DIY fixed length carbon fiber trkking poles

I made a pair of extra long, collapsible trekking poles about a year ago. It was actually pretty dang easy.

I sourced my carbon fiber tubing from eBay. Search for “3k wrap” carbon fiber tube. You don’t want the extruded stuff, it’s not as strong. I used 14mm OD/12mm ID and 12mm OD/10mm ID tube for the main sections, plus some 10mm/6mm at the bottom to join to the pole tip. For fixed length, either 14mm or 12mm OD should be fine for the main pole. They’re commonly sold in 100 cm lengths, so you’ll need three full sticks to get two 125 cm poles (duh).

I sourced pole tips from Black Diamond, and sanded down one end of the 10/6 tube to a taper that fit the pole tip reasonably well and stuck out a few inches. I then used a small amount of quick-set, 2 part epoxy to adhere the pole tip the 10/6 section. I glued the other end into my 12/10 lower section.

I used Gossamer Gear grips. I’ve grown quite fond of them. Not true cork of course, but they’re holding up well. Just a dab of epoxy to keep them in place atop the 14/12, which probably wasn’t necessary actually, and will make replacing them much more of a chore. Alas.

Not relevant for OP, but eventually I sourced Speed Locks from Leki. IF you already have a set of Leki poles, and you ask their customer service nicely, they’ll send you a pair of spare Speed Locks for free. :) The nice thing about Leki locks (as opposed to Black Diamond) is that you don’t have to notch the 14 mm tube, which would weaken it significantly in that area. The clamping part is built into the lock. Cool. It was a tight enough fit on the 14/12 that I didn’t bother to epoxy them. I tried the BD Flick Locks first, but they cracked at the end of the notch almost immediately. Not catastrophic failure, but not reassuring at all, especially if you use your poles as shelter support. If you’re going to make adjustable poles, I think it’s worth the extra hassle to source Leki Speed Locks.

I didn’t add straps to mine, but doing so should be pretty straightforward. I’d make a plug for the top of the pole that could accept some grosgrain webbing, then glue that in. Maybe add a clip or buckle so that the majority of the strap could be replaced/removed easily.

My poles extend to just under 60″ and weigh 4.9 oz each.

Here’s a pic of the finished product before I swapped out the BD locks:

I’ve made many using CF golf driver shafts, available from numerous sources for about $15-$20. They’re available 45”-48” and for $5-$10 you can buy extenders to get up to 53”.

I use fishing pole grips from mudhole.com. Many different materials and shapes available.

Tips from Amazon, from higher end Black Diamond to generic, numerous options of baskets and feet (?), $5-$30 per pair.

Straps from 1/2” nylon straps with buckle sewn in one end, cut to preferred length depending on grip and hand size and 1/4” hole melted through. Expanding rubber “well nut“ with nylon machine screw 1/4-20 x 2” into top of shaft through strap. You can also get a little flip cap to put a smooth rounded cover on the  nylon screw

Use epoxy or similar to glue the grip. Use hot glue for the tips – in case you snap a tip you can drop it  in boiling water to soften the glue, pull out the piece of broken CF tube, and jam the remainder of the shaft in.

I’ll try to remember to post pictures tomorrow.

Thanks David,

Just ordered the shafts, tip and ordered grips from GG.

The DIY poles look great! I might have to try making some.

Some of the ones I’ve made:

(background of 3rd photo is a drawing of reverse trike motorcycle I’m fabricating)

Quick update on my DIY project

I just glued the handles on today: 2 poles 120 cm in length came in at 7.2 oz.  One thing that I tried is I had some drywall anchors that just fit inside the large OD of the shaft, the screw thred will fit in there nicely.  The anchors were bonded in with JB Weld.   Now I need to find straps.

Nice. Love the weight.

How will you attach the straps? Drill into the drywall anchors?

Nice Jon. I have a pair of GG grips sitting here, as well as tips…Can you link where you got the shafts? Struggling to find something cheap in 120cm or 47.5/48″. Or does a 46″ shaft plus tip put me almost dead on at 120cm?

@ David –  The drywall anchors come with a screw: it’s pre-tapped

https://www.homedepot.com/p/E-Z-Ancor-Twist-N-Lock-50-lbs-Drywall-Anchors-with-Screws-25-Pack-25200/100133106

@ WISNER – Below is the link; the shafts were 46″ and I did not have to trim them to hit exactly 120 cm.  The shafts were $11.95 each.   I forgot where I go the tips: the fit was pretty good and I used Hot Melt to hold them in.   The GG grips were a little interesting; it took a lot more force than I thought to pop the button in the handle off.  I glued the grips onto the shaft, but you probably don’t need to do that.  The grips took some work to slip over the shaft.  The first half wasn’t too bad.   For the last half, I had to push and twist the bottom half of the grip on and them push and twist the back half.  A little at a time and it was a bit of work.

https://www.valuegolf.com/acer-velocity-black-graphite-wood-shafts

Thanks Jon!

Ah, couldn’t see that in your photos. Cool. Weight? I’ve used well nuts and nylon machine screws but your setup looks lighter.

Love this thread! I have some GG grips and BD tips I bought years ago to do my own poles with golf shafts but have never gotten around to it. Maybe its time? The GG grips dont really do it for me but I like the idea of the long fishing pole grips. Using hot glue so that you can remove a broken tip rather than epoxy…that’s ingenious David!

Also, drywall anchors for straps at the top – I really like that too Jon! I’ve used such anchors a lot in the last ten years doing projects at home so am pretty familiar with them. They might just do the job, especially as most of the biggest loads they’ll take is if you are leveraging down on the straps…so the strap would run around the top of the tube taking some friction strain before applying a load to the anchor. There are metal versions of these available in Australia that have a higher load rating than the nylon ones, but I’ve always just used the nylon.

Jon, yours could be even lighter with nylon inner screw.

Do you have to shorten the screw so it doesn’t expand too much and burst the shaft?

@ David – used the screw that came withthe drywall anchor and everything went in smoothly: nice and snug.  I didn’t hear any cracking or see any disturbances.

I recycled straps from a broken pair of Black Diamond trekking poles and there is an adjustment built into the strap.  Fixed length at 120 cm and the final weight with straps is 8.3 oz.   Not too shabby.

Dude! Steel screws?

JK. Nice work, nice discovery. I need to pick up a couple of those drywall anchors.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

They look good Jon!