Constructing short pole for tarp
Continuing construction of an ultralight tarp, this is the previous post:
https://bkhome.org/news/202105/tarp-glueing-reinforcing.html
The tarp has a ridgeline, with a high head-end and a low tail-end.
The head-end can be tied directly to a tree-trunk, branch or can sit on a
trekking-pole or a 125.5cm carbon-fibre pole.
The pole for the tail-end is to be 48.5cm, and I want it
foldable, no longer than 25cm so as to be able to lay flat in my
backpack or lumbar pack.
The tarp is intended to have in inner mesh tent permanently sewn in,
and the tail-end pole will also be sewn-in. The 2 pieces of the tail-end
pole could have bungee cord to keep them together -- that is the usual
method -- however, being sewn into the tent, think will be able to avoid
a bungee cord.
I have carbon fibre tube, 4x6mm (IDxOD) and 6x8mm (IDxOD), the latter to be used as the joining sleeve. Here is a picture:
Those 4x6 tubes are 24.8cm long each (without the end-caps), and I
cut 3cm length of the 6x8 for the joining-sleeve. There are rubber
end-caps, that add a couple of millimeters on each end.
When pulled apart, the two pieces will fold to be the same length,
close to 25cm. To achieve this, one of the 4x6 poles had to be cut
short, to 23.5cm (including the end-cap) -- this is the piece that will have the 3cm sleeve
glued onto it -- inserted 1.5cm onto the 4x6 pole, thus giving a total
length of 25cm.
For the 23.5cm pole, I wrapped electrical tape around it, then
sandpapered the surface so that the glue will adhere better. The photo
shows this, and in the middle is the 1.5cm piece that I cut off the
pole:
I discussed on the Aussie bushwalking forum what glue to use:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=35123
...decided on epoxy adhesive. It turned out well.
Here is where I bought 4x6 and 6x8 carbon fibre tube:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002341116771.html
The silicone rubber end caps:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001609758449.html
Just a little detail, the 4x6 does fit inside the 6x8 tube, but is a
tight fit, and I used some 4x6 that had purchased earlier from another
vendor on Aliexpress (here), as it is a slightly looser fit inside the 6x8
sleeve.
The epoxy adhesive is a very cheap brand from Bunnings:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/utility-25ml-slow-setting-epoxy-adhesive_p1662637
Getting closer to the weekend, when I will have waited long enough
for the silicone sealant to cure, and will be able to sew the
tie-outs.
Tags: light
Tarp glueing reinforcing
Continuing with contructing TreeHugger 1P Mark-1 tarp. Here is the previous post:
https://bkhome.org/news/202105/tarp-glueing-hems-and-ridgeline.html
Reinforcing is to be at the tie-out points. I used the same 10D
silnylon, and two plates from the kitchen to cut circles. I cut out two
sets of circles, 15.5cm and 21cm diameter -- nothing special about those
sizes, they were what I had in the kitchen that seemed about the right
size.
Here is a sketch showing where the reinforcing is to be applied:
"A" is glued on top of "B" on the ridgeline, for extra strength.
Here is one of the bottom corners:
The reinforcing on the ridgeline were larger pieces, more of a
challenge to glue down. You can see the ripples, somewhat less than a
perfect job:
One good thing: it will be very easy to sew. If I decide to reinforce
with some sewing later on, won't have to grapple with two pieces of
thin slippery fabric trying to go off on every direction.
I was reading a post from someone, can't recall the link, who
glues-on reinforcing, and he said to wait several days before sewing.
The reason is, the silicone will cure quickly at the edges, but
underneath the two layers of silnylon, it will take many days to cure.
He said, if you do it too soon, it will gunk up your sewing machine --
especially around the bobbin.
Next, I will sew on the webbing tie-outs. But, oh no, I will have to wait several days! Hmmm, maybe work on EasyOS or something.
Now the really interesting bit: I have been weighing this tarp as construction progressed, and the weight is now 158g.
This is so good. I estimate the webbing and a bit of hardware, such as
cord-tensioners, will add another 15g, bringing the estimated total up
to 173g. That is just the basic tarp, but I do plan to add more
features, such as rain-baffles on each end, plus an inner mesh tent, but
I do now expect the total tent weight to be well under my original goal
of around 500g.
Tags: light
Tarp glueing hems and ridgeline
Continuing the project constructing TreeHugger 1P mark-1 tarp, a simpler design than originally conceived. Previous post:
https://bkhome.org/news/202105/th1p-mark-1-simple-tarp.html
I decided to glue the entire tarp, and only sew the tie-out webbing.
Really want to find out if an almost-totally glued tarp will be strong
enough. Of course, it very much depends on the weather conditions in
which it is going to be used. I am in Western Australia, Mediterranean
climate, but there will be some high winds on the South Coast. Unlikely
to ever use it in "gale force" winds.
The tarp consists of two pieces, that will be glued together at the
ridgeline. This stage of the project started with getting together
support items:
The idea of the roller is to run it over the seam, to ensure both
surfaces are pressed into the adhesive. I purchased this 30mm Seam
Roller from Bunnings:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-30mm-seam-roller_p1662302
The Parfix All Purpose Silicone Sealant is also from Bunnings, a small 40g tube:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/parfix-40g-clear-all-purpose-silicone_p1230047
I reckoned that it would be easier to handle a small tube, rather than a large 300g tube with dispenser.
The roller is in a cup with mineral turpentine, the idea being to clean any silicone off it. The gloves are vinyl disposable.
The sides and bottoms of the tarp are just simple folded-over hems.
What I did was lay the fabric over a dressed-pine plank, with some
weights to keep it in place:
And used the marking pencil to draw two lines, 1.5cm apart:
...oh, you can see my awful cutting of the edge! That was a
particularly bad spot, lack of concentration. Probably a roller-cutter
would do a straight line, or a soldering iron.
What is to happen here, is first adhesive is spread between the two
lines, then the edge is folded over. Seems simple enough in theory, and
in practice wasn't that difficult.
I am left-handed, so it seemed most natural for me to start from the
right side, and use the left hand to apply the adhesive, then spread it
with a thumb or finger of the left hand. I dribbled a very thin line of
adhesive between the two lines, then with one sweep of the thumb, held
sideways, spread the adhesive into a thin film, hopefully filling the
entire space between the two lines.
I did it a section at a time, using the newspaper edges as convenient stopping-points.
This spreading operation has to be done in one go. Going back and
trying to spread it around can end up in a mess. As I was very miserly
with applying the adhesive, it didn't always spread out to 1.5cm. But
for the hem, I think that is non-critical.
I waited several hours between doing each hem, then finally got to doing the ridgeline...
I first spread cling-wrap over the wood plank. Reason is, cling-wrap
is made with polyethylene, which silicone does not stick to. I have
cheap Woolworths brand cling-wrap, and it doesn't say on the packet what
it is made with, but I tested, and confirmed silicone sealant doesn't
stick.
I marked a line 3cm from the edge, then lay the other ridgeline on top. So, 3cm overlap.
Now for the tricky bit, how to glue this without the two pieces moving all over the place...
With the two pieces of fabric in place, I put a lot more weights here
and there, so that if the edge of the top fabric is lifted, when let
go, it will naturally fall back into the same place.
A problem with silnylon is that it is stretchy, particularly this
thin stuff. So you can't pull it. It really has to be as much as
possible placed so that the upper edge will just fall down in the
correct place. You can lower it with some encouragement to meet the edge
with the chalk-line, but do not pull the fabric longitudinally -- we do
not want the top piece stretched when the bottom piece isn't.
Due to the 3cm width, I applied the adhesive in a zigzag pattern,
then used the side of my index finger (finger closest to the thumb) to
spread it. As with the hem, I did a small section at a time.
The ridgeline turned out OK, except that I was too miserly in
administering the adhesive. Wasn't quite getting 3cm spread in some
places. I measured afterward, only use 4g adhesive in the ridgeline,
much less than anticipated. What I will do later on. is go back over the
edges that are not fully stuck down, apply more adhesive.
Here is what the ridgeline looks like:
Now for measuring the weight...
The two pieces of silnylon weigh 128g. After glueing the hems and ridgeline, total weight is 144g. Oh man, that is light!
What is going to be very interesting is how much weight the tie-outs
will add. Plus a bit of remedial glueing on the ridgeline -- but that
will probably only be a few grams.
A note for those who haven't been following my "traveling light"
posts, I am trying to reduce the weight carried in my Mountainsmith
Daylight lumbar pack, from 4.5kg to 3.5kg (including weight of the
lumbar pack). So the tarp, and planned inner mesh tent, are mostly being
designed for light weight and compactness, rather than for durability.
Tags: light
TH1P mark-1 simple tarp
I have posted about interesting ideas for a tent, that I named "TreeHugger 1P":
https://bkhome.org/news/202105/th1p-tent-design-using-solvespace.html
However, as I am a neophyte at tent construction, and indeed anything
to do with sewing and fabrics, I decided that baby-steps are in
order...
So have modified the outer skin of the tent to not have the
spreader-pole, and just be a simple tarpaulin. I made the foot-end a bit
higher -- want poles that fold to no more than 25cm long, but can have
two poles at the foot-end, that lock together, achieving about 49cm
length.
This simple tarp can still be tied up as a "tree hugger", and later
could add an inner mesh tent. Just want to create this tarp first, to
learn how to do it.
So, from SolveSpace, figured out the required dimensions of the tarp.
Here they are, and sequence of marking the fabric shown in green:
I marked it with a clay fabric pencil, this one, which marks OK on the silicone surface:
Used normal general-purpose scissors, new and sharp, to cut out. It
isn't easy, this stuff is so slippery, can't cut very straight. It
doesn't have to be a perfect straight line, as all edges will be folded.
I bought new scissors, as they have to be sharp. Scissors get blunted when used to cut paper. These ones:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/trojan-240mm-general-purpose-scissors_p0191105
The fabric is 10D silnylon, silicone-coated on both sides. In fact,
it is impregnated right through with silicone. So it is not only
incredibly thin, but also incredibly slippery. I wasn't able to source
it in Australia, so bought it from these guys (7 metres):
https://www.adventurexpert.com/product/10d-silnylon-fabric/
I then used the first one as a template for the second:
Marked out with fabric pencil and cut the second. Very difficult, as
my lounge room is too small. A large floor area is required, so can walk
all around the sides.
Next step will probably be to sew or glue the side and bottom hems.
After that, join the two pieces together along the ridgeline. Note, the
reason that the ridgeline has to be cut along the side of the fabric, is
that ripstop fabric is more stretchy when pulled diagonally. We want
minimum stretch along the ridgeline.
Tags: light
5V linear regulator with L4940V5
I built a little 5V linear regulator for a "5W" solar panel in 2016:
https://bkhome.org/light/solar/panels-small-2016.htm
Fast forward to 2021, and I am building another, using a low-dropout
linear regulator with higher current rating, 1.5A compared to 1.0A
previously. This new regulator is the ST-Microelectronics L4940V5, that I
posted about recently:
https://bkhome.org/news/202104/some-considerations-for-5v-solar-charging.html
I used the same circuit as in 2016, with 0.47 microfarad and 22 microfarad capacitors on input and output.
This time though, I have placed the USB Type-A female socket inside
the toothbrush-head holder, and twin wires coming out to directly solder
onto the solar panel. This is to reduce weight.
I constructed it in the same manner as in 2016, just soldering wires
together, no circuit-board, and construction was well underway when I
realised that the USB socket is not sufficiently anchored.
Considerable force is required to insert and remove a USB male plug. I
fixed it by firstly shaping a small piece of plastic that the USB
socket can grip onto. This is to prevent the socket from being pulled
out of the housing when the plug is extracted:
Another problem is that is is very fiddly soldering the wires
directly together, without a circuit board substrate, particularly the
pins of the USB socket.
The other thing I did to hold the USB socket in place, and also to
anchor the twin flex, was to inject some potting adhesive into the
bottom of the housing, after it was closed up. I used K-705, which is
clear adhesive:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000959632758.html
The clear one is quite runny, and stays runny for an hour or so after
pouring. It doesn't skin quickly like silicone sealant that we buy in
hardware stores. Has to be left overnight.
From the photo, it looks like the black and white ones are less runny. Interesting.
Anyway, next day it was ready for testing. It doesn't look pretty
with the holes I burnt into it with a soldering iron, but it functions,
and the USB socket stays in place:
Weight is 14g. It would probably have turned out lighter if I had
used a piece of veroboard. Like this one from Altronics, could just cut a
tiny piece off it:
https://www.altronics.com.au/p/h0714-75-x-100mm-0.1-inch-pitch-vero-board-pcb/
...hmmm, will do it that way next time.
The test was conducted yesterday, and we are mid-winter here. Sky was
cloudy, but was thinning out briefly, and I took readings as quickly as
possible. The panel is the CLAITE "10W", and plugged into a small
lithium battery bank, via a voltage & current monitor.
The sunlight kept changing, but averaging, managed to get a
reasonable reading. Got a 0.2V drop, from input to output, 4.5V into the
battery bank, at 0.5A.
What that means, is the regulator is dissipating 0.1W (watts) as
heat. It feels slightly warm to the finger, after running for several
minutes.
The power coming from the panel is 4.7V times 0.5A, which is 2.35W.
That means the regulator is running at a percentage loss of (0.1 /
2.35) * 100, which is 4.2%. That means the regulator is running at 95.8% efficiency, which rivals the switching regulators.
Another thing I mentioned in a previous post, if you are hiking and
carrying this on your backpack, near your head, the linear regulator
will not be radiating RF (Radio Frequency) waves into your head.
Tags: light
TH1P tent design using SolveSpace
The first post about the new project, "TreeHugger 1P" tent, was about short carbon-fibre poles:
https://bkhome.org/news/202105/poles-for-treehugger-1p-tent.html
Now, I have used SolveSpace to create 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional
views. I must preface this post by stating that this is very
exploratory, and I do not know if this design will become an actual
physical tent. I know nothing about tent design, and can barely use a
sewing machine, so it will be "venturing into unexplored territory" if I
do actually have a go at sewing it.
Here are the SolveSpace files. This is using SolveSpace version 3.0.
Some OS distributions only package 2.x, and these files cannot be opened
in 2.x. EasyOS 2.7.3 has 3.0. Here they are, gzipped. You will have to
un-gzip them:
Another thing that I want to state up-front: if, in the unlikely
event that someone sees something in this design that they think is
patentable, I claim that every aspect of this design, and features of
this design that I will reveal in later blog posts, is free,
open-source, public-domain, no restrictions whatsoever in copying,
modifying, or using.
I have made this statement because in some countries, the USA in
particular, just about anything can be patented. The original concept of
patents was to protect new inventions, however, that (in my opinion)
got corrupted, and now even just the tiniest twist of an existing
concept, the most trivial idea, can be patented. This is a massive
money-earner for some companies, such as Microsoft. Anyway, onward ho...
Here is the first SolveSpace file, 2-d views:
And now I can reveal why I have named it "tree hugger". The head-end
can be tied directly against a tree trunk, as the head-end has a
vertical wall.
Yes, it could be away from a tree, with cord to tie the head-end to a
branch, or it could sit on a trekking-pole or any other pole, with cord
to a stake in the ground.
However, I love the idea of being tied right against a tree trunk. I
have previously posted about how to sit comfortably inside a tent, with
various ideas such as sitting cross-legged with bracing to hold the
lumbar-region of the spine erect.
A tree trunk gives you an instant backrest! Inside the tent, lean back
against the tree, maybe with something rolled-up to support the lumbar
region, and hey, comfy!
I have posted previously about the difficulty I have with crawling in
and out of a tent. One issue I have is a degenerated lower-back
vertebrae. The TH1P design has side-entry that has step-in and step-out.
You can see the label "flap", that is the
outer fly. It can unhook from the corner stake and fold back over the
ridge-line, exposing a zippered entry to the inner tent.
The angle of the zippered entry is such that you can just step-in and step-out.
In summary so far, the design has these great features:
- Spreader-bar at the top for head-space.
- Vertical wall at head-end to lean against a tree trunk.
- Fold-back fly and inner mesh zipper opening angled for step-in and step-out.
The other side of the fly can also unhook and fold back, if extra ventilation is required.
The 3-d view shows that there are two ridge-lines, and I have highlighted the surface formed by these in yellow:
However, to improve water runoff, I plan to join the two ridgelines
into one, about halfway down. This is incredibly complicated to
calculate, how to cut the fabric. This is where the "dressmaker's dummy"
that I constructed should come in handy.
One thing that I am uncertain about is sag. The ridgelines will sag,
no matter how tight the cords at each end are pulled. I don't know
whether to try and compensate for this when cutting the cloth. Once
again, erecting it on the dummy frame should be helpful.
The above 3-d drawing also shows one side of the inner mesh tent.
The length of the inner mesh tent in the above drawings is 180cm,
which I intend to increase a little bit. I am 177cm, about 5 feet 10
inches, but I think a bit more length is needed. The foot-end of the
sleeping bag will extend a bit beyond my body-length. Though, I do
usually sleep on my side, slightly curled. I think will add another 5cm
(2 inches).
There are some more details, that are not apparent from these simple
drawings. These details are in my head, and will be explained later.
Tags: light
Miniwell water filter kit
I am continuing to iterate through the gear that will go into the
Daylight Lumbar Pack, aiming to reduce the total weight from 4.5kg to
3.5kg. Earlier this year, I reconsidered the base load, without shelter
and sleeping gear:
https://bkhome.org/news/202102/reconsidering-the-waist-pack-base-load-sans-shelter-and-sleeping.html
The water filter kit had a Sawyer Mini, a flat bottle, tube and
syringe. I reckoned that the syringe could be left home, so the weight
was 82g:
There are two serious problems with that kit...
Firstly, I have discussed in
previous blogs about the bottle wanting to stay flat and being a pain to
fill from a pond surface.
I found a foldable TPU bottle that has a natural tendency to
stay open, and can be filled from a pond surface in a few seconds. So I
am now using this one instead of the Sawyer bottle, and it even weighs
less -- I am using a lid from a soft drink bottle and total weight of
bottle is now 21g. This is what I purchased, 500ml dark green (so as to
distinguish from my clean-water TPU bottles, that are all light blue):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33012014287.html
Secondly, The Sawyer Mini is very restricted in how it can be used,
by not having threads on both ends. So, it has been retired, and I am
now using a Miniwell filter:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32666647306.html
This has a 28mm thread on both ends, opening up lots of extra
possible configurations. You could, for example, squeeze directly from
one TPU bottle into another. As the clean-water bottle can be rolled up
and most air expelled, there is no problem with screwing it onto the
outlet of the Miniwell filter and filling it with filtered water.
For minimalist hiking, only the filter and bottle are required. Weights:
Miniwell filter |
44g |
TPU bottle |
21g |
TOTAL: |
65g |
The "dirty" water bottle also has another use, with the bidet. If you
haven't been following my blog posts, here is one about a portable
bidet:
https://bkhome.org/news/202104/bottle-cap-glued-to-portable-bidet.html
However, those other parts in the above photo are very useful. One
problem with filtering water is that it takes time. If you arrive at a
campsite, or anywhere where there is a water supply, it could take some
time to fill up the filtered-water bottles.
Of course, a way around that is to just put the "dirty" water into
all the bottles, and always drink through the filter. But for now, I
won't go that way.
What is really nice is to have a plastic bag filled with water and
let gravity do the job of filtering. That way, you can be doing other
things, setting up tent or whatever, while the filtering happens. Here
is a photo showing those other parts in action:
...that little white thing is a hose clamp. Bottom-left, using a plastic single-use shopping bag, they weigh virtually nothing.
You see the guy drinking from it, but a rolled-up TPU bottle could be
screwed-on and left to fill, while you are off doing other things.
Here are the weights:
Adaptor |
9g |
Silicone tube |
26g |
Hose clamp |
5g |
TOTAL |
30g |
The grand total then becomes 105g. I do not want to be going up in weight, though these extra items are very useful.
The silcone tube is very heavy. Measuring with my measuring tape, ID
(inside diameter) is 5.5mm, and OD is 8.5mm. Quite thick walls. I could
replace with thinner tube, and reckon knock the weight right down, to
under 10g.
That clamp is not really needed, only have to crimp the tube to stop
water flow, could do that with an elastic band. So could end up with a
total weight around 84g, almost same as before. But much more versatile.
Note, that tube is required for gravity filtering, as there has to be a certain head of water to get enough pressure.
Oh, one more point about the Miniwell kit: a syringe is not required
for back-flushing. Any old flexible plastic bottle with 28mm thread will
do. Fill it with clean water, even tap water when you reach
civilization, screw onto the filter outlet-end, and press very firmly.
Another advantage with having threads both ends!
EDIT 2021-05-24:
I have purchased silicone tube with 5mm ID (inside diameter) and 6mm OD
(outside diameter), so the wall thickness is only 0.5mm. Very thin, so
kinks easily, but it works. Although only 5mm ID, it still fits onto the
Miniwell filter and to the gravity-bag adapter. The silicone tube
supplied with the Miniwell kit is 60.5cm long. I purchased 100cm of this
thin tube, and will use the entire length for gravity-feed, as the more
water-head the better.
The new tube, 1 metre, weighs just 13g. Bought from here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001986349236.html
Tags: light
Poles for TreeHugger 1P tent
I have come up with a design for a tent, and tentatively given it
the name "TreeHugger 1P". The "tree hugger" name will become apparent
as the construction progresses. The "1P" means one person.
If you look back through my blog posts, under category "light", you
will see some tents/tarps that I purchased that are held up by a pole. A
single-pole tent may use either a trekking-pole or a carbon fibre pole
-- I have a couple of the latter.
With a single pole holding it up, the inside walls and floor are
going to be a triangle shape. At the top will be a ridge, and if you sit
up inside the tent, the tent walls will be pressing both sides of your
head.
My Six Moons carbon fibre pole is 117cm long, so if that is holding
up the outer skin, the fly, of the tent, then the inner mesh tent will
be lower. Not a good experience if you want to sit up.
Here is a photo of the inner mesh tent, single-pole design (not
counting the short foot-pole), taken on a hike earlier this year:
...you can see the very constricted head room! The experience is worse than might be determined from looking at the photo.
Blog post about that hike, February 2021, experimenting with my Daylight lumbar pack:
https://bkhome.org/news/202102/waist-pack-hiking-test-2021.html
Tents that have two trekking poles have much more head room, for example the Dan Durston X-Mid, that I posted about recently:
https://bkhome.org/news/202104/the-best-double-wall-trekking-pole-tent.html
My TreeHugger is planned to stay with the single-pole design, except I
will design it to tie up to a branch rather than sit on a pole. Though,
I will make it optional, the 117cm carbon-fibre pole or tie to a
branch.
So, I am going to have that problem of very squashed head-room. To
alleviate this, the tent is going to have a "spreader", a 25cm long
carbon fibre pole, held horizontally just above the head. I purchased
these poles, 24.8cm long, 6cm OD, 4cm ID glossy:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33056914311.html
...however, looked online today, and that item is no longer sold.
That is, I have them, purchased before they were withdrawn. If anyone
wants to reproduce my tent design, there are other vendors, but they
sell in 50cm lengths, for example:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002265467955.html
I don't know what this stuff is like to cut, presume that a hacksaw would do it.
As the tent is going to be draped over the horizontal spreader-pole, I
also purchased plastic end caps, to help protect from tearing the tent,
6mm black:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33027991367.html
The weight of each 24.8cm pole is 5.5g, with the end caps, 6g. I plan
to use two of these, one as a head-spreader, the other at the foot-end.
At the foot-end, the pole will be vertical. Total weight added to tent:
12g. Having to count these grams very carefully, as one major goal is
extreme light weight -- targeting putting this tent into my
Mountainsmith Daylight lumbar pack. Photo with end caps attached:
And that is also why I wanted poles no longer than 25cm. The tent
will roll up and fit into a stuff sack and lie flat inside the lumbar
pack. same for any backpack, it will be short enough to lay
horizontal.
TreeHugger 1P, "th1p" for short, is a new project, and I plan to post
as each step is completed. My sewing skills are minimal, but, we shall
see. Also, having no prior tent-design experience, there is an element
of uncertainty how the ideas in my head will turn out in the final
product. How does that saying go? "...where angels fear to
tread".
EDIT 2021-05-12:
I also purchased alternative end-caps. These are silicone, 5.7mm ID (inside diameter), black:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001609758449.html
They are more substantial, likely to stand up better to usage. Photo, showing the other type alongside:
These silicone end caps are probably the better choice for the vertical foot pole. Hmmm, probably for both poles.
EDIT 2021-05-18:
Found a vendor on Aliexpress that sells the carbon fibre tube in 25cm lengths:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002341116771.html
Tags: light