My tent pole snapped on day two of a week long trip in the Smokies

I was on a solo hike near Gatlinburg and a big gust of wind bent my main aluminum pole so bad it cracked. Tried using duct tape and a stick but it just sagged and collapsed again around 2am. It took me over an hour the next morning to find a repair sleeve at a ranger station. Has anyone else had to fix a broken pole on the trail and what got you through the night?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark17d ago

Honestly, is it really that serious? I've had a pole snap before and just propped the sagging side with a big rock and some paracord. Slept fine. @max_brown talking about epoxy and spare pole sections sounds like overkill for a tent unless you're doing Everest base camp or something.

max_brown1mo ago

I snapped an aluminum pole in the Great Smoky back in 2018, same spot near Gatlinburg. I ended up using a tent stake as a temporary splint and wrapped the whole thing with about 10 feet of medical tape I always carry in my first aid kit. It held for the rest of the trip but I had to tension the tent way tighter on the opposite side to take the pressure off. For the future, I always pack a spare pole section cut to the length of my longest pole and a small tube of epoxy. Duct tape and sticks never work for more than a few hours, you need something solid to bridge the break.

rowanhernandez17d ago

I used to be in the same boat as shane_clark until I tried the duct tape and stick method on a broken pole in the Uintas. It lasted maybe an hour before the whole thing collapsed and I spent the night with my face half in the dirt. Now I carry a spare pole section and epoxy too, it's just not worth waking up at 2am to fix a tent in the rain.