Tent poles are pretty durable, but they can still break or bend. It might be high winds or just accidentally stepping on one. But life happens, so what do you do if you need to replace a tent pole? This will depend in large part on your tent. Some modern tents have poles that are part of a connected system, so individual poles are hard to replace. If this is the case, you will need to order a complete replacement from the manufacturer. The plus to this is that many higher quality tents come with a lifetime warranty, so they will often replace it for free. If it is just a single pole that needs to be replaced, you can use replacement kits. These are usually fiberglass, which is heavier than aluminum but is better than having to throw your tent away. You will need to measure how long your existing pole is and cut the replacements to fit this length. Since tent poles are made up of multiple pieces that slot together, it is best to cut them all to the same length. Use a super fine hacksaw blade and cut halfway through. Then rotate the pole 90-degrees and finish the cut. Be extra careful, as you don't want the fiber glass to fray and split. To reduce the chances of the fibers fraying, wrap the part of the pole you want to keep with electrical tape just below where you are going to cut. Once all the pieces are cut, then you have to run the shock cord through each pole and connect to the end cap. I like to make a loop using a bowline knot as it fits through the middle of the poles better than a larger knot will.