You’ve just arrived at your camp site, you’ve unloaded your tent and are joining your tent poles together to set up your shelter for the night. Suddenly one of your tent poles cracks or worse, breaks in half or splits down the middle lengthwise. Ouch.
A broken or split tent pole can put a damper on things; making your tent less sturdy and your mood out in the wilderness less than relaxed. The following will show you how to fix a broken tent pole in a pinch as well as how to actually save it for the long term and not have to throw it away.
These instructions come to us from GO Outdoors TV. Let’s break down their video into the short bites you need.
Fix Your Pole While Camping
Supplies:
- Gaffer Tape
- Camping knife or scissors
- Pliers
Step 1: Cut and Apply Gaffer’s Tape to Broken Pole
You’ll need gaffer tape for this; however, we believe duct tape will also do. Gaffer tape does have a stronger adhesive so it’s ideal if you have it.
Watch this segment to see how Ian repairs his split pole quickly so you can finish your camping trip.
Permanently Repair Your Tent Pole Segment
When you get back home, it’s time to fix your ailing tent pole for good. This will give you peace of mind the next time you go camping as things will be as good as new.
Supplies:
- New pole section
- New shock cord (may be optional)
- Pliers
- Hack saw
Step 1: Remove Inner Shock Cord from Poles
In this segment, Ian uses a trusty Leatherman pliers to grab and remove the shock cord.
Step 2: Cut Replacement Section to Size
Watch how Ian easily matches the new pole section size to his old one and cuts. Be sure to file the sharp edge down!
Step 3: Rethread the Poles
Use a replacement shock cord for this part. Ian says to buy a cord that is ideally longer than the total length of your tent poles put together. This ensures you have plenty of give when you pull on the cord to assemble and take down your tent.
Watch this segment to see how Ian ties a knot and uses a washer to make sure the end of the shock cord doesn’t pull through.
After you thread your new cord through all the tent pole segments, you simply lay them out in a line and pull your cord all the way through the pulls.
Tug tight and cut the excess at the opposite end from where you started. You’re done!