New Gossamer Gear Poles

I have both GG fixed length and the TI Goat adjustable poles.

Personally I prefer the GG poles. Simplicity is one reason, but those great "shaped" grips are the other reason.

I have arthritis in my hands and I dropped the TI poles regularly, like once a mile or more, due to the poorly shaped grips. This is never an issue with the GG grips.

Fortunately I fell and landed on the TI poles breaking one top-section. DJ sent me a replacement section (I paid for it since I broke it and don't consider it a defect) and included a free set of straps which makes the TI poles usable for me. I imagine the design creates a stress riser right at the rubber expander, making that a likely point of failure.

The TI poles are only used for my summit attempts when I need poles for the approach but need to collapse and stash them when climbing.

If GG does introduce an adjustable pole I'll certainly get a pair and sell the TIs.

Wow.
I received my Gossamer Gear adjustable poles yesterday.
They are phenomenal. Stiffer than my much used fixed length GG poles, Lighttrek 2 I think. Much better than the TI Goat ones I just sold after breaking them twice.
The lower section has a nifty reinforcing spiral.
Same awesome grips.
Beefier looking sectioning mechanism than the TIs, but that may be partly due to the larger diameter.
I can't wait for the weekend to try them out.
Tim

>According to Gossamer Gear's newsletter they have adjustable poles in development

Yes, I am testing these at the moment. I can already say I prefer the grips on the GG poles to the TG, but time will tell if they hold up as well as our TG poles have. Of course grip comfort is a matter of personal preference, and, unlike the TG poles, there is no option of adding a "real" strap to the GG. For me that is not a problem (you CAN add a keeper strap). For others that may be a deciding factor.

I've had my new Gossamer Gear LightTrek 4 adjustable poles for two weeks. I haven't tried them out yet because I've been sick. My apprehension about the locking system seems to be unfounded. The lock is not finicky or tricky. Only time will tell, but these seem to be well designed poles.

I've now had opportunity to use my new sticks on several day hikes. Can't say enough good things about them. Lock is positive and trouble-free. Even though I've kept to blazed trails, at this time of year trails are covered in a deep layer of fallen leaves, so the rock and root hazards aren't visible. These sticks have saved my ass.

I have only been able to take the Lightrek 4 out a few times, but I have to agree with what everyone else has said. So far, they are a winner. I also have the TiGoat sticks. The Lightrek handles are much more comfortable. The Lightrek are also stiffer. Both the TiGoat and GG poles significantly less finicky than other twist locks I have used, but it seems like the Lightrek is better than the TiGoat poles. This might be that my TiGoat has had more use… time will tell. I haven't broken either pair, so I can speak to durability, though I would expect that the GG poles will be superior.

–mark

Mark,
Is the locking mechanism similar to the AGPs, where a small rubber plug is internally compressed/buldged via a threaded rod?

Or a completely different approach?

Grant over at GG graciously donned me a pre-production pair of the Lighttrek 3 generation of poles before my sections of the PCT.

I have literally hundreds of miles with these poles and not one problem yet. But the big Q with poles that are 2.5oz a piece (sans baskets) is how well they hold up.

I've hiked over every type of terrain (desert to alpine) with these and was floored by their strength. Mt. St. Helens comes to mind. As I was making my way around the Loowit, periodically, the pole tips would get stuck in between the rocks while crossing over lahars. The result was a springy resistance at the handle with not one incident.

I still have the same pre-production pair today and they look nearly new.

My .02

But for those who must travel commercially with them strapped to their pack, they still only collapse to 30 inches – taller than most packs. Yes, you can use the rugged shipping tube GG supplies but now you're checking TWO pieces (2nd checked piece = $25 – $50) and you have to deal with with the empty tube after you leave the airport. It's too valuable to simply throw away

IMO, what is needed is a 3-section version that would collapse to approxiately 18 inches.

I agree, that is why I am still using my Lekis instead of some TG or GGs.

I actually got a pair a few weeks ago and have had the chance to test them out (snowshoeing). I'm planning to do a video review of them eventually, but for now, I can tell you that they're the best poles I've ever used–I can't think of one thing I would change about them. Now that I'm used to swinging 3.2 oz. poles, I don't ever think I could go back to my Lekis.

Greg

The adjuster mechanism for the GG poles are identical to the TiGoat poles, It is a very novel and sound system. On the same note, I have yet to see any righteous indignation about "community ethics" in regard to this. No calls to action, no grand round table debates ;-) must depend on the day.

Josh Leavitt

Josh,
Thanks for the update. I have AGPs and I've been Very happy with them. However the locking mechanism is far from stellar.

Over the course of a year and maybe 50 trail days it has become increasingly difficult to 'lock' the poles after adjusting the length. More often than not I end up separating the sections and hand-tightening the plug, then, reassembling with a 'righty-tighty' motion, otherwise the pole just spins and doesn't tighten the plug.

I do clean the poles regularly but it seems to be more of a variable interior diameter issue. I'm still learning.

I've learned, for instance, to be very careful in lubricating the threaded shaft. (I do this keep the thread friction less than that between the carbon on the expander plug.) As a cyclist I have plenty of 'T9'chain lube laying around. Unfortunately the carrier in the 'T9' dissolved/softened whatever the expander plug is made of. No amount of force could move the bonded plug. I now use a pure oil.

And my hope was that GG had newer, better, more robust approach. Darn.

All that aside, I still love 'em and when they die, I'll order another set, rubber expander plugs and all.

"The adjuster mechanism for the GG poles are identical to the TiGoat poles."

Josh, do you know this for a fact? No, not challenging you at all. I am a very happy owner of TiGoat poles — and some folks just seem to go "gah gah" over the GG ones — claiming significant superiority. I have been suspecting that they know one — but not really the other. Conversely, it's the same with me, as I only know the TiGoat.

The locking mech in the gg and tigoat poles is pretty much the same thing, though I would estimate that there is something like 3x the surface area with the gg so the will be stronger and I have found them to be a bit less touchy.

OK, we're getting closer…

Same compression method on the GG as on the AGPs, but the GG expansion plus is about 1.5" long versus .5 on the AGP.

That could help quite a bit.

Thanks Mark.

Greg

Don't use any lube on the expander threads, they are brass on steel, and should not be lubed. It sounds like you need new expanders, contact DJ @ TiGoat and tell him I said you need some.

Ben

Yes, I did not even need to see them.

The threaded steel stud is prone to rusting after stream crossings and tarp support in rainy climes. Oil helps to reduce this.

GG are 2x longer (not 3x) and have a larger diameter which is what gives a larger surface area.

–mark

Hmm, I guess novelty wears off, or fades, or never really mattered to you guys in the first place.

Josh Leavitt

>Hmm, I guess novelty wears off, or fades, or never really mattered to you guys in the first place.

As the apparent instigator of the "thread of which we do not speak," I can say that many have probably backed off being the IP police because of all the bad places that topic went. I'm also pretty sure that those of us who thought the use was wrong were in the minority.

As for this case – I have have no experience with either pole, or any knowledge of what are or are not novel joining mechanisms. I had much more knowledge of the development of the BB, and arbitrary design features that have been copied are easier for a relative layman to identify than functional, internal mechanisms. If your mechanism was truly novel, and it was copied, I agree that it shouldn't have been.

What I would take away from that thread, as a pragmatists, is that consumers probably aren't going to be what protects a novel design. One option is to protect the design by incurring the additional costs necessary to obtain legal protections or litigate infringements. The other is to accept a lack of protections by simply having the best product out there for a given price point. The latter was Fritz's approach and is what will likely save the BB, and perhaps (speaking from no experience) your poles.

Devin

I liked that post :-) it was so much better than the ussual paintings I see here, it was an actual photogragh. And the non taking of my faux baiting, only reaffirms my opinions on the matter.

As for the adjuster, I fully expected its theft, but from the communist Chinese, or the terrorists, or some other dubious force, not fellow friends in this tight knit community. Sorry, sarcasm is hard to convey over the internet.

As for the poles, they are not mine, I left TiGoat almost a year ago to pursue other things, so the adjuster (yes novel in its application) is not really a concern of mine anymore, but a legitimate example none the less.

Josh Leavitt

Thanks for the "reconfirm" that the adjusters of both poles are the same. Best of luck in your "pursuit of other things". :)

Hi Josh and others

Educate me please.
I have some TiGoat poles with the rubber adjusters. But I have looked at the exploded diagrams of several other brands of poles, and seen essentially the same mechanical concept in them all. A screw thread squeezes something which expands inside the pole. It may be rubber; it may be plastic.

Is the TiGoat version of this internal expansion thing really all that different from the many other ones on the market?

Cheers

Maybe I'm a freak, but I like a taut pitch on tents and tarps. Better storm stability, rain run-off, and so forth. But I've found that some poles have too much deflection or bowing effect when I guy out a tarp. (In anticipation of comments, yes, I do let out some slack then.)

How are the Lightrek 4s for rigidity/stiffness in the tarping application? My reality is that I rarely use trekking poles; nice to have, but would most often be used for camp set-up. Thanks.