Trekking Poles

[Icewalker]

If you're going in really cold climates stay away from aluminium - it can and will fracture when you least want it to. I'd go with the Leki's carbon fiber model (brain not working tonight so I can't remember the model). If the cold is not an issue then there are some great bargains to be had in ali.

My personal fave is the Leki - but there are equally as competent brands about.

JMHO

Jeff

 

[goodtimes]

Digging up an old thread....and sort of off topic....

I am a newb when it comes to treakking poles. Until a couple days ago, I had never used them, nor did I have any desire to use them. But while preparing for a backpacking trip, I came across a great deal on a set of Black Diamond Contour trekking poles...so I took a chance and ordered them.

They showed up a couple days before the trip, so I played around with them a bit, and was seriously not impressed...but I took them along anyway. I figured I should at least give them an honest try. On a tight, rocky trail, the poles are kind of a pain. I would have to lift them off the ground well over a foot to swing them forward in order to clear the shrubs that were trying to reclaim the trail, and the rocks didn't make tip placement that easy...not to mention the click--click--click noise I had to put up with (tips hitting rocks). After a mile I was ready to give up on them. I collapsed the poles and kept moving.

It only took a minute, maybe two, before I pulled them back out. Holy crap! I didn't realize how much easier they made hauling a 55 pound load up steep hills! I gotta say, I don't think I'll be backpacking without them anymore. Balance was greatly improved, particularly with the heavy pack on rough trails....they are great for pushing certain offensive bushes (those with thorns) out of the way, large verticle steps are almost effortless...and they completely eliminated the knee pain I suffer from during long steep downhill stretches of trail. These things are friggin great! The noise is still annoying, but not as annoying as sore knees....and they can be a pain on tight trails...but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

If you are on the fence about them, or suffer from knee pain which keeps you from hiking as much as you would like...give them a try. I am simply amazed at how well they work.

BTW--keep your eye on steepandcheap.com. They show up there every so often for a *really* good price.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Why are you carrying 55 pounds?! Were you out for a month?:REExeSquatsHL1:

 

[goodtimes]

Two big reasons...

1) We were unsure of the reliability of the springs in the area, so I was carrying 14 pounds of water

2) I have a choice between a 2 pound bivy, or a 10 pound 4 season tent. Due to the high liklihood of rain, I took the tent.

The 55# was a rough estimate....I don't own a scale. The pack felt heavier than the 50 pound dumb bell laying next to it.

 

[durangodds]

here's a thought, based on a lot of xc ski races with mass starts and other nonsense and carnage on fiberglass, carbon fiber and aluminum...

you can bend an aluminum pole back in to shape and it will still work. carbon and glass are lighter, but if you do go down, or it falls, or something falls against it, it is very easy to create a stress point that eventually leads to catastrophic failure.

personally, i'd use aluminum (or ti) for av probes, trekking poles, and the like, and save the carbon for day use, recreation, racing, fast ascents and other things where weight and stiffness are the driving factors and the potential for carnage is extremely low. carbon isn't as much of a risk as it used to be ten years ago, but it's still more fragile than aluminum.

-sean

I have a pair of Leki carbon fiber poles that I use tele skiing and trekking and am convinced they are plenty tough. Mine take plenty of blows that I once would have thought will break them, but they haven't yet. Sure, they'll break, but not as easily as people think. The weight savings, natural dampening are worth it. Unlike aluminum they will bend without staying bent.

 

[Dirty Harry]

1) We were unsure of the reliability of the springs in the area, so I was carrying 14 pounds of water

You are tougher than me! That makes sense though, water adds up quick.

2) I have a choice between a 2 pound bivy, or a 10 pound 4 season tent. Due to the high liklihood of rain, I took the tent.

You need one of these. It would work great with your new trekking poles and weighs under a pound.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/IN1800

I am impressed that you don't let lack of water in the ground or too much water falling from the sky keep you off the trail!

 

[JPFreek1]

Good feedback, goodtimes.

Regarding your poles, you can purchase rubber end stoppers to place at the end of your poles so as to eliminate the 'click click click' sound. They're super cheap and not only help eliminate that annoying noice but also add traction to the ends of your poles which is helpful when it's wet or when you're in tight spaces.

Another good resource on backpacking is the Backpacking forums:

http://backpacking.net/bbs.html

 

[Lynn]

Just a note on the twist-lock adjustment:

I had a set of treking poles a few years ago when I was on an alpine SAR team. I found that the twist-lock mechanism didn't work well in cold weather. It would loosen up, allowing the poles to shorten during use.'

I also found that when it was cold out the plastic nut inside the pole had a hard time gripping the aluminum, so I would twist and twist and twist and it would never tighten up.

I put a really small strip of grip tape (the self-adhesive stuff you put on ladders and steps) on the plastic nut, and they really worked well after that!

I also found out that the knurled nut that's supposed to help you grip the poles when twisting didn't work well with heavy gloves, so I took them off and replaced them with a wrap of grip tape.

And I ended up with the perfect trekking / showshoeing poles!

Oh, and for the budget-minded here's a source to check.