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Hot take: a $90 tent pole splint kit is a waste, a $4 roll of duct tape saved my trip
Last August on the Timberline Trail near Mount Hood my pole snapped in a wind gust and a guy camped nearby handed me duct tape instead of his fancy repair kit. I wrapped the break, splinted it with a stick, and that tent held for four more nights including a rainy one. Got home and read reviews saying tape fails and only a real splint works, which was not my experience at all. The tape cost me basically nothing and the pole is still fine after I fixed it proper. Anyone else think these repair kits are way overpriced for what they actually do?
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morganl711mo ago
The real thing nobody talks about is that duct tape does two jobs at once. It holds the break together and it adds a layer of support along the outside of the pole, which is basically what those kits do with a sleeve and some clamps. So the kit makers are selling you a plastic tube and a couple of hose clamps for 80 bucks when the tape does the same thing in a pinch. And once you get home you can do a proper fix with a real splint or just replace the section, so the tape got you through the trip and that's all it needed to do. The only time I'd say tape fails is if the pole snaps right at a joint or in freezing temps where the glue won't stick. Did you clean the pole with anything first or just wrap it straight on? That's the one step I always mess up.
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