Types of Tent Poles
A tent’s fabric may keep you shielded from the
elements, but it is the tent framework that keeps it standing firm, lest a
heavy downpour or a strong wind collapse your durable polyester tent walls
upon your reclining body. The
sturdiness of a tent’s structure is dependent on the quality of its tent
poles, which used to be painstakingly assembled to make the tent’s skeleton,
making tent pitching a rather cumbersome exercise that was particularly
difficult to do in adverse conditions.
The tent poles of modern tent designs have eschewed this problem
quite effectively, by being crafted as segments that interlock together
easily, and come with pieces of elastic that are further reinforce the
combined poles. They are also
either color-coded or linked further with cords or chains to further
simplify re-attachment. The tent
poles are then attached to the tent itself via pole sleeves, to expedite
setup, clipped to the tent for added strength, or through a combination of
both.
Steel
The strongest of all tent pole materials, these are
typically used for larger tent structures, as they are quite heavy, which
makes them difficult to transport but invulnerable to all but the harshest
weather conditions.
Conventionally used in rigid pole tent designs for expedition use, these are
rarely seen in casual camping tents.
They are susceptible to rusting, however, making them hard to
maintain.
Aluminum
Aluminum poles are perhaps the most common and popular
of all tent pole materials, and are found most often in flexible tent
designs, which form the vast majority of all but the most heavy-duty camping
tents. Aluminum is excellent for
being relatively lightweight but appreciably strong, and is also resistant
to cold temperatures, retaining its flexibility even when it is freezing.
If subjected to excessive pressure, they are more likely to bend than
break, and when they do break, will snap cleanly in two, making them easier
to repair eventually, though not as easy to patch up in an emergency.
Their one downside is the fact that they corrode, like steel, so they
are often anodized to resist corrosion.
Fiberglass
A cheaper alternative to aluminum, fiberglass also does
not corrode, and performs adequately under less taxing tent pitching
conditions. When it breaks, it
tends to shatter or splinter, which makes it useless to repair damaged
fiberglass beams – you’re better off simply replacing broken fiberglass
poles with new ones, which can be cut to accommodate your tent’s dimensions.
Another weakness of fiberglass is its poor resistance to temperature
extremes, as many a particularly hot or cold day has ruined a fiberglass
tent. Lastly, since fiberglass
needs to be thicker to match the sturdiness required of tent poles, it tends
to be heavier than aluminum, and consequently, that much harder to
transport.
Carbon Fiber
Commonly used in the manufacture of fishing rods,
carbon fiber is strong, lightweight and resistant to snapping, but it is
also terrifically expensive, and is thus currently only found in more
costly, sophisticated tents, such as those taken for long backpacking trips
or expeditions. It is fast
gaining popularity as a pole material of choice, though its steep price
presently limits its viability for tents of lower quality.
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