Aluminum Telescopic Pole Twist Lock For Camping Tents

The main things you need to determine are the diameter of the poles, the length of the poles,the color of the poles and whether the poles are aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber or steel.

Hoogen Aluminum 7001 7075 T6 tent tubing.  They are available in many different diameters (.6.0mm, 7.0mm, 8.5mm, 9.0mm, 10.0mm, 11mm, 12mm, 13mm,15mm, 16mm,18mm,20mm....- outside diameter). surface custom anodized color . Custom make your own tent poles.  Poles can be shortened if necessary to custom lengths, and shockcorded together.

There are 2 types of poles:

(1)  Poles with inserts -the insert is a tube (or sleeve) that is typically glued inside one hollow end of a tent pole section and protrudes approximately 3".  This insert allows you to stack one section on top of another.

(2)    Poles without inserts-these are hollow poles (sections) with no inserts

To make a set of poles it is usually best to map out on paper to determine how many sections and parts you many need of each.  You will usually need more sections with an insert than those without.   For example if you want to make a pole with 4 sections (this would make a 6 foot long pole), you would need to have 3 sections with an insert and 1 without an insert.  The reason you need the last section to be without an insert:  picture stacking one section with an insert on top of another.  If the last section has an insert, that would not allow you to put an endtip into both ends of the pole.  Therefore if you use a section without an insert for the last one you will have a hollow end on both ends of the pole, this allows you to put an endtip on each end of your pole.

Step #1  Lay out your poles in the order you want them. (cut them to the right length, if it is necessary, using a hacksaw or even better a pipe cutter (we stock these for your convenience).  Note: If you need to shorten carbon fiber poles wrap the pole with tape over the area that needs to be cut to keep it from fraying.

Step #2   Knot one of the endtips onto to one free end of the shock cord and push it into one of the hollow ends of the pole sections.  Thread your shock cord through each pole section.

Step #3  On the other end, tie the other endtip onto the shock cord.  Push the second endtip up into the other hollow end of the pole.  Test the tension; you do not want it too tight that when they are folded up they want to spring open.  If the tension needs to be re-adjusted, re-tie the knot.  If the shock cord is not tight enough remove the end tip and re-tie it a little tighter.

Pictured above are both types of tent pole sections: the two sections on the right are sections with an insert. The last section on the left is a section without an insert.   Using the pole without an insert at the end gives you a hollow end on both the rightside and leftside of the long pole to insert the tied-off endtips.

For your ring and pin system the best way to shockcord the poles together is to tie the shockcord onto a small washer that is just slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the tent pole.  When the washer is pushed up into the pole the insert on the first pole will stop it from going past.  You can then feed the shockcord through the rest of the poles making sure to put one pole without an insert in the center or your chain of poles. On the opposite end of the pole sections you again tie another washer onto the  shockcord and let it go up inside the pole (note you will not be able to adjust the cord tension after this is done as the knot and washer will be way up inside the pole).  This method allows you to shockcord all of the poles together and have a hollow end on each end the pole sections to fit into your ring and pin at the bottom.  We have separate insert pieces that will fit up into the poles. This will allow you to glue these extra inserts onto the hollow ends of the poles to give you more structural support in the pin.

Pre-bent arches are available for the .340", .433" and .490" poles.  They are available in 90 degree, 125 degree and 145 degree.  All of the arches come with inserts already attached in each end, there are more detailed measurements on the order page for each available size.  Note, when using arches you may want to draw out your configuration first as you will most likely need more poles without an insert than with an insert.  If you are only using a few poles and you need to make a very strong arc, to avoid kinking, you may want to consider using pre-bent arches.

Below is an example of using a short connector piece between two arches to create tight angles without bending poles.