I would like to add my vote for the use of carbon fiber for the pole. It usually comes in close to one-third of the weight of aluminum of equivalent stiffness. There are a number of suppliers in
Australia.
A few things which apply to either Al or Carbon composite:
Make sure the jaw orientation of the two ends line up closely. This important partly so the
bridle hangs correctly, especially under load.
Make sure the ends are cut very square and smoothly so the
compression of the jaw pieces onto the tube is uniform.
If you use a double
bridle arrangement there is no reason to drill holes in the tube except for two 3mm screws attaching the tube to the fittings at each end. Locate the screws at one half of the flange
depth inside the tube. I understand why people countersink the tube holes to use flat
head screws but I prefer not to weaken the tube even a little bit so I use Pan-head screws in clear drilled holes into tapped holes (and Locktite) in the fittings.