Black Diamond poles – letdown or misuse ?

You should be able to order the lower section of your poles.
This should be the one :
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/hiking%2Fspare-parts/spire-elliptic-lower-shaft-s07-BD0113010000ALLS.html
but I would check with BD to make sure you are getting the correct part.

It looks like the tip is not seated far enough onto the shaft. Could it be that the tip was designed for a smaller diameter shaft? Also, I use gossamer gear poles and I have many thousand of miles on those with little visible wear. I suspect that you lost a tip, likely in a crack in a rock. Once the tip is lost the plastic will wear extremely quick.

"You should be able to order the lower section of your poles.
This should be the one :
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/hiking%2Fspare-parts/spire-elliptic-lower-shaft-s07-BD0113010000ALLS.html
but I would check with BD to make sure you are getting the correct part."

I would go this route vs. Changing the tip.

Thanks Franco, yes, that would be an option but.. they ship only to the US/Canada (I am in Europe). I am sure I could find a way to get those thru a friend, but 2×15$ + shipping on top of the 130$ I already paid for the poles makes me wander if it is worth it. I would assume they would be as durable as the original ones.

Anyway thanks for the tip!

Thanks for your reply Hiking Malto

I don't think I lost the tips, you can see the rest of the plastic with the small round baskets is still attached. It simply worn off, in the same manner for the two poles. These were just not durable enough.

I will probably play with the elastic tips for now (I am headed for Iceland again in Oct), either try to seat them better or cut them shorter. For next year I will consider switching to something new..

Ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk carry Black Diamond poles in te UK and are very good about taking special orders. It would be worth you asking them if they can get you the end sections. I don't know where you are in Europe, but their international shipping is very cheap.

What Malto is suggesting is the carbide tip that you lost, not the plastic bit. Look at the little metal thing on the end of your flex tips, then look at what your very worn out tips look like – no carbide part sticking out.

Without that little piece of carbide then the plastic will absolutely disintegrate in no time, which is I have to say what those first tips look like.

Jennifer, yes, makes sense. It is strange that I would lose both carbide tips at the same time. Both pole ends look used up in a similar way. Was it really bad luck or a poorer design, all this took place 2 yrs back and I did not note down wether I lost the tips or did they gradually wear down.

The whole experience leaves a bad aftertaste, I would expect more reliability from BD, especially after reading so many positive reviews.

Anyway I appreciate all the responses. Thanks!

First I thought that the aluminum seen in the picture was a worn down Black Diamond rubber tip, but then I realized it was the actual pole! Like the others said, you must have lost (or worn down) the carbide tip without noticing.

I used up a pair of rubber tips for my Black Diamond Ultra Distance walking the GR20 north. The rubber tips are quiet on rocks but not very durable. Since then I have used the included carbide tips for a few trips and have yet to see any real wear down.

In over 10 years of following forum comments on various sites I have never seen any pole tips worn like that.
I think that the key word there is "disintegrated".
Looking again at that first photo it appears that those baskets have not been just damaged but are somehow disintegrating.
If they had just been damaged it should be somewhat uneven with bits chewed off at random.
My guess is that they have come into contact with something corroding that rubber.

If that was the case (i.e. corroding) that would explain my losing the carbide tips (they'd fall of with the plastic) vs wearing of the carbide, which I'd find hard to believe possible in such a short time.

I am not an expert on material science, but perhaps there is stuff on Iceland that could do that.. some drive lava dust goo.. I don't know.

So I decided to get the shaft spares from BD. Since BD is not shipping to EU I asked a friend to forward them to me. They just arrived.. problem is they sent two different shafts :(. It took 3wks for them to get to my friend then to me. I contacted BD directly if they could make an exception and send the other spare directly to me. Let's see what they'll answer. Should have precisely told my friend what I was ordering..

rare case in which you actually want someone "to give you the shaft"! sorry.

I of course offered to cover the additional shaft + shipping costs. I have 3wks left before trip and thought this would expedite the shipping time.