these carbon poles.  Why?  Let’s say you’re on Day 5 of a winter trip in a blizzard with 50mph winds in an open bald.  You have 12 more days to go on your trip.  What if your “new” poles fail under duress, or rip thru the kerlon fly??

**  Finally, a good indication of this product is the company’s long delays (17 weeks?) and your unanswered emails.  Oh, and the necessary pre-bent curve they say is used is apparently missing, i.e. straight as an arrow.  I’d run screaming from ever using these poles on one of my Hillebergs. Just my opinion.

Sheeez,. harsh reality there…. but valid all the same. Thanks for the input Tipi. Perhaps on my 17 day winter hike I’d have road tested the CF poles prior…. or perhaps draw on two decades of world over BC experience and have a few tricks up my sleeve to avoid catastrophe. Here’s hoping anyways.

Lawrie

FYI Tipi, Weight difference on my scales:

Soulo Poles – 540g

Fibreplex Poles – 287g

Weight saving – 253g

Seeing how we are on a backpacking light forum, I figure its a worthy upgrade in weight saving. Consider it mentioned.

Lawrie

“Ok so the ones I have received have no curve and no aluminum. I guess I’ve been gibed eh?”
I would check with Fibraplex and see what they say.
I haven’t seen any pre or post bent CF poles so far but I do know that they need a wider radius than Al poles and that is why at Tarptent for the tighter radius poles we use a composite CF/Al pole for those that want lighter poles.
BTW, yes I can do this with a full CF pole :

(Easton FX, the type we use at TT)

but that is not the point.

More info HERE.

FTA….

In the field, durability was never a factor. I used these poles in a variety of settings over several months with no issues at all. This includes pitching the Lighthouse on the Emmons Glacier on a climb of Mount Rainier. During moderate winds with 30-40 mph gusts, I had no problems, except for a minor increase in tent deflection (lean). By effectively guying out the tent I was able to greatly reduce this tendency to lean in high winds. With reasonable usage, I would trust these poles in far more extreme conditions than those experienced on Rainier; with proper guying out of the tent and clearing of heavy snow loads, the Fibrapole 292 poles will hold up just fine.

Thanks again Franco, and great snap! Literally…lol! Perhaps the 13g difference between the claimed weight by Fibreplex and the actual weight of the poles I received would be the Aluminium section…. Sounds about right eh?

Lawrie

Yes, it does sound right.

Cheers Bob. Great info there for sure. I did browse that thread some time ago and it helped get me over the line before buying the Fibreplex poles. As fragile as they feel I reckon they will hold up just fine for my current purposes. However I am considering swapping out the centre pole for the Hilleberg pole after my experience pitching last week. In other words carrying two CF and one DAC as the standard set up. Still plenty light and removing the potential weakest point (middle curved pole). Best of both worlds I figure.

Lawrie

On this thread I quoted weights as measured on practicalbackpacking.com. The Soulo’s aluminium poles were recorded at 530g, or just shy of 18.7oz. I can see why it would be tempting to shed 230g /  8.1oz by swapping out the poles… and yet I think the Soulo would put the Fibraplex carbon fibre poles under enormous strain, more so than any other model they cater for. (Edit: I see you posted your actual weights while I was composing this message.)

Several years ago I bought a used Akto with a Fibraplex pole and corner struts. With most of the tension being at the ends, there was little difference in how stable the centre pole was vs the stock aluminium one. Of all the Hillebergs I’ve owned and tried, the Soulo pitches far more taut than any other. I suspect it is due to the geometry being downsized from the Allak, as opposed to designed built from the ground up. Each time I’ve pitched a Soulo, the tension of the flysheet has made it tricky to hook the last two clips over the poles at the very top. Once complete, you could bounce a coin off the fly. The Allak does not pitch like that, probably due to the longer pole span.

Yes, I’d be nervous how much strain the poles will be under. But seeing as you already have them, why not test them out in calm conditions? I think I’d take the aluminium short pole in your tent bag as an insurance policy. (Second edit: looks like you came to a similar conclusion, carrying two of the three CF and one aluminium).

Stuart makes some good points.  1) The Soulo puts its poles under enormous strain, probably most especially non-Hilleberg poles that are not pre-bent.  2)  Stuart says, ” . . . why not test them (the poles) out in calm conditions?”   I will counter:  Why not test them out in rough conditions??  It’s just a test, right?  Not much gained with a carbon fiber test in calm conditions.

Overriding all this is the initial flaw of the poles:  Arrow straight and not pre-bent.  If the Hilleberg poles are pre-bent and the others are not, well, that pretty much clinches it for me.

Thanks Stuart and Tipi.  You are totally correct regarding the tension on the Soulo poles. Those last two clips are a real pain at the end of a long day hiking and with cold fingers! As Franco points out I think that somehow Fibraplex has not sent me a full and complete set for the Soulo even though that is what I purchased. i.e.. a pre curved aluminium section that works with their CF pole sections to form their aforementioned pre curved middle pole. Perhaps if I had received that in the first instance I might not have posted this thread… or just posted to moan about the service.

So now,  I have emailed Linas from Fibraplex and reckon I have a 50% chance of a reply. I’ll give it 72 hours before making judgment. I foresee another long wait to rectify if they/he acknowledges the mistake. In the mean time I run with the ALU/CF hybrid configuration to be on the safe side.

Thanks,

Lawrie

NEWSFLASH: I received the following from Linas at Fibraplex:-

“We recently improved the design by reinforcing the two center-most joints rather than using a pre-curved aluminum center section, which was used to lower the stresses on these joints caused by the high curvature.”

So it appears that I have the new updated version. So why do I still feel a bit sceptical…

I guess that this is the reinforced bit shown below.

Lawrie

Thanks for the picture, Lawrence.  The reinforced section looks exactly like the tent repair sleeve I carry on my backpacking trips in case a pole snaps.

This pic from—

http://www.camptrails.eu/k/photocategories1

The Easton carbon poles referred to are relatively heavy, 12 gpi (grains per running inch). The Fibraplex poles are much lighter, and therefore offer a significant weight reduction from ALU alloy poles. They have been improved since the older page link from Franco, but do not compare in strength with poles fashioned from Gold Tip and Victory filament wound shafts. Tailoring carbon shafts to substitute for ALU alloy is a MYOG project. The MYOG forum is replete with detailed info about this. An inquiry to Editor Caffin may be helpful. The discussion last year in Pierre Descoteaux’s MYOG thread about his cuben tunnel tent may also be helpful.

Where the design calls for a prebent section, one may be fashioned from ALU alloy.
The Easton Nanolite shafts, only a little heavier than their carbon FX, fit nicely over the Gold Tip and Victory 300 shafts, but the prebending requires some finesse with Easton’s highly tempered alloy. That has also been covered recently on the MYOG forum. Using just one alloy section on one pole of a set, will not increase the weight very much.

For the most extreme conditions, best quality alloy poles are probably preferable, because even with their high temper, they will permanently bend a little before they break. The carbon poles will not. When they reach their breaking point, they will crack. But if you are looking to obtain a stronger carbon pole set, and are prepared to MYOG, you are welcome to PM me for detailed info, but PLEASE provide an email address for reply. Happy Trails.