I have a Golite Shangri-la 1, however, I generally only hike with one trekking pole. I wouldn't mind just getting a tent pole for the foot end of the tent, and use my trekking pole for the entry end. I don't want to use a stick because sometimes they may not be readily available. Any thoughts or solutions?

Many companies that sell trekking-pole supported tents and tarps offer optional folding poles, which would probably work fine with your Shangri-la 1. I know Six Moon Designs sells both a folding 45" aluminum pole ($14, weight 3 oz) and a folding 45" carbon fiber pole ($30, weight 1.8 oz), which they sell separately. They can be a little hard to find on the Six Moons website; looks under "Tents" and you'll see the poles listed about halfway down the page.

Of course, if you generally camp in wooded areas, you could just use a stick (free!).

I just noticed GoLite also sells folding aluminum poles on its website as well (although at $20, they cost a bit more than the Six Moon Designs folding pole).

Tarpent has the cheapest poles that I've found. You just have to match the height to one of their shelters. I think they range from around 42 to 48 inches.

https://www.tarptent.com/cgi-bin/surfshop1/shop.cgi?ud=AAcFDQALBQICAxQXFx0XHQMAAAcHAQIIAggRFAAA&t=main.htm&storeid=1&sortby=categories,itemid&cols=3&c=search.htm&categories=00011

Diana - thanks for the suggestions. The Golite poles are too long. I am primarily looking for something for the foot end of the tent - the shorter end - so that I can minimize the size and weight of an extra pole. I was actually just thinking about taking a Swiffer mop handle, which comes in pieces, and seeing if I could make something work with that. I just wondered if anyone else had run into the same problem.

I'd suggest getting a 45" folding tent pole and using it at the front of your shelter, then collapsing your trekking pole down to an appropriate size (assuming you're hiking with a collapsible pole) and using that at the foot end of your shelter. It's going to be hard to find a really short segmented pole (although that Swiffer handle you found may work out, if you play around with it a bit).

I have less Swiffer pole to work with, and I won't mind cutting it if I have to. So I am going to see if I can get that to work first. You are right though, I may have to reverse my thinking. I appreciate the quick reponse and plentiful options.

if you are looking for a really light pole try zpacks. He will also cut it to any length you want for 25 dollars.

http://zpacks.com/accessories/tent_pole.shtml

Poles are really easy to cut if you have a Dremel and a most basic amount of common sense.
So not if you are gifted :


So if you find one that is a bit longer, take it apart , have a good look at how the shockcord is attached, cut the extra bit and re-assemble, or yes just get Z Packs to do it for you.
However (I like to add howevers) the advantages of using trekking poles are that they are much stronger and , apart from the fixed length type,and can be adjusted to add tension to the shelter when it sags without having to go outside to do it..
Franco

Edited by Franco on 03/09/2012 15:40:45 MST.