Fibraplex carbon fibre tent poles

[Bigtree]

Does anyone have any experiences with Fibraplex (or other brand I'm not aware of) carbon fibre tent poles (e.g., strength and durability vs. aluminum)? My new tent is a little porky for my liking and it appears that I can shave a pound with a set of these babies: http://www.fibraplex.com/tentpoles2B.asp (stock aluminum poles are 32 oz/911g vs. 15.4 oz/436g for the carbon fibre).

[suge]

I used a single pole for my tarp during my PCT hike in 2003. Before then, and after, I logged maybe 30 nights outside with it. I only had a couple of nasty weather days where high winds taxed it, and it did just fine. Camped on an exposed butte in the Grand Canyon, a storm came in and thrashed me with high winds. The pole bent and bent, but came through without any visible damage. I probably wouldn't change poles for a tent that my life might depend on, but if it is for more casual use, then they should be ok.

[kweb]

I bought a set for my BD lighthouse but have not used them yet. The weight savings are worth the price IMHO.

 

I bought mine on ebay directly from Fibraplex. If I remember correctly, it was a few bucks cheaper that way.

[Ade]

Buy a lighter tent.

 

Seriously though. I couldn't find anything on how these poles stand up to serious abuse and really bad weather. Most reports talk of light use. It's also worth remembering that aluminum poles tent to either bend or crack. Cracked poles can be repaired using a reinforcing sleve. CF tends to fail catastrophically leaving very little to repair.

 

I think this is a cool idea but I think I want to see more info on how they stand up to rough treatment.

 

Cheers,

 

Ade

[Ade]

http://aktoman.blogspot.com/2007/05/glenshee-190507.html

 

Looks like this pole had the same failure mode as a lot of Al poles and cracked at the section end. And didn't blow apart as CF usually does.

[AlaskaNative]

Not my write-ups, just putting in a few links to read.

 

BackPackGearTest review

 

 

NWHikers

 

 

BackPackingNet

 

 

 

[Jedi]

We used the Fibraplex poles with my Firstlight on the Cassin this past year. They worked fine but we did not encounter any heavy winds. We figured if the shit hit the fan, we would dig in.

Mark & Collin borrowed them to save a little weight. I think their weather was pretty good as well.

I'd take them again

[Bigtree]

Good links and feedback guys - thanks. The reviews look rather positive. I suspect they'll perform fine for the majority of my intended use in a new Bibler Fitzroy here in the Cascades. Of course I can always swap back to the aluminum set if I'm anticipating something more gnarly.

 

Now, how to rationalize the purchase to my wife. Hmmm...