Its just another case of "out of sight, out of mind" with houses. People freak out about changing air filters and cleaning gutters but never think about the stuff thats actually hidden and can burn the place down. Same thing with dryer vents, people clean the lint trap but never the actual pipe thats been clogged for years. Attic wiring is the same deal, nobody sees it until its smoking.

Real talk, I've seen guys do it both ways for years and somehow nobody's killed the power yet.

If sun is lower in winter, @jamie804, how much did you actually tilt your panels to get that boost?

Tried the same thing with a writing bot, @the_piper, and it worked perfectly to get simple answers.

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.