The first time camping, using our new Texsport adjustable height tent poles, we experienced an unexpected storm. The tent poles were really put to the ultimate test! No sooner than our awning was set up, out of the clear blue sky, a threatening black cloud came rolling in. It was 96 degrees, and a violent storm erupted on the top of the mountain where we were camping, with wind, heavy rain, thunder, lightening, and rain runoff streaming through our campsite. The rain poured down, then belted in sideways, the wind flapped the awning to the point where I thought it would jump off of the poles. The poles held firm, they didn't even slip in the stream that had developed at their bases, they didn't bend under the weight of the rain water that couldn't waterfall off of the awning fast enough, the wildly flapping awning didn't even affect their performance. I was impressed and terrified at the same time! This mid-summer storm tormented the campground for at least 30 minutes, until it vanished.
When it came time to break up camp and return home, I realized that each tent pole was totally filled with water. So here are some tips for caring for your poles. I drained the water out of each pole, then I removed the telescoping sections and dried them thoroughly, before reassembling; each section was sprayed withWD40. Before reusing scrub down with steel wool or else they will be to slippery too lock in place. Sometimes we paint them with aluminum colored paint and this helps the locking mechanism grip better.
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