Lightest Aluminum Fixed Length Trekking Pole?

the new black diamond aluminum z-poles are around 12 ounces total, and their carbon fiber versions are around 9 ounces total.

Has anyone had any experiance with the new aluminum z-poles. i really want to try them out before i buy them, but nobody local has them in stock

I have been thinking of building my own Z poles for a while now. Aluminum ones would weigh 9oz a pair while carbon ones would weigh 6oz oz a pair. The carbon ones would weigh 1/3 as much but they would cost 3 times as much. Do you think the reduced weight worth is worth the added cost?

IMHO the difference in weight from 9oz to 6oz while important would not be the deciding factor. Strength for the intended use would be then cost. I went from heavy REI poles to GG LT4 and it was a big difference but the REI poles where close to 20 oz.

A fellow BPL member made a strong and light pair for himself. I'm planning on following his lead and making a pair as well. Check out his instructions at the link below.

http://caseyandemily.com/Backpack/2006/2006_10_Poles/Poles.htm

The camp xenon are pretty similar to the black diamond z-poles, but are aluminum and come in at 4.6oz, and cheaper

The CAMP Xenon poles are nice looking, lightweight, very affordable and probably made in China. Don't get me wrong CAMP makes some really nice products but I am done buying gear made in Asia whenever possible.

I made a pair out of golf club shafts that weighed 6oz total. They were carbon driver shafts with leki tips and gossamer grips. It was a very easy project once I gathered the supplies

Hey Ben,

What was the total cost? Golf club shafts seem like they would be expensive since everything Golf is expensive. Its kind of like "marine grade" haha. They throw that word on something and it is 2-3 times as expensive.

Hey Lawson,

I'd check out pawn shops, garage sales, or thrift stores…maybe even golf courses. There might be deals to be had there on clubs that were left behind, slightly damaged for golf use but not for trekking pole use. I scored once and found a whole set, plus decent bag, in a dumpster once. Not sure if it was someone quitting the game, or a ticked-off wife, but I was happy to take them off the dumpsters hands! :)

Dug
http://thf2.wordpress.com

When I made mine, I found some carbon shafts at golf-components.com in their clearance and specials section.

I asked the shop guy in the back of my local golf pro shop nicely and he gave me two CF shafts for free! He even squared off the ends where the head had broken off. Apparently they just throw them away. They were about the right length and with GG lighttreck grips and leki tips weigh about 2.8oz each. I had to remove the grips which was a bit of a challenge, slit the rubber carefully and remove the girp tape. Costs were about $14 for leki tips and $20 for the grips. BTW, if you have a choice, try to get the 'stiff' marked shafts, they flex less.

Carbon golf shafts are alot more affordable then I thought they would be. I am sure the cheap ones are just that…Cheap… But for trekking poles I don't think it would be a huge concern especially if they were extra stiff and wern't pultruted carbon. Problem is most golf shafts seem too short for a longer pole. I think the longest one I saw were 47". With a 3" carbide tip your only at 50" or 127cm so as long as you didn't want something longer I think you would be good to go. Also another concern is the shaft diameter seems much smaller then the female part of the carbide tips. I think my Leki's measure out at .412" where wood shafts are something like .335" and iron shafts are .370". Did you use the iron shafts?

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/ECoATRbxEPAqJf8PTVwM5TkGe_6jDxr9YPEPSnO0Dj8r6j6MIK9LT22JxygbK7fOPdgwYQJBTrrTjTrYdb4ml03ZL9c9Aow/A-HikingStaff/UL%20Trek%20Poles%20Cheap.pdf

This is from the archived files at the Yahoo Backpackinglight mailing list.

I have made several of these hiking staffs. In the High Peaks area of NY, several people have the benefit of them. I will somtimes hand one to a person complaining that "If I had a staff, I could…" soo, I hand it to him or her. For $6 and some hardware out of the odds&ends bucket, what the hey. It is worth it to see the looks on their faces.

I would advise against using 50# test monofilament for bear line though. It can easily get tangled and the wind knots get quite weak. (Besides being difficult to see in the dark.) The clips just get in the way. Carefully, slice the windings off to remove them and save another bit of weight. I believe mine varied between 4.4 and 4.7 ounces, each. Not aluminum, but, a pretty good staff. (I took one on the Nortern Forest Canoe Trail.) They work. No handles needed, just the straps.

For the more tecnically inclined, you can adapt a carbide tip with a sharp knife and a little 5 minute epoxy. This will add another 1-1/2 oz or ther'bout. Wrapping the bottom with an inch or so of light 1/32"-3/64" braid will let it withstand rocks. Coat the wrap with epoxy.

My thoughts only . . .
jdm

Has anyone here made a pair of aluminum poles? If so did it ever cross your midn not use the plastic carbide protector tips? At 15grams a piece they really add some extra weight. Dont get me wrong, I would never try this with carbon fiber since it would shatter to quickly but with a 7075 aluminum I would think it would work just fine.. I got the idea off a pair of my ski poles so it must work to some degree. To beef things up a bit I was thinking of using an tent pole aluminum dome insert and then center drilling it and adding a piece of 3/16" tool steel. I will let the tool steel hang out by 1/4" and epoxy it in 1/2" giving it more then enough strength. This setup would reduce each poles weight by 10 grams and a few bucks. Who thinks it will work?

If my calculations are correct. My 125cm(49") Aluminum Z poles will weigh a whopping 4.23oz a piece or 120 grams. I should be able to start building them this weekend so we will see.

> To beef things up a bit I was thinking of using an tent pole aluminum dome insert and then center drilling it
> and adding a piece of 3/16" tool steel. I will let the tool steel hang out by 1/4" and epoxy it in 1/2"
That would work fine. But why not just plug the end with a bit of Al rod turned to fit, and then epoxy a broken carbide cutter in? Visit a metals workshop and ask – they often have a few broken cutters to hand. HSS tool steel is fine, but carbide cutters are as cheap these days.

Cheers

Like Roger says, carbide is cheap enough these days. I just use a standard 1/8" bolt that sticks out a bit. Carbide, tool steel are harder. After a few uses, they dull up, too. It doesn't really matter. The pressure on a narrow point is what gives the tips their traction. I leave mine hanging out so I can "plant" it at a rest stop.
About an inch or so.

As far as shattering, graphite is fairly sturdy if you wrap the tip tightly with 1/32" braided nylon, then coat it with epoxy. If they shatter, it will not be at a winding. You can literally apply about 300lb of pressure over a couple inches at 5 pounds per turn. More if you use finer threads and a lot more wraps. Double wrapping looses some strength, though. A LOT stronger than aluminum. 'Corse, you could try it with aluminum, too.I am not sure about deformation, though. It might help.

"Has anyone here made a pair of aluminum poles? If so did it ever cross your midn not use the plastic carbide protector tips?"

I used to hike with an old skipole without the basket when I was a kid. Worked fine, you could probably find an old aluminum skipole and go with that. And you're right, the golf shafts came out to about 110-115cm with grips and tips on, but that's about my size.