TatonkaTarp Pole

Already had one this size but wanted a second to give more tarp options, no brainer at this price.

Good things first:- packs downs small- good ideaBad:- Feels sturdy but the design is inherently weak. Mine snapped; yes it was in a decent storm but the cheap aluminium one I had up at the same time held up while this one didn't.- impossible to use with cold hands/or gloves and difficult when wet (slippy so hard to pull of the plastic ends to get the parts out) so it is really for fair weather campers... wild campers or those that just need things that just work in any conditions: look elsewhere.- easy to lose parts (especially the small plastic end bits; there are two when it is packed down but only place for one when it is being used you you need to keep track of the other plastic end part for when you are taking it back down.- If you pack it down wet all the parts will fuse together and it is impossible to use again (i've had two of these;the fusing happened to the first one; the second one snapped.Conclusion: still looking for the perfect tarp pole!

Almost sad how pleased I am with these poles, The build quality is stunning.When the postman handed me the parcel I intially thought that the suppliers were maybe rather bizarrely sending me each pole individually. I was stunned to discover it was all 4 1.6m poles that I had ordered. The poles pack down very short, approximately a quarter of the assembled pole length with all the sections sliding away inside each other. Assembly is easy and also very solid - the sections don't just fall apart when you pick up the pole. And also almost half the weight of the steel poles they are replacing and yet I had no doubts about their strength to do the job.So yes, pricey, but you are most definitely are getting top quality for your money.

I did find it expensive for what it is, but glad I brought it. It is a lot sturdier than the photo and I put quite a bit of weight on it and it didn't bend. Will work well with my tarpaulin instead if a tent.Only brought 1 to see but defiantly buying the other one. + 2 more a different size.

A work of art to pack back down, I had to get my 12 yr old son to show me how to do it. Apart from that it's a cool product

they're poles, well, they're a number of poles in one to be fair. The sections nest neatly into each other for transport, and you do not need to use all sections.I bought 2. for 1 set the sections slide in and out of each other very easily, the other one requires a bit of effort, though not off-putting.

Expensive but worth every penny for us. Light for what they are, very well engineered, robust and easily transportable due to their pack-away length. We were lightweight camping on motor scooters and the use of a tarp for rain and sun shelter, instant bathroom, sleeping under in the nicer weather, etc was a must and these poles gave us this facility wherever we went. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend if your budget will stretch that far.

Seems good idea at face value but, on first use, one segment of a pole snapped and the others were all so bent that they wouldn't slot back inside each other to put them away. Be warned - they are aluminium and therefore nowhere near as strong as steel poles. I didn't even have them up on a windy day - it was an average summers day with light winds! I would definitely not recommend these to anyone unless you're only using something like a bedsheet sized tarp on a day with no wind! Very overpriced gimmicky product.