I have never broken a trekking pole. Lots of other things, but never a trekking pole, even when I've really stressed them. Knock on wood, because since my recent surgery, I now use the poles in place of a walker. These are the same poles I bought back in 2005!

However, a trekking pole tent can be a bit of a nuisance if you want to stay in one place for a day and dayhike, or if it's a rough trip to the water source. Originally I would either leave the tent collapsed or find a stick of the right length to substitute (sometimes a lengthy task). As I got older and became more dependent on my poles for balance and getting through rough spots, I ended up getting the tent poles that Tarptent and others sell for their tents, so I had my trekking poles available for use as trekking poles while the tent is up.