While the wife and kids are away…the dad will…repair broken tents?

Well, Brandy and the kids got to head out earlier this week for Florida. Although there were a ton of sites to see between Ohio and Florida, they did get to hike Congaree National Park. She sent me a couple of pics, but it’s never quite the same as seeing things in person. I’m sure she’ll update us all about it when she finally makes it there and has some time to type.

So what’s a dad to do while everyone’s gone? Well, besides working until my vacation time can kick in next week, it’s time to fix some things and get ready for this summer’s hiking adventures. Enter in our poor REI Half-Dome 2. We bought this tent in basically used condition with a disclaimer that it had a broken tent pole. It appears that the previous owner did not do what the tag on the poles says you should do….” insert poles completely.” A good note to self.

A quick internet search revealed that the pole set could be purchased separately from the tent, and so voila! Either way, it was still a deal whether we had to invest in the pole set or not. When you can get a backpacking tent for 1/4 of the price of a new one, you have to try it, right?

But then the bad news came. The tent pole set had been discontinued and is no longer carried by REI. Bummer! They had completely re-designed the tent and were discontinuing all the accessories for it as well. No one seemed to have a set anywhere. Maybe our deal wasn’t such a deal anymore. But all hope was not lost!

Enter in Tent Pole Technologies!
I called and spoke to someone there, and he knew what year my tent was made, knew the diameter and the length of the pole I needed, and even got me the exact color! This guy knew his stuff. And best of all, he shipped me a replacement part for under $15 with shipping!

After a quick YouTube video about how to replace tent poles, I broke everything down, put it back together, and then bingo…the tent was ready to go! It looks like a brand-new tent. And best of all,  I now know that if anything breaks on it, Tent Pole Technologies has all the parts. And I mean all of them. Connectors, clips, bends, repair sleeves, shock cords, you name it.

I think we throw away way too many things these days. All it takes is a little time and a little research, and there aren’t too many things out there that you can’t fix; including tent poles. Did I mention that I sewed a hole in my backpack that I got for half-price as well? Oh well, maybe we need to teach some basic skills to our kids, like how to repair a broken tent pole. Hopefully, this adventure will help us do just that.

Until next time,
Matt