Hi Ian,
For the top caps of the 7m HD poles from Haverfords in Sydney, there is a good source of replacement caps, in the form of chair leg tips, 38mm, from Bunnings. White or black option, I use white as I think they are more visible against typical ground on a summit. They don’t last forever, they get hard and brittle, so need to be replaced every few years. The leg tips come in packs of 4. Check the OD of the top of the first section of the pole, to be sure you get the right size tips. Think it is just over 38mm so the tip is a firm fit.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
Ha, I’ve one which is a mix of bits, but it does not have a screw base cap so I use it for VHF/UHF portable from the car. I don’t trust the spray can cap taped over the bottom as being sufficiently secure to take it on an activation.
I know exactly what Andy is looking for as I’ve been looking for this very beast. I don’t see how manufacture can just stop, but maybe it is down to the trend of bigger and better in the world of flag flying and 5m just does not cut the mustard any more. 
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Yes, but I can “cut” a 6/7m pole down to 5m by removing a few sections. I check the site every few days just in case.
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There’s actually an ad on eBay which advertises travel poles and when you select the size it shows all sizes to be out of stock. It must be an automatic system placing ads on there for items which are not available. An amazing waste of space, quite literally in computing terms!
A 6 or 7m pole would suit me better as I use a 2m yagi as well as an HF antenna. Having said that, I now have a system based on walking poles and a 2m yagi that breaks down into 500mm parts which simplifies matters.
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Hi Pom,
accidentally and luckily a Om had two fitting caps in his junk box and he gave me these.
Maybe, its irreproducible, sorry.
I secured the lower cap with some broad and elastic isolation tape. I had to remove these only a few times after the pole was more a water storage.
73, Ludwig
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After damaging a couple of 7m poles - well wear and tear rather than reversing over them I tried a Sotabeams Tactical Mini - Not the lightest but so far it is undamaged. It is significantly more robust than other poles I have used. Paul
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My most recent compact carbon pole I bought on eBay (US) from a seller based in China. I see a few similar poles on ebay.co.uk with at least one seller advertising UK stock. Nominally the pole is 7.2m long but I suspect that measure is the sum of all the section lengths, not the shorter fully-extended pole. The pole is very light and reasonably strong but I ditched the top section.
People say the carbon fiber is conductive enough to interact with the antenna wire, which isn’t really a problem with fiberglass. I’ve haven’t looked into his much nor tested myself but the times I have seen the ATU look for different solutions seems to support this.
I took some measurements to compare the cheap carbon pole, minus the weak top section, to my SOTABeams Tactical Mini, which is sturdier and fiberglass:
“7.2m” cheap carbon pole (15.5 ft, 4.72 m), weight 0.61 pounds
SOTABeams tactical mini mast (19.6 ft. / 6m), weight 1.58 pounds
I have one here, a 5m long spare - brand new but not for sale, sorry OM…it might just come in useful as my current one is starting to get a little tired.
PS The weight is 504 grams less any additional protection to be added before I use it
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Hold on to it Phil, Life’s a Breeze say they will NOT be getting them back in stock due to their supplier demanding a much larger order than they want to buy 
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See my previous post 
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Hi Gerald, I have two poles on which I have replaced the base caps with wooden bungs and a sharpened bolt, as long as not on solid rock the pole is much more stable when guyed plus I can also use them as walking aids. 
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I keep calling mine a Windjammer, it is, in fact, a Spirit Of The Air 10M pole, they can be hard to find. Has SOTA written all over it!
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Perhaps it’s the 10m version of this one:
http://www.spiritofair.co.uk/11168hp.htm
Here’s all their poles in any case
http://www.spiritofair.co.uk/poles.htm
73 Ed.
Unfortunately “Trade Only” and that can lead in circles trying to find a retail source
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Roy,
I have done well with poles from e-Bay, The 7.2 meter poles vary - a couple were about same length (usable) as you found and another two around 18 feet, those were Red-Fox from Goture and were fiberglass.
Have purchased two longer poles claiming to be carbon. One 10M pole gave 27 feet usable and no interaction from carbon. The the other gave 28 feet usable and enough carbon it cannot be used as the vertical support for an inverted-L. Shame as it is a bit stouter than the 27 foot pole - from different manufacturer.
Currently, a 10M or longer pole is around $50 USD and up with 1 - 3 months shipping estimate.
Spyderbeam has new 7.2 and 10 meter models that are nicely priced, however hardly top choice for SOTA based on size/weight.
https://www.vibroplex.com/contents/en-us/d9186.htm
73,
Howard KE6MAK
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Howard, thanks for the info. I do have one of the older 12m Spiderbeam poles and used it for a very short hike up a hill but the new smaller offerings are intriguing - for example their 7m pole is a little heavier and a little longer than the SOTABeams Tactical Mini.
Another source (in the US) for poles in Jackite, though I have no personal experience with them
73,
Roy
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I recently bought the SotaBeams 6m Tactical pole (57cms) but boy is it heavier than my previous 4.1m ‘Pocket Pole’ by Spirit of Air (51cms). Both of these are fine with my 20m EFHW and will fit into my hand luggage when flying abroad. I also have a 10m Spirit of Air (115cms) for the 20m dipole and this is the one I use if I am driving to a UK summit (with a max 45min walk up).
Just did a search on that big auction site and there’s only one 4.1m Spirit of Air pole left (at £26.99) so, … who’s going for it?
73, Lea M0XPO
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Moonraker have some: Shop Spirit of Air Product Range Here
My 4m travel pole from Sotabeams is a Spirit of Air one.
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Some poles in use here.
