My apologies to the moderators and anyone else who might find this post inappropriate. I wasn’t sure where to put it, so my apologies if I chose the wrong place.
A few weeks ago I started a thread–Beta Testers Wanted–describing my endeavor to build some graphite trekking poles for a handful of beta testers so I could get some feedback on their durability, functionality, etc. Some of that feedback is starting to come back, and the news appears good so far. In the meantime, I’ve done my own informal durability testing, and I’ve concluded rather unscientifically that these shafts are quite hard to break, even if you’re trying.
So, I wanted to announce to anyone who’s interested: soon I’ll be doing a limited production run of these poles.
The finished weight of an unmodified pole should be about 3.2 oz, the length 46.5″ from tip to butt. The shaft, is a high modulus graphite golf club shaft. The grips, 10 inches of EVA foam (the length allows on-the-go grip adjustments, which beta testers have been really happy about). And the tips are a tiny collage of home depot hardware that I developed myself to replace the bulky and expensive Leki tips that were my only alternative. Initial testing of these tips indicates that they grab quite well on a variety of terrain. The actual contact surface is the end of a brass threaded rod which, while rust-proof, is certainly not as hard as the carbide seen on Leki-style tips. To compensate for this, I’ve made the tips field-adjustable: whenever the tips have worn down, a nut can be unscrewed by hand and more unworn tip exposed from inside the shaft, meaning the functional lifetime of these tips might approach or conceivably exceed the Leki carbides. If anyone wants to see the tip, I can make a picture available on this thread in a couple of days.
For now, the package is still a little untested, and my tentative, fledgeling supply chain isn’t quite solid. These new tips I’ve only developed in the past 5 days, so the beta testing they’ll get will be my own, when I go play in the Wheeler Peak wilderness next week. Immediately after that, I return to Austin and on the 20th move into my student housing for the new academic year.
I mention my schedule because I won’t be able to ship any poles out immediately. Various supplies are still in the mail and, on top of that, I certainly would like to test my new tip before I start to sell it to people who expect it to work. This forum post is simply to alert people to my presence, so to speak, and to give me an idea of how many people might interested in having a pair of these poles. Right now I have the supplies to make about 10 pairs, although I could get more in just a few days if the demand was there. So if you’d like to be put on the list, please let me know right away. I intend to start off this little enterprise on the right foot–which means excellent customer service–so anyone who responds can expect prompt communication, at least while I remain in town.
This post has clearly gone on too long, but here are the hard facts again:
– pole specs: circa 3.2 oz, 46.5″
– $40 for a pair of poles + actual shipping + $5 more to shorten or lengthen the poles
– I can be contacted at shoeman426[AT]mail.utexas.edu
– I will be out of town on the 11th, moving into my new house on the 20th
– I expect to be able to start building and shipping orders after I move into my new house on the 20th
If you’ve made it to the end of this post, thanks for your patience. I’m excited about getting this started.
