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Hi,

Anyone else suffered problems with poles on Coleman tents breaking ? 

We bought a Darwin 5 this year which has the durawrap design of pole.  We bought this hoping it might have some strength whilst being lighter than steel.  We've pitched it 5 times and had problems on 3 occasions.  Just returned from a 10 day trip and at least 2 poles have split down the middle.  The first time was probably our own fault in putting too much strain on the initial 'bend' of the main pole.  The following times have either been caused during pitching or in fairly strong winds.  This last trip we even had 4 adults aiding with the pitch, with one of us underneath the tent to give the poles some support.

Camperlands in Manchester have been excellent in repairing them there and then for us, but it's getting a pain having to take a trip to get them fixed.

Cheers,

Ian

Hello

I have had no problem with my coleman durawrap poles at all, and have been extremely pleased with them - as they have survived some pretty bad weather including the storms we have last May bank holiday.

I've found the poles to be strong and apart from using one of my toddlers to help start lifting the centre, say half a foot, my OH and I have no problem pushing up the tent with the poles.

I'd be interested to see what other reponses you have - to see if this is just bad luck

Its no biggy ,its perfectly normal for fibre glass poles to break ,its just part of camping!

Always carry a couple of spares ,some leastic and a threader :)

Hi

We have a Coleman Darwin 7 & we had the same problem with pitching the tent, pole split and the information you get with it is not very good any tips you can pass on would be a great help.

Thanks

Sean

I have an outwell sun valley 8 and have had some segments split a bit (usually 6 inches or so at one end)

So far I have just taped them up with a bit of cloth tape - and we have survived

Camping novice here. Used a very cheap dome tent [from Aldi] last year, and then bought a Coleman at the beginning of this year.

The fifth time we pitched it, a pole section has split.

Now I need some advice please. A post above talks about a threader. How exactly do I repair the pole please and insert the spare section into the centre of the pole?

And how do I avoid breaking them in the first place please? I'm pretty sure it broke when we were pitching the tent. The diagrams tell us where everything goes, but are no help in explaining how to 'bend' the poles and in which order.

Hiya Dry

You just need to snip the elastic holding the poles together ( at the end if you can ,then you can re-use the same elastic ,if you have to cut it in the middle you will need a new length of elastic ) Then just replace the broken secion with a pole of the same diameter and size ( at most camping stores ) then knot the elastic at the end .If you need to use a new piece of elastic ,dont cut it to size until you have threaded all pole then knot it at a point where it comfortable holds the poles together but isnt stretching too much then cut the excess off .

Snapping poles is just part of camping ,same as punctures when cycling

Thanks.

The Repair 'Kit' with the tent has got a spare pole section of the correct diameter. The 'kit' is really just spare parts with no advice for novices like me.

The end section is shaped to fit into a brass 'eye' on the tent body. I assume the knotted end is tied inside that. Do I just use pliers to remove it and fit it back on?

Sorry, lots of naive questions I am sure.

No worries ,I was asking the same question a fews ago ,no doubt you will be telling someone else in a few years to

First off ,your repair kit (im presuming its patches of all the different types of material for your tent ,plus glue ,plus a pole ? ),best to buy a cheap soap bag and put it in there and add some seam sealer ,some duct tape ( great for patching holes in groudsheets or mending a broken section of pole in an emergency and 100 other uses ) a couple of spare guy ropes and a few storm pegs ( from memory ,although im sure we have other stuff in there like puncture repair for airbeds ect )

Yep the knotted end is inside the metal end of the pole ,we found the only way was to cut after the first section and to replace the elastic too ,but I suppose if you have the patience you could try pliers ,but on some tents its difficult to get to

Spare pieces of pole are available in camping stores or online ,usually only a few quid for a pack of 4 ,you need to check the diameter as well as the length ( although some can be cut to length and the ferule readed ( metal end )

hth :).

Post last edited on 05/09/2007 19:30:01

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