Tarp Pole Recommendations?

Tarp tent and others sell .490 Easton aluminum poles for such use. They come in 18″ lengths

Can make your own with pieces from

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

Several BPLers (Hi Bob) have shown off their MYOG CF trekking poles, and discussed how easy it is to find high quality CF tubing on eBay in pretty much any size you want. Given the success of those projects, I’d have to seriously consider assembling my own. I like the idea of having complete control over diameter, section/total length, etc,

Also check out:

http://tentpoletechnologies.com/

NFI – just a satisfied repeat customer over the years.

The 0.490 Al poles might be overkill for a tarp – you could go with something lighter.

I use a single 0.490 Al pole for my silnylon 2-person mid; been in some serious wind and in snow – held up just fine.

Thanks for the info. I wondered about diameter. I want to use the poles with a 8×10 tarp which I think would call for a fairly stiff pole. I’m very used to aluminium poles in dome tents that are always bent and under tension as well a captured by clips PR sleeves. I make have some skinny AL poles, but assumed they would be “noodley” used as a straight vertical column. I’m thinking 45″-48″ long so I could use one with my Gatewood too.

The .49 Tarptent poles are available in 45″ and 48″.

https://www.tarptent.com/store/vertical-support-pole

BPL isn’t letting me do hyperlinks, so here is a good source for CF tubes:

http://stores.ebay.com/HaoZhong-Carbon-Fiber-Tube/_i.html?_nkw=11+9

Roll yer own! :^)

I purchased 2 of the 45″ Tarptent Substitute Front Poles for use with my Duplex on those trips where I didn’t need/want trekking poles…seduced primarily by the low weight and ridiculously low price. They work ok, but are pretty “noodley” and if the ground is even remotely soft you have to find a rock/shell/chunk of bark to tuck under the tip or they disappear into the ground. I’d be less that confident in them in a strong wind and/or storm. They’d probably be great in a shorter length say, 30″ or less, but I would not buy them again for my intended purpose.

I use a cheap rifle monopod that I sawed the ears off of. It collapses to 21.5″, extends to 61″ (though I don’t usually put it up that high because the last segment is a little wobbly. It weighed about 225 g before I cut the ears off.

It was like this one:

Good resources and advice from all.

That rifle bipod idea give me an idea. I see broken tripods in thrift stores all the time. I might find one with the right legs and remove them. If I were backpacking and hauling a tripod anyway, I just need one with removeable legs. Hmmmm….. (makes mark on chest at 45″)

With mids I want a sturdy CF pole and currently am using Ruta Locura .600″ Carbon Fiber Tent Poles, which are cheap, but work perfectly will almost no deflection even when using a TrailStar in brutal winds.

Scroll down to about the middle of this article and I have dimensions and weights with some descriptions on how I use them.

Dale, what kind of shelter(s) do you seek poles for? The length you need is a big factor in what diameter poles you will need. I did a MYOG post on making your own poles, with three 17.5″ sections assembling into a 48″ pole, but you could use the same techniques to make your own poles of whatever length you need: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/how-to-make-cheap-light-cf-tarp-poles-if-you-dont-use-trekking-poles/

I have several shelters that I could use them for, but primarily an 8×10 tarp. I have a Gatewood Cape and an MSR Missing Link as well. If I am hiking I have rekking poes 100% of the time, but on the bike I could use the trekking  poles, but it seems to be a waste to haul 16oz of poles with any UL shelter. The Gatewood uses a 45″ pole, so I would probably aim there.

I have made a nesting 45″ pole from sections of carbon golf club shafts that isn’t too bad, but I thought I would get the state of the art opinions here since I haven’t really needed dedicated poles and didn’t pay much attention to current products. I’m probably going to go with ready-made aluminum poles for lower cost and ease of purchase.

Good job on your DIY poles!