Remember when tents had those awful fiberglass poles that shattered in the wind?

I was digging through old gear last weekend and found my dad's Coleman from the 80s, that thing weighed like 15 pounds and the poles were basically splinters waiting to happen. Has anyone else noticed how much lighter and tougher modern tent poles are?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron88017d ago

Yeah those fiberglass poles were the worst, I remember one snapping on a windy night and taking the whole tent down with it. In my experience, the aluminum poles nowadays are way sturdier and a fraction of the weight, makes a huge difference setting up in bad weather.

hannahcraig17d ago

Oh man @aaron880, that "taking the whole tent down with it" line hit way too close to home for me. I had a fiberglass pole snap on me during a totally calm afternoon setup (not even windy, just me being clumsy) and it still somehow collapsed half my tent before I could react. I'd like to say aluminum poles made me a better camper, but honestly I still manage to trip over my own guy lines and send everything flying. The weight difference is amazing though, like I can actually carry my pack without looking like a turtle on its back now. Maybe I'll eventually get good at this whole camping thing, but my track record says probably not.

harperp2417d ago

Gotta push back a little here - I've actually had an aluminum pole crack on me too, and fiberglass has way more flex before it actually breaks. In my experience the weight difference is nice for carrying but not worth it if you're rough on your gear like me.