A couple weeks back i broke out my beloved old Kelty 4 season tent and went out for an over-nighter just to make sure the moths hadn’t eaten it and test some other new camping equipment. It was a wonderful night outdoors and out of the house.
Everything worked great but my old tent is showing its age. It’s gotta be coming up on 30 or 35 years old now. The shock cords inside the poles had fossilized and one actually broke. They all need to be done. Modern tent poles are made to come apart so you can replace the shock cords if they get cut or damaged. The old tent poles are not. The come apart on the last segment that fits into the peg outs on the tent…but not the other end. The shock cord is embedded inside the pole on the opposite end with some kind of RTV or epoxy.
I was just going to order new cord and epoxy the running end in the last segment much the same way it was built… but do any of you have any better ideas?
They slot together in the standard fashion… but if
I get the least bit sloppy with the epoxy…
That pole is ruined.
If any of you old hands have a better idea… I’m all ears. I’d hate to throw the tent out. It’s not worth anything and I’m thinking of gifting it to the kid’s club at the li’l chapel out in the country. But it does have lots of memories and sentimental value for me. Back when I bought it hardly anyone did winter camping around here. It was great to get away with the wife, Mort and Macey and we spent many great weekends just hanging out at the campsites. With nobody around I’d break out the .22 and start shooting crackers for targets. They’re biodegradable - assuming the magpies don’t get them first.
Bah. If I don’t hear from ya and I botch the repair I’ll just throw it out. It’s funny, the way a guy gets attached to everyday things that others take for granted. I’ve got a plain, unremarkable 80 or 90 year old enameled tin cup my grandmother gave us. It was in her porcelain tea cup collection where she had fine China cups literally fit for royalty. It was a prideful and elegant collection and I asked her why she had it in with the other stunning cups. She just shrugged, thought about it, and then gave it to me. “I used it to scoop kibble for the dogs, long ago.” Today it’s still on the job. It served Sled Dawg Sally, Macey, Mort and now the Niglet Bed Hog and the Bag Biter! I have no one to give it to so it’ll probly get landfilled too in time I suppose.
Bah! The weather has me down today. In typical March fashion, it’s coming in like a lion. Warm and cold air masses are duking it out in the stratosphere and temps are all over the place. We got beautiful weather yesterday that ended in mid-afternoon with a snow squall. I am so ready for spring…
😞
Just buy a set of replacement poles that you can trim one to fit overall length if needed.
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