Serious question, has anyone else had a tent pole snap in cold weather?

I was up near Lake Tahoe last weekend, and it got down to about 28 degrees at night. I was setting up my 3-person dome tent, and one of the main fiberglass poles just cracked clean through when I was bending it into the grommet. I had to use some duct tape and a spare section of a broken trekking pole to rig a splint for the night. It held, but it was a real pain. Is this just a thing with older tents, or should I expect better from a pole that's only a few years old?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_taylor212mo ago

Had the same thing happen with an old Coleman in similar temps. Fiberglass gets brittle when it's cold. Your field fix was solid, duct tape is a lifesaver. I keep a few aluminum repair sleeves in my kit now for that exact reason. They're cheap and slide right over the break.

the_lisa2mo ago

Know exactly what you mean about that cold making fiberglass just snap. Had a pole on my old tent give up in the middle of the night once, sounded like a gunshot. Duct tape got me through till morning, but it's never quite the same after. Those aluminum sleeves are a smart upgrade, honestly. Saves you from that sinking feeling when you hear that crack.

violar352mo ago

Nah, duct tape's a messy fix that never holds right. Honestly just buy a better tent instead of patching junk.