That time my tent pole snapped in a thunderstorm at 2am

I was camped at Dale Hollow Lake last spring when a storm rolled in around 1am. My three year old cheap tent pole just gave up and snapped, leaving the whole thing sagging on my face. Had to tape it with duct tape and hold it up with my trekking pole for the rest of the night. Anyone else had a tent fail on them in bad weather and had to MacGyver a fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.jamie4d ago

Solidarity, man. Had a similar thing happen to me up in the Boundary Waters a few years back, middle of August, rain so hard it felt like the lake was falling out of the sky. The little plastic clip on my pole just shattered, and the whole side of the tent collapsed right onto my face. Ended up lashing it to a log I dragged under the vestibule, which worked about as well as you'd expect. Nothing like waking up with your own breath fogging up the mesh because the fly is smooshed against your nose.

sagecooper4d ago

Not sure I buy the trekking pole as a long term fix like you're saying @beth276. I've done it and sure, it gets you through the night, but it's always a pain in the ass balancing it just right so you don't knock it over every time you roll over. Kinda feels like we're all just accepting that gear failures are part of the deal instead of demanding better tents.

beth2764d ago

Oh man, that duct tape and trekking pole move is the classic backcountry repair kit right there. I've totally been there with a snapped pole in a downpour, and honestly, a little bit of tenacious tape and your hiking pole can get you through the night if you rig it right. One tip I swear by now is carrying a spare pole sleeve or even just a small section of an old tent pole wrapped in your repair kit. It's way easier than trying to tape a clean break back together in the dark and rain.