value of trekking poles

Bending poles
Well, cross-country ski racing poles can easily handle the full power of an elite athlete when used properly, but it’s not unusual for them to snap if you snag one and bend it or fall on it the wrong way. They’d be a lot heavier if they were abuse-proof.


ok
REI is running a sale on some Leki Ti Air Ergo poles right now so I think I’ll go ahead and get some. My young joints should not need the anti-shock kind but it sounds like my not-quite-brand-new knees could benefit from them.

poling canoe with a ski pole
During last winter I used a cross country ski pole for pushing my Sea Wind canoe from a seating position

through shallow waters of S. Platte River in Colorado. It worked pretty well as can be seen on my video clip:



http://users.frii.com/uliasz/wayfarer/video.htm#south_platte_winter



I wonder how a trekking pole would work for that purpose.

I’m waitin’
for Coffee to weigh in on this one! :^)


Hehe…he’ll probably says he just digs up an old dinosaur femur to use as a walking stick…



BeachAV8R

Actually
we don’t use em while hiking. Of course N. Mi is hilly country but only few really steep grades to hike. If he did use a stick it would be 1 he picked up of the ground I would bet! Wonder if a walking stick would help Longshadow with his bad knees?

won’t hike without
I use old ski poles and take them everywhere i hike

Hope I don’t sound patronizing…
…but were you using the straps correctly? Hands up through the loops, then grasp Pole & loop together?

Strap presses down on wrist for leverage, fingers hold loosely?

Sorry to hear about your injury
My poles feature breakaway straps. Worth the money to me. I use Black diamond with flicklock adjustors, Nothing like being quickly able to extend the downhill pole another two feet when sidehilling, or shorten them both on a trail when the snow on either side is thigh high or better.

You can get Komperdell’s at Sierra
Trading Post for good prices.

I ordered mine last night!!
These are very good poles and you will be hard pressed to find a better price.





http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq/asp/base_no.99020/catImage.False/dept_id.L2~314/qx/product.htm





PADDLE ON!!



Chip

Nah
He will get the ones that double as a Bi-pod. Actually one of my staffs, has an atachment to make it a Mono-POd and it has a Camera mount on it.

Komperdells are good
but I’ve seen a few of the spring mechanisms break under big-time stress. If I recall correctly they can be removed on the trail. Might want to make sure you can take care of that.

not the same as ski poles
A decent pair of trekking poles will have removable rubber tips to reveal a metal tip good on ice.

The rubber doesnt slip on rock as much as the metal does but is useless on icy trails.

Only problem is losing the rubber tips for the bottom of the mountain and maintaining the screw threads so there is no debris to jam everything up.

Poles do change your gait to a marching style. Without arm swing, you dont get as much digital edema but its harder on your back since your arms cant help propel with a swing( unless you train with a cross country ski kind of motion, then it might be in your muscle memory)…

I use mine on steeps or stream crossing and on flats stow them.

I have heard to get them BEFORE you get knee trouble as preventative medicine.

Thanks!
I appreciate all of the comments on the pole breaking and the straps. Very useful and interesting info.



Cindy

Lekis
Tho i use either ski poles or hiking sticks

I think Likis are tops… most any gear outfitter will fix or repair them for free since most carry them.

OK! OK! I’ll buy a pair.
I’ve been considering picking up a set for the wife and I to share. Looks like the consensus here is they’re a good investment.



Went to Leki web site - Argh! There’s so many choices.



Went to Komperdell web site - Argh! There’s so many choices.



Went to REI web site - Argh! Even more choices.



Sheesh. Why is buying a pair of sticks to hike with so complicated? Anti-shock vs not, angled grip vs straight, cork vs foam, etc., etc.



Maybe I’ll just stick with finding a stout branch along the trail.


  • Jasen.


If you want to ski on them
avoid correcting angle grips. Cork is nice in summer but anything will work. Backcountry skiing? Consider black diamond probe poles. Breakdown in thirds or halves is nice. LLbean sells lower grade leki for cheap sierratrading sells komperdell for cheap. Good shopping!

single-section poles
Until last summer, I hiked with no poles, or with just one ski pole. Then I bought a pair of collapsible poles - that’s an accurate description! I found that 2 and 3 section trekking poles can’t withstand ME falling on them when I slip on the mountain trail. After breaking both poles on the same hike last summer, I went back to my old, fiberglass one-piece ski poles. I went on a long hike in the snow earlier this month, and between post-holing, stepping into spruce traps, and just plain falling, I really tested those old poles. No problem. I won’t go back to the fancy multi-section poles. Older is better in this case.