FAQs

How to ship boompoles

In our 20 years we have shipped a lot of boompoles – A LOT! We’ve also received a good number boompoles. So, we like to think we know a bit about shipping boompoles.
When we ship boompoles, we use bubblewrap to make sure the booms don’t rattle side-to-side and top-to-bottom. It’s also very important to make sure that the ends of the box/tube that you’re using are reinforced (a generous amount of tape works) so they won’t bust open by the shifting boompole inside.
When using poster-tubes, always make sure that plenty of tape (AND staples, if possible) is used to make sure the end-caps don’t come off (we regularly receive empty poster tubes with a missing end-cap (and no boompole).
We love our boompoles, even long after they leave our factory, and the thought of a lost & loney boompole in some delivery truck makes us sad. #savetheboompoles

CC/CCR/FT…what does that mean?

CC = Coiled Cabled. CCR = Coiled Cabled with a right angle male xlr connector at the bottom of the pole. FT = Flow Through, or straight cable. So, a K-202CCR is a K-202 pole with an internal coiled cable with a right angle male connector at the bottom of the pole.

What is a Klassic Pole?

K-Tek’s Klassic poles are our top of the line poles. They use high quality graphite in order to be extremely lightweight. They all can come uncabled, and some can come internally coiled cabled (with a bottom or side connector), and some can come with a straight internal cable with a flow through base. The Klassic poles are kind of modular in the fact that you can remove the base of an uncabled pole easily, and add an internal cable if you like.

What is an Avalon Pole?

Our Avalon poles come in two versions. One version uses the same high quality graphite that our Klassic poles are famous for, and the other version is high quality anodized aluminum. You can get them all uncabled, and some are available with different cabling options. The Avalon poles do not have an internal straight cable option. Some of the luxury features of the Klassic poles (modularity) have been removed in order to make for a lower cost pole.

What is a Traveler Pole?

Most of our poles come in 5 sections. In order to facilitate end users who travel a lot, and must pack their poles in a compact way, we make 6 section poles, which collapse to a smaller minimum length. Hence, the name “Traveler Pole”.

What are Stage Poles?

Stage poles are a version of our Klassic poles, but with a removable top (the first of its kind). They come in 4 or 5 section versions, and can be configured with different cabling options, depending on length.

My internal cable inside my pole is tangled, and won’t allow my pole to fully collapse. What do I do?

For a Klassic pole just remove the whole bottom module, disconnect the internal connector and carefully untangle the cable. Avalon pole don’t have this internal connector, so untangling is much more complicated, but this video describes how to untangle a “CC” Avalon boompole: watch this.
You can also always send in your boompole for a quick tune-up, service or repair.

Can I internally coil cable any pole?

It is not recommended to use an internal coiled cable on the longer poles because if the pole is shortened from it’s maximum length to it’s minimum length too quickly, the coiled cable can knot up on the inside of the pole. For this reason, we recommend using either an internal straight cable, or getting an uncabled pole.

Do I need a shock mount?

Absolutely. Shock mounts absorb bumps and handling noise that would be picked up in a microphone if a shock mount isn’t used. Even on a stand, a shock mount is recommended because vibrations can travel from a truck outside, into the walls of the building, through the floor, up a C-Stand (or microphone stand), and then into a pole. A shock mount is essential for production work as the boom operator cues the microphone to different actors. As a rule, always use a shock mount.

What makes K-Tek K-Tek?

The company founder, Manfred Klemme, was a brilliant engineer with a creative mind to have form follow function. He combined that with his creativity to produce products that have been in extremely high demand for many years. K-Tek’s non-Stingray products are made in the U.S.A., from the cable in the poles, the graphite, the aluminum, the machining, and even the polymer for the shock mounts – we machine, process, assemble it all at our shop in Vista, California. K-Tek provides stellar customer service. We understand what it’s like working out there on location, and we strive to make sure our customers are taken care of. When you call, we answer the phone. When you email us we reply. No auto-attendants, automated phones systems or email bots! When we say we ship something, we actually ship it. We’ve been around for 20 years and we’re not planning to go anywhere. We aren’t going to make an awesome product and then vanish. We’ve always made products for Cine/Video production and we’ll continue to do so. After all, what good is a product if you can’t get a hold of the people who made it?

I have more questions. How can I contact you?

Easy. Go here.