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Quest Outfitters Tent Poles for Pyramid Center Pole


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Home Forums Gear Forums Make Your Own Gear Quest Outfitters Tent Poles for Pyramid Center Pole

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  • #3424673
    Ben W
    Spectator

    @benw

    I need a pole for bikepacking with a maximum collapsed length of 18″ to fit under my top tube. (I’m not interested in hiking poles.) I have a couple of questions about building a center pole. Quest Outfitters has some great pricing (http://www.questoutfitters.com/tent_poles.htm) so it’s compelling to go with them.

    1) Does anyone know if the Easton Custom Carbon 6.3 (.346″ diameter) is strong enough for ~135cm height center pole in a pyramid shelter? I’ve read posts of people having carbon snap before, but it seems like the technology has improved quite a bit over the years now too. A lot of people seem to recommend a wider pole, but it’s unclear if that’s just because it’s an inferior fiber.

    2) It doesn’t look like Quest Outfitters doesn’t offer anything to make an adjustable pole. I’d like mine to adjust from ~125cm – ~135cm. I don’t have equipment to drill holes to make my own – does anyone know where an adjuster to fit these diameter poles might be purchased or other ideas to give me 4″ of adjustability? (I know Ruta Locura offers adjusters, but those look to be for different diameter poles.)

    Thanks!

    #3424845
    Jordo _99
    BPL Member

    @jordo_99

    Locale: Nebraska

    I made my own CF poles using the Quest Outfitter kits and had great results. Mine are 49″ but I also use two, so that probably changes the strength requires significantly.

    Realistically, I don’t think I’d trust a 1/3″ pole to hold up a mid in a really strong gust. It’s not that the CF isn’t strong but that those specific poles aren’t designed to handle stresses horizontally (strength vs bending is weaker than a wider pole). Where these poles shine are in situations where the stress is being applied through the pole (vertically, no bending).

    1) If you can guy out the mid really really well, so that all the pole has to do it hole up the center, then it will be fine…I can’t speak from experience as to how these work in a mid but I’d probably defer to the people who are suggesting a wider pole.

    2) You’re going to need to make “pole jacks” if you want these to be adjustable. Drilling holes in a 1/3″ wide pole is simply not going to work and will weaken them far too much. However, you can make a 125cm pole and then carry a few extra pieces (5cm, 10cm) to add onto the end to get the height closer to what you want.

    To do this, you would need to have the pole sections “loosely stored”. What I mean by that is that you won’t be able to have the pole and tips held together via shockcord. Instead you’d have all the pieces stored in a bag and then you just assemble it each time. It’s not hard to work with but you could lose a pole tip this way if you’re not careful.

    If you need smaller adjustments than 5cm then this may not be the material for you.

    ————————————–

    Overall, my suggestion is to go with a wider pole and not have to worry about all of this. If you want a MYOG pole, you can reference the Ruta Locura extender dimensions (ID and OD = inner/outer diameter) to make sure they will match up.

    #3424873
    Ben W
    Spectator

    @benw

    Thanks so much for the advice! I think I’ll bite the bullet and order the .600 CF from Ruta Locura with an adjuster.

    #3424925
    Nick Smolinske
    BPL Member

    @smo

    Locale: Rogue Panda Designs

    I think the pole from Ruta Locura is the way to go as well.  They are really, really nice.  The adjuster is a great design too.

    On another note, if anyone reads this thread and wants a heavier duty pole for a larger mid, PM me – I’ve got three sections of 3/4″ aluminum from Quest (26″ sections.   I’ll give them away for the cost of shipping.  The length put together is 78 inches and the weight is 11 oz total.

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