New Ridgerunner poles don't seem right?

**bansheekitty** · 10-06-2019, 18:18

I bought the new style Ridgerunner poles, since I can't fit the old style ones in my new pack, but I don't seem to have gotten the right items. Here is a picture:

I contacted Warbonnet, and so far they have told me that the 5th pole is inside one of the others. Well fair enough, it looked already as if the 19 inch pole was two poles put together, except that I literally cannot pull them apart. I've tried pulling, I've tried wiggling and pulling, I've tried twisting and pulling. No dice. It's like it's glued in there or something. Plus, even if I were able to get them apart, my poles wouldn't match what is on the website:

https://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/wp...-2-510x383.jpg

For one thing, there is meant to be a bar with two silver ends that appears to be the middle piece for the header bar, but I don't have that. Also, all the bars should be within an inch of each other in length, and NONE of my bars are the same size. What it looks like to me, is that if you pulled out the gray bar from the 19 inch one, then removed the silver piece from the other end of the 19 incher, and swapped it with the tip from the shortest one, THAT would match the website.

Can anyone give me any guidance? Am I just missing something obvious?

**drsolarmolar** · 10-06-2019, 18:42

Something does look off. If you can get the silver foot bar out of the other bar it looks as if it would work. It looks like one of the inserts and one of the end tips got switched though. However, you’re right that it’s not like Warbonnet’s picture.

**bansheekitty** · 10-06-2019, 18:45

Yeah, that's what I think as well. An insert and a tip was switched, plus I seriously cannot separate those other two poles. I'm not claiming to have the greatest grip strength ever - I do occasionally resort to using one of those little tools to open jars - but still, what on earth did they do to those poles that I can't separate them? It really seems like they are glued together.

I'm a little stressed planning for a camping trip this coming weekend with two new campers (I took them out over Labor Day and that was their first time camping ever - this will be #2), so I'm hoping that Warbonnet can just ship me new ones, and let me ship these back.

**questionmike** · 10-06-2019, 19:02

Originally Posted by bansheekitty

Yeah, that's what I think as well. An insert and a tip was switched, plus I seriously cannot separate those other two poles. I'm not claiming to have the greatest grip strength ever - I do occasionally resort to using one of those little tools to open jars - but still, what on earth did they do to those poles that I can't separate them? It really seems like they are glued together.

I'm a little stressed planning for a camping trip this coming weekend with two new campers (I took them out over Labor Day and that was their first time camping ever - this will be #2), so I'm hoping that Warbonnet can just ship me new ones, and let me ship these back.

Very odd. I would try to find somebody strong to see if they could separate them first before you send them back. This is because I know warbonnet has been in low supply of the spreader bars recently, so if you have a trip coming up, then it would be risky because you might not get them back in time

**Yarome** · 10-06-2019, 19:27

Have you tried shooting some break-free/WD-40 or similar down around that silver pole? Might let it soak over-night and give it another try. If you wanted to get agressive you could apply heat (propane canister torch or the like) to the inside pole then try to extract it.

Just looking at the photos though... it looks like more than just a switched connector and tip issue. The base pole lenghts don't match up to the head and foot dimensions and the diameters look off for where you actually "need" to make the swaps. Could be wrong....

**TrailSlug** · 10-06-2019, 19:41

Why not contact Brandon with your information and let him give you guidance. I'd be amazed if he didn't offer to send a new set.

**bansheekitty** · 10-06-2019, 19:50

Yeah, I'm not comfortable doing any real messing with the poles, given how key they are support-wise. I'd hate to do anything to weaken their integrity. Worst comes to worst I can bring my old poles next weekend. I'll just have to have them poking out of my pack at an awkward angle.

I did contact Warbonnet by email (the only contact info I had was the email on their website), so I'm hoping they will offer a good solution. The last time I dealt with them was probably 5 years ago, but I remember their customer service being excellent.

**TrailSlug** · 10-06-2019, 20:27

Yea, they are still good to work with and if your pack has a side water pocket they should fit fine in there. I've used this for years and still have the longer older version and it's worked perfectly in all of my packs.
https://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/...ckPoleBag.html

**bansheekitty** · 10-07-2019, 11:44

Yay, Warbonnet! They are going to send out new poles. They said the gray pole shouldn't be stuck fast the way it is.

They also said that the most recent batch of spreader bars they received from the manufacturer did have an error. The middle section was supposed to have inserts at both ends, and one of the longer ones was supposed to have a tip instead of an insert. Basically what we had already guessed looking at the poles. So the new set will still have this error. They will still work and will fit together, but won't break down as small. The only issue I can see is that you may not be able to nest them and still get them to fit inside the pole bag (though I'm not sure about that), but I can live with that. I just won't nest them. They have also updated the photo on the spreader bar page to indicate how the poles look now.

That looks like a cool bag, TrailSlug. I've just kept my spreader poles in the original thin plastic bag they came in, to keep them together, and I was previously able to stick them down into the hydration compartment in my pack, between the stays, and carry them that way. My new pack, although a larger capacity, has a main compartment and a separate sleeping bag compartment, so the main compartment isn't tall enough (or wide enough) for my current poles. The newer style poles will be able to lay down flat in the main compartment. The pack is a Kelty Trekker 65, so it does have external pockets, but they are fairly small.

I'm pretty excited to get out this weekend, and try out the new pack. We've been dying of heat this year in NC, with average temps about 10 degrees higher than they are normally this time of year (it was in the mid-90s last week), but we finally seem to have a break in the heat, plus I'll be going up into the mountains, where it will be cooler.

**TrailSlug** · 10-07-2019, 22:04

Yep, Warbonnet seems to always come through and that's why many of us like the company so much. Tell me about the heat. We just set 7 straight days of record breaking heat and set all time high for the month of October at 101° last Friday. We just got our first rain in over 63 days and oh how sweet these cooler temps are. It's currently 62° and this is so so welcomed. We normally only have ~58 90° days. This year we had 92 so needless to say it's been hot but now the backpacking season is finally starting.