Center Pole Diameter - Suggestions?

[Yarome]

I have an 11' hex poly asym in with 2QZQ at the moment... adding center pole pockets. Total distance is 114" (width + pockets).

I'll be going with aluminum poles. I already considered carbon and fiberglass, but haven't had great luck with those types in some of he colder areas I like to frequent.

Questions being:
1. What diameter pole should I go with? I "have" enough of .335" to make one up, but don't know if that's going to be strong enough. Options would include going up to .344", .355" or .380", but I think .380" would be overkill. Thoughts?

2. With a 70D poly tarp is there going to be enough stretch that I should add an inch or 2 to the pole length?

TIA for any insights.

[cmc4free]

I have .340 poles for my UGQ Winterdream (center pole and end poles, 3 total) and I think about the same diameter for my SLD Train Haven (center only).

70D sounds really heavy, but poly is known to not stretch much. (On second thought, one of my tarps is 70D silnylon. It is heavier than my others, but nothing crazy)

Start with the poles the same length as the width of the tarp, or even a little longer. You can always make them shorter, but longer - not so much.

[Yarome]

I have .340 poles for my UGQ Winterdream.

Whats your WD out of? 20D? That's got a bit more surface area than my hex asym. Probably more like your Train Haven. I wasn't "as" concerned about actual tarp weight (maybe I should) since it's supported on a CRL above, but was thinking more about the surface area in windy conditions.

Do you get much wind flex on your .340's?

[cmc4free]

Yes, my UGQ tarp is 20D. Sorry, my offhand comment about the 70D material wasn't really trying to imply that it would be too heavy for the poles. Without thinking about it more, I was actually sort of wondering if that was just a typo, but then I realized I also have a tarp made of 70D silnylon - a 10' square by Aqua Quest. I really like that tarp, in fact.

I haven't noticed a great deal of wind flex when using any of my tarps with internal pole mods. There is certainly less buffeting of the tarp than there would be without the pole mods.

I also have the external poles on my Warbonnet Cloudburst, and those are noticeably thinner diameter than any of my internal poles.

My Trail Haven with center pole has pockets that the pole ends fit into, and then in the middle of the tarp ridge seam there is a tent pole clip sewn in and seam sealed. The clip holds the pole in place at the top.

My UGQ tarp has grommets that the pole ends fit into and the way they keep the upper parts of the poles in place is a little different, as shown in their instructions below.

[cmc4free]

Another thread from the last year or so comes to mind where there has been a fair bit of discussion on pole lengths. That starts around post #33 and then goes on for a few pages.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post1942682

[Yarome]

...then in the middle of the tarp ridge seam there is a tent pole clip sewn in and seam sealed.

...the way they keep the upper parts of the poles in place is a little different.

With 2QZQ they give the option of either a center ridge ribbon or ridgeline. I opted for the ribbon.

I appreciate the pole feedback. I'm more confident to go ahead with the .344 poles I already have and see how it goes from there.

[WalksIn2Trees]

for winter camping, with snow load (and wind, but mostly snow), I would (and do) support with a single tree to tree Ridgeline, to take as much of the load stress off of the tarp's seams. This will be my first winter with my end pole UGQ winter tarp so I can't really comment about how well it holds up to snow load, but from experience with my previous tarps, it doesn't take much snow to make the whole thing sag inward, even with extremely tight high stress rating ratchet straps for a ridge-line.

My previous tarps held up to wind fine (at least until they became significantly UV degraded) but my pole setup for those was supporting from the side panel pulls, outside, not a full arch of pole support from inside, like I have now.

obviously, if you don't expect to deal with snow load then wind is your only issue and, where wind is concerned, having the poles inside means the whole structure pivots on the ridge-line when the wind blows, because the center of gravity is below that. The only reason to tie it off is to keep it from swinging. My tarp doesn't deform at all with the end poles installed, but with no guylines, the Windward side would dip down & inward, while the lee side would lift up & outward. Since you don't seem to be counting grams. I recommend the two end poles rather than a single center pole for exactly this reason.

The poles keep it tight, and really you can get away with only two guylines, as long has you have a good support at the Ridgeline, because only need them to keep it from swinging.

I just went through a night of (predicted 30 mph wind with 60mph gusts) and had no issues, no flapping or tarp noise other than the rain drops hitting it.

Sent from my SM-T827V using Tapatalk

[Yarome]

Since you don't seem to be counting grams. I recommend the two end poles rather than a single center pole for exactly this reason.

Thanks! I appreciate the insights. As it stands... the hex I'm having pole modded is more just for lighter/warmer weather conditions. Using a CRL on it and adding the center pole, mainly, just for additional head space rather than support.

Heavier weather I'll be using a superfly.