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MYOG 3.7 oz Fixed Length Trekking Poles


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Home Forums Gear Forums Make Your Own Gear MYOG 3.7 oz Fixed Length Trekking Poles

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Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 47 total)
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  • #1286965
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I put these together with some golf shafts I found on ebay, tips from EMS and grips from a local tackle shop. They came in at 42 inches and 3.7 ounces. Cost with shipping, $45.00Leki Tipswicked light

    Id like to try making some adjustable poles, like the GG LT4 or the Goat Poles. Anyone have the specs on the tubes used for these?

    #1852176
    Jeremy Platt
    BPL Member

    @jeremy089786

    Locale: Sydney

    Nice Work!

    #1852179
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    Thanks Jeremy, my old poles weighed 12 oz, so for an hours work and $45 I got an easy 8 oz reduction.

    #1852269
    Rusty Beaver
    BPL Member

    @rustyb

    Locale: Idaho

    Great work, Bruce! Please keep us updated on the adjustable poles. I've been thinking about this for a long time but haven't had time to investigate.

    #1852286
    Matthew Zion
    Member

    @mzion

    Locale: Boulder, CO

    Bruce,

    Did you have to trim the poles at all to get them to fit into the tips? I F'd up my IT band running this winter and think I'd like to use some poles until I get strength back in my knees.

    #1852290
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Specs for pole diameters needed for tips and grips can be found in Jay Ham's MYOG article on MYOG golf shaft poles here…

    http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/make_your_own_gear_carbon_fiber_trekking_poles.html

    #1852357
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    Matthew, no trimming was necessary. The tip diameter of the shafts is .370 and I used leki flex tips purchased at EMS. I coated the end of the shaft with epoxy and then used a 4 foot bar clamp to press the shaft into the tip. The shafts are only inserted into the tips about 1 3/4 inches. While tightening the clamp I could feel the shafts sliding into the tips a bit more with each turn. When the shafts stopped moving I stopped tightening. There was a very small, approximately 1/32 inch gap between the tip and the shaft when I was done but the epoxy filled that nicely. I used a Devlin epoxy with a 60 minute cure time.

    #1852365
    Matt Orr
    BPL Member

    @matto

    I was looking on ebay the other day for similar shafts to make some poles. I would also be interested to see about teh possibility of making adjustable ones.

    #1852369
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I got my shafts from this seller http://www.ebay.com/itm/130662386820?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 he shipped them very quickly to.

    #1852372
    Matt Orr
    BPL Member

    @matto

    What stiffness for the shafts did you get?

    Sorry, just saw trhe link … regular flex/stiffness.

    #1852373
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I will keep everyone posted on the adjustable poles. I'll probably do something similar to the GG LT4 or the Adjustable Ti-Goat poles. I did the fixed height poles in this thread more to get a feel for the materials than anything else. I would prefer adjustables even if it meant accepting a small weight penalty. I will say though, now that I see these completed Im very happy with the results. I'll be leaving my old 12 oz poles at home from now on. (or robbing their parts)

    #1852374
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    If you use the high strength glue gun glue you can remove the tips to replace them.

    #1852375
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I dont have a good answer for that one Matthew. Im not familiar enough with golf shafts to understand how stiffness is rated. I found the shafts cheap enough that I was willing to take a chance that the stiffness would be acceptable. The only info on the shafts is "grafalloy R Flex"

    #1852377
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    Great tip Ken, thanks. I'll keep that in mind when I make my next set. Being able to replace the tips would be a great improvement.

    #1853139
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I did a quick 6 mile hike today with the new trekking poles. I left the poles against a tree to do some off trail exploring, when I returned I had a hard time finding them. When I got home I used some orange paint and foil tape to make the poles a bit easier to see.Pole mod When I made the poles I used a chrome plated butt cap at the top of the handle. It didnt take much time in the bright sun for me to realize that this was a bad idea. Hot metal, burnt thumbs! I replaced the butt caps with corks that I had laying around in the shop.cork mod

    #1941116
    David Gardner
    BPL Member

    @gearmaker

    Locale: Northern California

    Here's an idea for "adjustable" fixed-length trekking poles: Use a long golf driver shaft (46"-47" available) and a long (9"-14" available) fishing pole grip. When you need a long pole you grip higher up, when you need a short pole you grip lower down. Long straps can be added too, so you don't have to rely only on your ability to grip.

    Golf shafts are available from numerous sources on the Internet. For trekking poles I would order stiff or extra-stiff. Dallas Golf (http://www.dallasgolf.com/) has great prices, but so do many others. You can spend as little as $12 per new shaft, or as much as $200.

    Tips can be found at numerous sources also. Even Amazon has a number of inexpensive replacement tips.

    #1941340
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    David and others,
    Re: http://www.dallasgolf.com/c-23-shafts.aspx?section=35-25-&SearchTerm=&sortBy=relevance&pageSize=60

    Besides written inquiries, is there a way to know which if any shafts are not tapered; that is, have a constant diameter. That would be important to know if wishing to cut them and insert ferrules in order to make a mid pole or a trekking pole that separates and folds up to a shorter length.

    Thanks.

    #1941426
    David Gardner
    BPL Member

    @gearmaker

    Locale: Northern California

    I don't believe there are any untapered golf shafts. As far as I know, they all have 0.6" O.D. at the handles, and the tips are either .335", .350" or .370". However, the 0.6" O.D. usually extends about 1/2 way down the shaft, so if you're making a slip joint you might be able to locate it near the middle.

    For untapered you'll probably need to go with straight tubes from a different kind of source instead of golf shafts.

    There are dozens of CF tube sources. Here are a few:

    dragonplate.com
    http://www.rockwestcomposites.com
    http://www.clearwatercomposites.com

    I would go with woven, braided, wrapped or wound tubes. Straight "pull-truded" and/or unidirectional tubes tend to split lengthwise when over loaded.

    #1941699
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    David,
    Thanks for links and info.

    Too bad the golf shafts are all tapered. Don't see how a segmented folding pole could be made very well from the tapered tubes.

    Thanks also for the links. The Rockwest link has been often posted here, but the prices are quite high. Had not seen the Clearwater link. The prices are better, but I wonder if they make $ sense if the Italian Gabel Superlite carbon poles are still available from Costco.

    If one is looking for tube for mid poles, the same question arises when the Ruta Locura poles are available in the $50-$60 range.

    Very much agree regarding pultruded carbon tubes. Working on a CF pack frame, there were repeated breaks with pultruded rod. Finally found a .248" wrapped fiberglass tube that fit tightly over a pultruded carbon rod, both from Goodwinds, that seem so far to have solved the problem. This approach might work with larger diameter pultruded tube, or maybe I just got lucky.

    #1941785
    Rusty Beaver
    BPL Member

    @rustyb

    Locale: Idaho

    "If one is looking for tube for mid poles, the same question arises when the Ruta Locura poles are available in the $50-$60 range".

    Samuel,

    Not sure I understand what you're saying here. Could you clarify, please? Thanks.

    #1941992
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    I guess there is still some life left in this old thread. I've had more pressing matters to deal with so I havent given much thought to the adjustable poles. After researching suppliers I wonder if MYOG makes sense for this project. I havent found materials at a cost thats substantially lower than what I would pay for the LT 4 or Ti Goat poles and then there is shipping… The fixed length poles in this thread are adequate for now, though I admit they are uncomfortably short when walking even moderately steep terrain. Hopefully I can get to the adjustables over the winter. Any more sources and/or suggestions are welcome. Have fun out there.

    #1942014
    David Gardner
    BPL Member

    @gearmaker

    Locale: Northern California

    Standard driver shafts are available in 46" and 47" lengths for $12-$30 and up. There are even some 50" driver shafts available, but they are very pricey (like $200 each). Replaceable tips add about 1".

    To go longer you could buy CF tubing with 1/2" I.D. and 5/8" O.D., cut two pieces of the length you want to add, splice the pieces on top of the shafts with an internal brace of 1/2" O.D. aluminum or CF tubing, and cover the splice with your grip. Golf driver shafts have handles that are 0.6" O.D.(5/8" = 0.625") and I.D. a hair over 1/2", so it should work.

    #1942027
    Bruce Thibeault
    BPL Member

    @brucetbo

    Locale: New England

    David Thanks for the info. Longer fixed length poles should be easy enough but I think if I were to build another set I'd go with adjustables. When I pitch my tarp I dont like having to search for sticks or trees to tie off to. Adjustable poles give me a lot of pitching options. Back when I originally posted this I had found some carbon tubing that I think would have worked. Pretty sure it was Rockwest that had it, but the cost was just to high. Hopefully when Im ready to start a new project I'll be able to find something that works.

    #1942101
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    "Not sure I understand what you're saying here. Could you clarify, please?"

    Rusty,
    I was thinking that the Gabel Super Lite carbon trekking poles might still be available cheap from Costco, but apparently not. The do have Yukon Charlies that are part carbon for $50, but no idea what they weigh. There are also the Fizan carbon poles that could be shopped for a low price.

    The point being that if a finished carbon pole were available for around $50-75 a pair, it might make more sense to buy them instead of MYOG, when the cost of the raw carbon tube on the websites noted by David G. is so expensive.

    Even though it appears more difficult to find a bargain than it was a year or so ago, I would still be a little leery about buying the raw carbon tube. Looking at the websites posted by David G, the 1/2" to 3/4" diameter raw carbon tube that is "wrapped," "braided," or "rolled," as opposed to pultruded, is quite expensive, and none of it appears from the sellers' descriptions to be all filament wound (like some smaller diameter arrow shafts are – look at Roger Caffin's posts about carbon filament winding machines). You'll not know for sure how strong it is until it breaks. If you buy the finished trekking (or tent) pole for less money, and it breaks, you might be able to obtain a refund or replacement. I'd want to know a lot more about the more expensive raw tube before buying it, like maybe an analysis and recommendation from an expert. I can buy arrow shafts, cut off short lengths and break test them; but in terms of both safety and expense, I'm not up to break testing a tube around the diameter of a trekking pole. From the most recent posts, I think the OP may have some of these concerns, also.

    If I were determined to make my own carbon trekking or shelter pole, I might want to wait until the end of ski season, and look at sales for carbon ski poles, especially the longer X-C ski touring poles, to try to find something light and with enough untapered length to cut up to make sections that could be ferruled together to make a pole that breaks down and folds up like the new Black Diamond ones do.

    Given the obvious need for strength in a ski touring pole, I would be hoping that the ski poles would be a variety of carbon that is not pultruded. The sale price would have to be low enough to justify a gamble on this. The list prices are all over the walk and run from under $30 for a pair of poles up into the several hundreds. I have no idea what one might be able to find in carbon in ski country in the spring, but have found ver light high tempered aluminum alloy tube very cheap this way to use for making camp chairs.

    I've also noted that some of the ski poles being sold now either telescope or break down as trekking poles do, and can be readily converted to hiking poles by changing to a smaller basket. I've seen mostly aluminum alloy ones, but there are carbon ones out there also.

    Hope that is a little clearer.

    #1942390
    David Gardner
    BPL Member

    @gearmaker

    Locale: Northern California

    Just fabricated a new set of trekking poles from 46" (117 cm) golf driver shafts, 6" EVA foam grips, and tire stud tips. With no straps, weight = 3.0 oz each.

    Also fabricated a pair of "adjustable" trekking poles with long 13" grips as suggested in one of my prior posts, with Wilcor replacement tips (basket-compatible) Weight = 3.9 oz each.

    Also fabricated some strap adapters with 1/2" round aluminum bar plugs for the pole tops, steel screws and to hold the straps. Used some long straps I had laying around. Weight = 5.4 oz each. Have some 1/2" round Delrin bar and titanium screws on order. Will update with new weights after they arrive.

    Also, I fabricated one strap adapter with a stud and nut, and the other with a threaded hole and screw. The stud is 1/4" x 20 threads per inch, so it works as a camera mount. Plus, the poles can be screwed together at the handles so the double pole can be used as an avalanche/crevasse probe.

    Cost for "adjustable" poles: driver shafts from Dallas Golf $18 per pair, Wilcor replacement tips from Amazon $1.95 per pair, 13" EVA foam grips from Mud Hole $12.29 per pair, straps ???. Grand total for pair of "adjustable" poles = $32.24.

    Just for fun I threw on a pair of heat-shrink "Shaft Skinz" with a green flame pattern. Adds a couple of grams per pole.

    Finally, took an old 6' CF telescoping fishing pole I had in my equipment box and removed the handle and intermediate line loops. It fits perfectly onto the Wilcor tips and results in a 10' Tenkara fly fishing pole. Weight of fishing pole = 1.1 oz.

    Pictures show poles with Black Diamond Z-pole replacement tips with small integrated baskets. Same weight.
    "Adjustable" fixed length trekking polesGreen flame Shaft Skinz

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