CRACK! We all know that heart sinking sound when a pole snaps. After a pole breaks, the structure of your tent is automatically compromised making the rest of your camping trip or your upcoming trip a bit tricky. While there is not an easy way to completely repair your tent pole at home, there are quick fixes that can splint the pole and get you through the rest of your trip. Even if your pole is just bent or cracked, it is important to still reinforce that weakened area. Upon returning home, you can then send your pole in for a complete repair at either our repair facility or your local repair center.  If you are in a hurry and in need of a more immediate solution, read on! 

 

Using a Tent Stake as a Splint

If you are caught out in the wild and do not happen to have a repair sleeve on hand, do not worry, you still can splint your pole! 

Materials:

  1. Duct Tape or any other sticky and durable tape
  2. Tent stake

Instructions: 

  1. If the pole is just bent, try your best to straighten out the bend
  2. If the pole is broken, attempt to line up the two broken parts so they are as flush as possible
  3. Align the center of the tent stake with the center of the brake
  4. Wrap the stake and pole tightly with tape, making sure the stake is securely affixed to the pole

 

Using a Pole Splint

Some new tents come with handy-dandy tent pole sleeves that are essentially shorter, hollow tubes of metal that can slide over your pole and reinforce broken/compromised sections. If your tent did not come with one of these, you can buy one at your local gear shop and carry it with you on your next trip. The best pole sleeves are slightly larger than your pole, therefore making it so the inner broken pole cannot move around too much. So, when looking for your repair sleeve, try to find one that has a diameter slightly larger than your pole.

Materials: 

  1. Tent pole repair sleeve
  2. Duct tape or any other sticky and durable tape

Instructions: 

  1. If the pole is just bent, try your best to straighten out the bend
  2. If the pole is broken, attempt to line up the two broken parts so they are as flush as possible
  3. Slide the repair sleeve over the pole until the center of the break is roughly aligned with the center of the sleeve
  4. Wrap the two ends of the pole sleeve with tape so as to secure it to the pole (be sure that the sleeve cannot shift or move around)