Repairs: tent poles

Tent poles. Sexy subject, eh? Well, yeah. They're not disposable items, you know.

Meaning if you're out there at dusk in a driving rain and you haven't got them, you're indisposed.

The best of them are made from aircraft-grade aluminum, with characteristics designed specifically for your tent. When sections get stuck, bent, snapped off or lost, or when the shock cord slackens and the sections no longer spring up together, you're outta luck. No pitching a tent with less than the full compliment of poles.

Replacing them can be tricky. You need somebody who knows the industry and can source rare poles, or even redesign and fabricate replacements if need be.

Older poles, like the fiberglass ones that pair with my Kelty winter tent, may be worth repairing if they have special features that replacement poles can't duplicate. The Kelty has golf-ball sized nobs at the base of every pole, making it the only tent I've ever really been able to pitch with gloves on.

These are the folks you want for tent pole repairs. Always courteous. They give you their full attention. Their service is prompt, unfussy and affordable. Most important, they understand shock cord, aluminum and fiberglass like nobody else.

TentPole Technologies of Vancouver, Washington