UL hiking pole mod to use as bridge hammock spreader - 0.65 ounces the pair !!

[QiWiz]

I noticed my Gossamer Gear trekking poles had a circular cutout on top of the handle (for access to a screw for removal or replacement of wrist straps). Gave me an idea.

What I needed was something I could easily take out when hiking or put in when camping that would have a pin for that end of the hiking-pole-spreader-bar.
After some hunting, I discovered a brass camera tripod adapter (3/8" female to 1/4" male threads). Less than $7 for a pair of them on Amazon.

The process I undertook was to file/grind off the 1/4" threads and make the resulting pin a little shorter as well. I then cut off the bottom half of it with a hacksaw and used thin strips of Leukotape to enlarge the base so that it would fit snugly inside the hiking pole handle cutout. Looks like a winner, but field testing awaits. See pics

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[Otter1]

Awesome! Grizzly Adam's popped out that plug for just this purpose and it worked. Keep us updated!

[WV]

Good thinking. You'll need to look at the other end of the trekking pole, too. The hard rubber sleeve on trekking pole tips won't stand up to bending forces. Hangnout discovered that when his tip broke and threw the pole 40' in the air. The shaft of my Pacer Pole extends into that hard rubber sleeve about 3/4 of the way. I discovered that recently when the rest of the sleeve started to bend. I use pockets on the corners of my bridge hammock to make attaching the trekking pole tips easier and to protect my tarp from inevitable contact with the spreader end. I reinforced the pocket by inserting a 3" piece of 1/2" diameter aluminum tube (old tent pole, I think). I think that's going to work pretty well. The bending failure happened when I extended the pole a few inches farther to compensate for the hammock getting wider (creep happens). This combination of hammock and trekking pole spreaders had been used for over a hundred nights, so some equipment failures come slowly.

How long are your spreaders? Short, I hope. The thinnest sections of some 3-section poles aren't strong enough. Also, the section locks often need reinforcing (a la TeeDee, Grizz, or Hangnout, with interior dowels or exterior sleeves - I use supplemental BD fliplocks). Even with the weight of additional reinforcing in various places, using trekking poles as spreaders represents one of the biggest weight-saving methods I know. Even better than leaving my camera at home. Let us know how your modification works (and keep thinking up new ones).