Strut Pole for MoonShade Original (7ft)

Great MoonShade awning, but serious sizing issue with the strut poles: absolutely love the MoonShade awning itself — it’s one of the best additions to my overlanding setup. The design is smart, the materials feel high quality, and once set up it works beautifully. That part is easily a 5-star product. However, I ran into a major issue with the strut poles for the short 7' side. No matter how much I tried, I simply could not get the pole to fit between the two metal grommets. I'm a pretty strong and handy person who regularly works on vehicle mods and camping gear, so this wasn’t a matter of technique. If I struggled this much, I honestly think many users — especially smaller individuals or older campers — would find it impossible. To make it work, I actually had to modify the pole by cutting one of the middle sections and essentially re-engineering it to slightly reduce the overall length. After doing that, it fits properly and works great, but this really shouldn’t be necessary on a premium product. I'm honestly surprised because MoonShade is a reputable company and the awning itself is so well designed. This feels like a QC or tolerance issue that slipped through. Summary: MoonShade awning: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strut pole sizing: ⭐⭐ (only because modification was required) If the sizing issue gets addressed, this would easily be a perfect setup.

Constructed well.

it's a pole!

Got this one as an in-warranty replacement for the lost end cap nipple getting lost when the bungee failed while the pole was deployed. The new version nipples are now steadied by punches, which would prevent the loss. The prior version's nipple endpoints were held to the shaft by the bungee only. Everything in life is a tradeoff, with the end caps being notched makes it difficult to replace the bungee when it eventually snaps again, but on the up side the cap shouldn't fly off and become lost.