GG Lightrek 4 poles w/ straps

I'm not. I like them without the straps. I've been using the LT 4s without straps for months and haven't missed them one bit.

Yeah, they're worthless for people who have always used strapless poles, or who used the straps just as keeper straps, and who wherefore used poles for balance rather than to bear weight. But for those of us that use the straps as intended on Nordic poles — i.e. slipping the hand up through the bottom of the strap, wrapping it around the wrist with the strap running between the hand and grip, these are gonna be great. I use my poles as serious weight bearing devices, and lack of straps gets fatiguing really quick.

I agree with Christopher — if you are used to XC skiing with poles, then I would think you would like trekking poles with straps. Part of the key is using the straps correctly, as Christopher describes. In fact, I speculate the Nordic cross-overs like straps, and others may not.

I was on a hike yesterday, and noted that most of the people who had straps on their poles were not using the straps right — they just stuck their hand straight through the strap and then grabbed the grip just as they always had. I should not wonder if those people see no virtue in the straps.

I do use the straps in the correct way Christopher described, and I would not buy a pole without them. One thing I noted in my observations yesterday is that those I was looking at appeared to be gripping their poles tightly — had to be using continuous energy in the muscles of their grip and forearms. I, on the other hand, took most of the force on the strap and just gripped the poles enough to control them — quite relaxed and much easier.

As to the Lightrek — I am fortunate enough to be one of the testers. I do not want to say a lot about them, both because they could change before release, and because I am not sure how much I am supposed to say. I will say that I have tried the poles both ways, and for me there is no contest — the straps are *well* worth the extra fraction of an ounce.

I confess — I do not understand the argument that says there is no value to straps for such light poles. The value of the straps is not related to the weight of the poles. It is related to whether and how you apply force to the poles. And I, like Christopher, do consistently apply force to the poles — even on the level. (Obviously, if you do not — you mainly carry the poles and use them for balance and the occasional support — then straps are a lot less important.)

— MV

Just goes to show — each to his or her own.

My first two sets of poles had molded hand grips and straps. My current Titanium Goat poles have neither. I was a bit hesitant at first — but the Ti Goat poles won me over.

My one gripe about the Ti Goat poles is that the adjusters are sometimes fussy and require a couple of tries before they will finally tighten up. The good thing is that once they are tightened, they will hold their positions over multiple days.

I've been using poles for more then 10 years. For most of that, I was one of those that never adjusted his poles and palmed it when necessary and the straps were just there to keep the poles from falling to the ground when I'd stop to catch my breath.

Then I watched an instructional video on how to use poles and decided to try things the "proper" way. I now adjust my poles based on the terrain (providing it will stay that way for awhile) and use the straps properly adjusted so they take most of the strain. And I've decided that my hands and arms are less tired/fatiqued that way at the end of a long day.

I like my Tig poles and while the optional strap isn't as comfortable as those on my Komperdell, they do work for me and I prefer to use them despite the poles being <4oz. Though I'm liking the looks of the GG handles better and may eventually buy a set (with straps of course).

Sean-
Most of my hikes are constantly up and down–I would have to stop every 5 minutes to readjust my poles so that method doesn't always work for me. What I do instead is just set my poles to one length, then drop my grip lower down on the pole when I hit a steep ascent and then the grips when going down. That way, I can instantly adjust the length of my poles according to the immediate terrain without having to stop and change the length. You can wrap some lightweight foam bicycle handle bar tape around the shaft of your poles (below the grip) if you're worried about your hands slipping.

It doesn't address what I just mentioned above, but if anyone's interested, I did a short video on the the LT 4s:

http://jasonklass.blogspot.com/2009/01/gossamer-gear-light-trek-4-trekking.html