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IT’S EASY TO BE BEDAZZLED BY ALL THE DYNEEMA USED IN SAMAYA TENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE ULTRA RANGE, BUT THERE’S A LOT MORE GOING ON THAN THAT. THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE THAT SAMAYA TENTS ARE LIGHTER THAN ANYTHING COMPARABLE ISN’T JUST A PRODUCT OF THE WALLS AND FLOOR MATERIALS AND SOPHISTICATED DESIGN, BUT EVERY ELEMENT OF THE STRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY THE POLES.

USERS OF THE ULTRA RANGE WILL ALREADY KNOW THEY COME WITH CARBON FIBRE POLES, AS A NO-COMPROMISE PACKAGE THAT KICKS OUT ALL THE JAMS FOR HIGH ALPINE USE. THESE HAVE BEEN GOOD, WITH OURS LASTING FIVE YEARS OF HEAVY ROTATION, AVOIDING THE KINKS THAT INEVITABLY COME WITH ALUMINIUM OVER TIME, AND AS ONE OF THE FEW COMPANIES THAT SUBSTANTIALLY USE CARBON POLES, THEY COULD HAVE LEFT IT AT THAT. BUT NOT SAMAYA.

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SEROUS UPTAKE OF THE ULTRA RANGE OF TENTS, WITH THEIR APPEARANCE BECOMING SYNONYMOUS IN ANY IMAGE OF HARD HIGH ALPINE CLIMBING, KEPT THEM PUSHING ALL THE FACTORS THEY COULD, WITH THE POLES BEING HIGH ON THE LIST ALONG WITH OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE A TENT STRONGER STRUCTURALLY WE WILL DISCUSS IN THE FUTURE.

ANY TENTS POLES ARE OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT, AND FOR TENTS DESTINED FOR HIGH WINDS, BIG SNOW LOADINGS AND EXTENDED USE OVER WEEKS POLES NEED EXTRA ATTENTION. WE HAVE SEEN DOZENS OF POLE BREAKAGES – SOME CONSISTENTLY FROM VERY HIGH END MAKERS – AND MANY INCIDENCES THAT ENDS A TRIP. YES YOU CAN FACE ANOTHER NIGHT OR TWO HOBBLING BACK WITH TAPE KEEPING THINGS UP, BUT IT’S GRIM STARING INTO WEEKS OF EXPEDITION CONDITIONS AHEAD WITH POLES ALREADY DAMAGED. IT’S BIG REASON WE USE SAMAYA TENTS EXCLUSIVELY.

REGULAR CARBON POLES ARE NOT ACTUALLY 100% CARBON FIBRE, HAVING ALUMINIUM INSERTS WHERE THEY FIT TOGETHER. THIS WAS ALWAYS THE ONE WEAKNESS SUCH POLES HAD, WHERE THOUGH VERY STRONG, IF THE ALUMINIUM INSERTS WERE COMPROMISED THE POLES NEEDED FIXING. SUBJECT TO MINUTE VARIATIONS IN BATCHES, THIS COULD HAPPEN, AND THOUGH RARE IT NEEDED RESOLVING. THIS WAS NO SMALL ORDER AS THE CARBON POLE SECTOR HAS BEEN FIRMLY ESTABLISHED FOR A LONG TIME, AND IT TOOK SAMAYAS ELITE R&D PROCESS TO PUSH IT THROUGH.

WE RECEIVED A TEST SET ALONG WITH THE FIRST GENERATION OF ASSAUT ULTRA XPS AND ULTRA ALPINISTS, TO RUN THROUGH THE MILL OF ALL OUR EXPEDITIONS AND TRIPS OVER  MONTHS. WE USED THEM IN EVERY TENT – INCLUDING ONES THEY WEREN’T REALLY INTENDED FOR – CLOCKING UP ABOUT 30 NIGHTS WITH THEM FROM HIGH WINDS IN THE KUNLUN TO SNOW DUMPS IN JAPAN. THEY GOT THE FULL BEATING OF BEING CARRIED ABOUT, AIRLINES AND DESPERATE USE, AND WE GOT TO KNOW THEM WELL, AS YOU DO WITH SOMETHING YOU HANDLE TWICE A DAY FOR MONTHS.

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THE SAMAYA CARBON SD POLES ARE TOTALLY CARBON (OTHER THAN THE SHOCK CORD AND END PIECES), SO THERE IS NO DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN MATERIALS. THOUGH THIS DOES LITTLE TO THE WEIGHT IT DOES A LOT TO DESIGN INTEGRITY, WHERE EVERYTHING BENDS THE SAME WAY AND MEANS NO POINTS OF DIFFERENT PRESSURE. THIS REALLY MATTERS IN HIGH WINDS AND LOTS OF SNOW, BUT ALSO FOR PROLONGED USE, AS ONE LOOK AT THE PERMENANTLY KINKED ALUMINIUM POLES FROM A VE25 USED IN BASECAMP WITH TELL YOU, THOSE KINKS BEING COMPROMISES IN A TENTS STRUCTURE.

NEXT IS THE POLES DIAMETER. CARBON POLES ARE WELL KNOWN FOR BEING A LOT THINNER THAN ALUMINIUM, WHICH HAD NO ACTUAL PROBLEMS AS EXTENDED USE CONFIRMS. WE OURSELVES NEVER CONSIDERED THIS AS ANYTHING ON THE RADAR TO WORK ON, UNTIL WE GOT THE THESE, WHICH ARE A LOT WIDER, AND FOUND AN ADVANCEMENT WE DIDN’T KNOW WE LACKED.

GREATER DIAMETER POLES FLEX DIFFERENTLY, THEY ALSO PRESENT A LARGER SURFACE AREA, AND WHEN YOU PUT THIS IN PLACE YOU HAVE A NOTICEABLY STRONGER STRUCTURE. A BIT LIKE THE BLUE ICE AERO ICE SCREWS WE SO LOVE, MORE SURFACE CONTACT HAS MORE HOLDING POWER, AND WHEN THE WIND STARTS PUSHING A TENT AROUND AND THE SNOW STARTS PUSHING IN, THAT EXTRA CONTACT BETWEEN POLE AND WALL MAKES A THE TENT A MUCH NICER PLACE TO BE. BUCKMINSTER FULLER’S CONCEPTS AROUND TENSEGRITY – THE ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLE THESE TENTS USE – DEMONSTRATES HOW THE DYNAMICS OF FLEX AND CONTACT AREA ARE WHAT CONTRIBUTE TO STRENGTH. IN THIS CASE, THESE POLES HAVE CLOSE TO DOUBLE THE CONTACT AREA WITH THE TENTS WALLS PRESENTING LOT MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS CARBON POLES AND MORE STILL THAN ALUMINIUM.

THE ACTUAL EQUATION WE ARE STILL WORKING AT (IT’S BUCKMINSTER FULLER, IT’S COMPLICATED) BUT IN USE THERE IS LESS MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE POLE AND FABRIC WHEN THINGS START TO KICK OFF. WHERE NARROWER POLES HAVE MORE FLICK AND FLEX AS THE WIND BUFFETS THE TENT, THE SDs STAY IN PLACE. THIS IS MOST NOTICEABLE IN THE ULTRA ALPINIST WHERE THE POLES ARE EXPOSED, AND ALSO WHEN YOU HANG A STOVE (YEAH, YEAH, COOKING IN TENTS AGAIN – WE ARE ADULTS). TO REALLY SEE IT AT WORK THE INTERSECTING POLES OF THE ULTRA XP PUSH THE TENSEGRITY PRINCIPLES EVEN HIGHER, MAKING THE ALREADY STRONGEST HIGH ALTITUDE TENT AVAILABLE EVEN STRONGER AGAIN.

IF YOU’VE EVER DISMISSED POLES AS JUST SOME ACCEPTED PART OF A TENT NEEDING NO THOUGHT, THEN THINK AGAIN BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE THE SDs IN ACTION YOU WILL REALIZE WHAT’S POSSIBLE.

THEN THERE’S ALL THE ERGONOMICS OF CARBON POLES, BEING WARM IN THE HAND, NOT FREEZING TOGETHER, NOT ATTRACTING FROST THROUGH ADVECTION AND THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – THEY ARE BRIGHT RED. IF YOU’VE EVER DROPPED A POLE DOWN A SNOW SLOPE OR NOT CONNECTED ONE SECTION  COMPLETELY YOU WILL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE COLOUR CAN MAKE, AND LACKING THIS ATTRIBUTE WAS ABOUT THE ONLY THING ALUMINIUM HAD OVER CARBON. SAMAYA HAS FIXED THAT, WE CAN NOW HAVE CANDY COLOURED POLES TO OUR DELIGHT. IN USUAL SAMAYA STYLE THE SHOCK CORD IS HIGH QUALITY, THE FITTINGS PROPRIETARY AND THE DETAILS OF FINISHING IMPECCABLE. THEY COME IN THE USUAL DYNEEMA BAG WHICH ALONE COSTS A LOT, AND YET AGAIN SAMAYA REINFORCES BLATANTLY WHY THEY ARE THE BEST TENTS POSSIBLE FOR SERIOUS EXPEDITIONS.

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