Replacement alloy tent-pole?

May 8, 2006 6:33 AM

Where can I get a replacement pole for my tent? Specs inside.

I'm looking for a replacement pole for a Jack Wolfskin tent of 10-year old design - although the name 'pocket hotel' has been recycled, the line has long been discontinued and the guy at the Jack Wolfskin store in Hamburg felt I was SOL getting an authentic replacement.

Is there a retailer (online or NYC) who sells such things? Is it possible to get such things made to order?

It's a 6-section, alloy pole, 106" (270cm) long, 8.5mm external diameter, 6.8mm internal diameter. It has open ends that fit onto pins attached to the tent, so internal diameter is relevant. The material has always struck me as being particularly strong for its weight, compared to other flexible metal poles I have known. When the tent is pitched, the ends of the pole are parallell, whis is quite a tight bend compared to some.

posted by nowonmai to sports, hobbies, & recreation (3 comments total)

According to their site http://tinyurl.com/j58rv

What should I do if one of my tent poles breaks?

A broken pole section needs to be replaced as a matter of urgency. Spare sections for all current models and for many of our older tents are available from the JACK WOLFSKIN Repair Service and can be ordered through our STOREs and network of authorized dealers.

They do not list any US based dealers, only european.

According to google listings though, the design of the original "Pocket Hotel" is quite similar to one of a Hilleberg Nammatj tent.

The current Jack Wolfskin that most resembles a Pocket Hotel is the Tundra.

Source Here

http://www.bluedome.co.uk/trailwalk/trailwalk3.cfm?review=432&mascat=28&subcat=107
posted by Ostrich at 7:08 AM on May 8, 2006

I'm not sure about the alloy part of your description (maybe you mean "composite"?), but if you're looking for Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber rods, Call Steve at Kite Studio.

Kitemakers use various sizes and thicknesses of hollow spars that would be suitable for a flexible tent pole. He'll also have ferrells to use to connect the rods to each other and may be able to help with whatever end fittings you might need to secure the pole to the tent.
posted by friezer at 1:32 PM on May 8, 2006

Thanks, guys. Ostrich managed to extract more useful information than I from Jack Wolfskin's godawful website, but I still can't find an email address that actually gets answered.

I paid what was a lot of money at the time for a tent with aluminium alloy poles rather than fibreglass because it's lighter and (so they told me) less likely to break, so I want a like-for-like replacement or a new tent.

I'll try this place which I found amongst the spamdex sites in the the Google database: www.questoutfitters.com/tent_poles.htm
I don't think they'll be able to shock-cord the sections together without plugging the ends, but you can't have everything.
posted by nowonmai at 10:07 AM on May 10, 2006