I was putting up my Licata3 tunnel tent in garden for grandchildren- horrors. On the middle length blue pole the elastic was broken. Do you buy a complete pole with elastic OR how do you rethread a pole?
------------- Cryptian
Life is not a rehearsal--It's the real thing !
You buy a pack of elastic shock cord , about a fiver in millets or any camping shop. it comes with a threader.
The threader is like a long thin wire you attach to the end of the elastic. it says to tape it on , but I couldnt get it thin enough to pass through the poles doing it this way.
I found it was easier to just singe the end of the elastic in a flame, and drop it down through the poles, holding the poles upright.
dont cut a length off before you start, just use it off the whole roll, then stretch to fit after threading it all through.
when you have threaded them all on, double check that you have got the metal ferrules all facing the same direction(so that they will all connect up properly)
guess who didn't do it right the first time ;)
tie a big knot in one end, pull the elastic so that there is a bit of tension and tie a knot in the other end. Five minute job .
You could just re thread and a tie a knot in the elastic that you have , if its not frayed much, as a temporary fix.
top tip from me, get a wee spring clamp and attach it to the end of the shock cord after you have threaded it and before you knot it as there is nothing worse than the thing going spring back into a pole section...
I fixed a corded pole a couple of weeks ago, shame as the tent is brand new but no big deal to fix. Halfords have a kit containing a stupid piece of wire and the elasticated cord for £5. I'm sure if you could get the cord on a roll it would be alot cheaper than a fiver though!
Don't worry about it too much, the elastic is only to keep the pole sections together when packed, it has no structural value when the tent is erected.
Quote: Originally posted by mantrachant on 05/6/2010
Does that mean you can get away with not threading the pole then?
It's only a convenience, not a structural necessity. Once it's in the sleeve and pinned with the tension straps tight it will be perfectly sound. Bit of a fiddle to get to that point though if your pole keeps drifting into seperate sections.
Thanks for all the advice. As I am a widow have to get it done on my own. It is worth the fiver to fix it though. I was considering duct-taping the poles into 6-8 ft lengths & just joinining them up as needed when threading through the sleeve. A new cord sounds better so I'll give it a go. Watch this space folks.
------------- Cryptian
Life is not a rehearsal--It's the real thing !
I'm a widow too and I find that when we're faced with these things we just get on with it. It's definately easier to thread them rather than duct taping them and for a fiver you'll have plenty of shock cord left over for the next emergency.
I am struggling just getting the old cord out- and i'm a man! Seriosly do i have to take a garden cane to push out the old knot? Is there some sort of washer in the last 2 sections that holds the Knot?
Thanks Bob I finally rammed a piece of wood down the pole and with some difficulty pushed out a twisted piece of wire that looked like a Chinese puzzle.Which is not surprising as the Outwell Bear lake is made in China! This tent has only had about 3 outings and I can't believe how soon the cords are fraying. I have now decided to put springs in with the hope of them being longer lasting. I erect this tent single handed and I can't do with faffing around with loose poles.Apart from this the tent is great.
Replaced elastic from our small beach tent with elastic purchased from sewing shop, 25p a meter...I had taken a piece of the broken elastic to the shop to get a match. The elastic was rigid enough to thread itself through the poles and the whole thing was much easier than I thought it would be...
buy the bungee or shock cord from a haberdashers, cheaper than any camping shop whre the words camping puts a huge uplift on the price. use a opened out paper clip as the threading device.
the end of the cord will be buried deep inside the dirt in the metal end cap use a bradawl or similar to clean the crud away. when you need to put the last section on , pull the cord tight and use a clothes peg to hold the slack out of the next bit. all done for less than a fiver
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Topic: Elastic cord in tent poles
