I was doing some light browsing over at WhiteBlaze, and found a couple of posts to the effect that they wouldn't recommend carbon fiber tent poles because the posters felt they were more likely to break than aluminum. None of the posts included an actual example of a pole failure; just expressed the opinion (theory?) that the poles were more likely to break under stress.

I've been using a carbon-pole tent (MSR Carbon Reflex 1) since it came out (2 years ago? 3?), and I've never had a pole fail. (Usage is probably 10 - 15 nights a year, and stress loads included one night of sustained 25 mph winds.)

I'd supply the link to one of the posts, but I didn't bookmark it, and now I can't find it. (I really don't believe it's senility setting in just yet, though I could be wrong.)

I know some of you also use carbon-pole tents (Tarptent Rainbow, among others), and I'm assuming Franco has access to customer feedback via TarpTent, so I was wondering: if you use a tent with carbon poles, have you ever actually had one fail?

Have some experience with an Easton tent with CF poles and no failures to date (and not expecting any). They save a LOT of weight, too.

Have also used CF trekking poles for at least five years and no failures there, either.

Since carbon fiber can be made so vastly many ways, it's of little use to generalize. If a certain brand has anecdotal history of failure, then I'd take note. We've all seen broken aluminum poles but there's no rush to steel.

Cheers,

I use CF poles, too, and haven't had any issues, either. I really like mine.

You can also have different quality aluminum poles. Manufacturers can change wall thickness and aluminum allows. Incidentally, watch out for 6061 aluminum tent stakes. The MSR groundhog is made from a 7000 series aluminum, and so is the REI clone. Coghlan just came out with a copy as well, but it is made from 6061. I bought a bunch of the Coghlans and the scouts keep bending them, in soft dirt. They have never bent the REI clones.

Glen, from my experience, carbon fiber, assuming quality, would be much less likely to break or bend than aluminium, especially using today's manufacturing techniques.

They would also have a greater threshold of "placticity" than aluminum would. Also, the modulus of elasticity would come into play. I can't seriously imagine an aluminum pole coming even close to having the same modulus of elasticity, as a carbon fiber pole. This, in my opinion, would be the big "sell" for me, if I were working with something that would be arched for any real given lenght of time.

Assume a center line for both an aluminum pole and a carbon fiber pole, as that pole is bent, the centerline will actually move closer to the edge of the pole. The aluminum pole would bend easier as that imaginary centerline moves outwards to the edge of the pole, where the least amount of flexibility lies, however with the carbon fiber, that said centerline would be about, but not quite the same as if the pole were not arched.

Look at other examples, many fighter jet outer components, as well as civilian and commercial planes are moving from aluminum to carbon fiber for surfaces that are under heavy stress.

Most, ig not all of the best racing bycicles are made of carbon fiber, not only because it is lighter, but it absorbs stress and shock better. Even freestyle motorcross manufacturer's are experimenting with carbon fiber frames, although they haven't quite got there yet.

I'm wondering, if, those people concerned about the plasticity of the poles, are thiking back to the times when tent companies started using fiberglass poles (not carbon fiber) which had the propensity to snap?

My Kelty came with carbon fiber poles, and although I didn't encounter any high winds on it's first and only outing, I'm quite confident that they could handle anything a 3 season tent would although I wouldn't vouch for the rest of the tent.

I've noticed on the higher end of the tent price spectrum, at least through scouring the net, that many, if not most are going to carbon fiber.

Same with snow skis, water skis, ski poles, and on and on. Carbon fiber is used in most of the best fishing poles, and most expensive also. I have a couple of St. Croix bass rods in the light medium range that have literally been bent completely in half, I mean the top eyelet touching the cork grip, when inadvertantly catching large gar, while bass fishing, in the 20+ pound range, on a fishing rod that's more suited for fish in the (maximum) of 10 to 12lb range with much less fight and stress than those big gar can put on one. The first foot or so, the thinnest would be the first place they would break, if they're going to. The held up just fine. They also make excellent lightning rods in case a sudden storm blows in.

Just a thought,

J.

Thanks, everyone - that kind of confirms what I thought: it was someone's impression, but not based on actual occurrences.

Tarptent only uses one CF section only not a pole in any of the shelters,
Those CF sections are used for the Pitch Lock corner (Scarps/Hogback/Moment/Notch) and the cross apex section of the Rainbow/Double Rainbow.
In one of my videos you can see me leaning with my full weight (only about 150lbs) on a Scarp Pitch Lock corner just to demonstrate that it can hold the weight with one stake.
However up to recently the weak point of CF poles has been coping with lateral pressure so with excessive bending (tight radious) they were prone to shattering.
On the on the other hand they handle vertical pressure very well.
If you are familiar with BPL you will know that Roger Caffin uses straight sections with his tents because in his experience the traditional CF poles (originally made by Easton as arrow shafts) perform best lie that.
And that is why his tents look like this :

In the last few years Easton has become interested in selling tents so it has have changed manufacturing techniques resulting in CF poles that can stand some bending.
That I know it Easton has two types one of witch is used in their tents.
Note that "5 season" (expedition) tents don't use CF still.
So you do need to know exactly what type of CF pole you buy.

I was thinking the Rainbow I bought - when they first came out - used a CF pole to form the arch. Is my memory faulty, or have they changed it later?

The main pole has always been Easton 7075
You might have purchased one privately, one that the previous owner replaced the TT pole with a CF type.

No, it came directly from Henry - he even had me seam seal it. I must have a faulty memory.

No, it came directly... I miss my short term memory.