TT Moment DW aluminum or carbon poles

[kimbur96]

Think I have finally decided on a TT Moment DW. I like it because it has so much ventilation for hiking down here in the ridiculously warm Florida, but can also be used when I travel to hike in the mountains. My question is you have a choice of aluminum poles (standard) or carbon fiber poles for a small upgrade fee. But it does say on the site that the carbon fiber poles are more fragile, thats not the word they used but that is how i read it. I am not thru hiking at this stage in the game, the most I would possibly do is a week long trek. So do i need to upgrade or are the aluminum good enough? TIA

[Franco]

Some will shoot me down for this but yes CF poles need to be babied a bit .
They work very well with vertical pressure, not so much when bent.
In fact some of our, Tarptent, poles are hybrids having sections in CF and Aluminium to overcome that.
The problem tends to be if dropped or banged , that can cause a hairline fracture that becomes the famous "my poles broke for no reason at all after I had set the tent up..." bit.
Also as already mentioned, they don't like a tight radius, not a problem with the Moment but can be if too much pressure is put on them going through the sleeve during set up.
(hint : when inserting the pole/s into the sleeve, have the sleeve opening up in the air and push the pole through it pointing downwards. This , apart from not bending it during set up, will avoid having the pole end section snagging on the fabric and coming apart just enough to brake when bent and under tension)
franco@tarptent

[The Cleaner]

I have a TarpTent Moment DW and I've found it to be a bit warm at temps above 60-70*.It's great at blocking cold winter winds but if I used it much in warmer weather I'd want the mesh inner tent.With both doors open it would be well ventilated but if you're in a sunny spot it might be too warm.You could open both inner tent doors but then you'd be letting in flying creatures too.I'd also go for the aluminum poles as the weight saving would not be that much.

[kimbur96]

I have a TarpTent Moment DW and I've found it to be a bit warm at temps above 60-70*.It's great at blocking cold winter winds but if I used it much in warmer weather I'd want the mesh inner tent.With both doors open it would be well ventilated but if you're in a sunny spot it might be too warm.You could open both inner tent doors but then you'd be letting in flying creatures too.I'd also go for the aluminum poles as the weight saving would not be that much.

I had planned just to get the mesh inner tent. But maybe I need to get both. Would I be cold at night in summer mountain hiking conditions with just the mesh inner tent?

[The Cleaner]

I had planned just to get the mesh inner tent. But maybe I need to get both. Would I be cold at night in summer mountain hiking conditions with just the mesh inner tent?

I'd say not provided that you had a good sleeping bag or quilt.If the wind picks up you'd be surprised at how much a light breeze at night can cool you off once you've settled down.All off the sub kilo tents depend on ventilation or air movement to prevent condensation.With the solid wall inner tent it's not a problem because the inner tent protects you from this.Then you may have to take a noon break to unpack your tent to let it dry from the previous night's condensation.

[Casey & Gina]

Aluminum poles are really not very heavy, and as they are more durable, that's the choice I would make. I love carbon fiber trekking poles, but not for tent poles.