Lightweight Trekking Poles: Gear Guide

[James Marco]

Not really my idea, though I tried something similar a couple times. I think this was from the old Yahoo Backpackinglight email list about 15 years ago.

OK, I have an older staff in my storeroom. I got a couple of the strap top/bottom. This has been through the mill, maybe 1500-2000mi on it. As I remember, I replaced the strap with a shorter version while making another staff (parts are interchangeable.)

The tip was replaced last spring. (I usually only use one staff, the trails through the majority of the ADK’s are too narrow/scrubbed-in to use two.) The original bumper was worn out.

[Steve M.]

You have a technical error in this review – Force is NOT measured in lb-ft. lb-ft is a unit of torque NOT force.

If the expectation of the article is to inform and dispel misinformation and erroneous science – having technical errors in the review poses question/concerns which you have expressed critical of other reports/claims.

Additionally, Gossamer Gear LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles are NOT discontinued – Gossamer Gear still list LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles within their product line and provides support and replacement parts for the LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles.

From my experience, trekking poles add more to my trekking enjoyment than take away.

[Bruce Warren]

James, a good system you developed. Try using a prussic knot for your cord strap. Slides up and down easily and locks instantly in place under load.

[Paul S]

As Greg hinted…. a calorie is a unit of energy. A rewording of a those 2 statements might be worthwhile ;-)

[James Marco]

Bruce, I tried a Prussik loop, but that didn’t work too well. 1) it tended to shorten up the staff a couple inches and 2) because the shaft was slick carbon, the knot really didn’t stay put, well. But that was an earlier  version. Maybe I’ll try it again with the longer 12′, 3piece poles or find a piece about 50″ long. Thanks!

[Roger Caffin]

Not quite true – I’ve got a set made of titanium tubing. Neener, neener.
I would be interested in knowing what brand and what model.

FYI: titanium poles could weigh almost double aluminium ones and cost up to 10x as much. It is a much more expensive material.

My experience with poles labeled ‘titanium’ has been that they really an aluminium alloy containing maybe 1% titanium. I am not sure, but the effect of adding Ti may be similar to that of adding Scandium. A classic example is the old Leki Makalu Ultralight Titanium poles. (Did they in fact contain ANY titanium? I don’t know.) In many ways quite a fraudulent bit of advertising.

Cheers

[Richard A]

James,

That’s a clever idea i can see working well. I wouldn’t mind not having adjustable length, or using strap length as an alternative means of shortening/lengthening the staff, but i do like to have adjustability for pitching a shelter at different heights. I often carry a bamboo pole for walks of less than a day…

Thanks for the explanation

[Eric B]

Roger, you are entirely correct to be skeptical of any claim of titanium poles. The word “Titanium” has been horribly misused by marketers.

However, I assure you that the pictured pole is about 95% titanium. It is made of 3Al-2.5V Sandvik titanium alloy. It is made from a golf club shaft. I don’t know the full history of titanium golf club shafts, but they were available from Sandvik for about ten years starting in 1988, when Sandvik was trying to diversify into sports equipment. They never really caught on in the golf market, because, (as you said) titanium is very expensive.

The pictured pole weighs 160 grams, and I’ve been using it (and its mate) for a decade now. They are not particularly light by some standards, but they are incredibly tough. On several occasions I’ve straightened them after impacts and falls that I’m sure would have ruined carbon or aluminum poles of equal weight.

Edited to add: The trekking poles are homemade starting from the Sandvik shafts – I simply glued Leki carbide tips to the skinny end, and some old ski pole grips and straps to the fat end.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Eric

My apologies. You know, that possibility did not occur to me at the time – but certainly I have heard of it being done before. Well, golf fanatics … with more $$ than neurons …

3Al-2.5V is a good alloy, and more suited to tubing than 6Al-4V (sheet and wire). I think my winter stoves use that alloy for the 38 mm dia burner chamber. Sounds like a neat idea.

I do remember seeing a farmer’s electric fence somewhere in France – but near a big ski field. All the poles supporting the electric wire were … ski poles! One suspects the one of the pair was broken, and the other one was simply discarded. It was amusing. Ski poles rather than golf sticks, but …

Cheers

[Eric B]

Roger,  no apology is needed or expected! And the idea to use golf shafts for trekking poles was something I learned here at BPL. But I happened to run across some Ti shafts and they fit my needs better than carbon shafts.

The pic below shows how tough these poles are – I slipped while descending an unstable stream cutbank, landed on the pole with my hip, and rode it down to the bottom while fighting to get back on my feet. The resulting bend was straightened over my knee with a bit of effort and the pole is still as good as new (I think!). I can’t prove it of course, but I’m pretty sure a carbon or aluminum pole would not have survived my ineptitude. I’d guess that carbon would’ve shattered, and aluminum would’ve kinked irreparably.

And that’s not the first time that pole has been similarly abused, just normally I don’t take pictures after doing stupid things. ;-)

Cheers!

[Erica R]

I love using poles. As I often hike solo, the extra safety factor against an inadvertent fall is great. Also they help me get up and down the hill more easily when wearing a pack.

Finding the right set of poles is lots like finding a shoe that fits. There is no substitute for trying them. I actually ordered $1000 worth of poles from REI, and sent back all but one pair. I can say that non-adjustable poles are a non-starter for me. I also discovered foam grips are better for cold climates and cork grips are better when it is warm.

Once, while struggling to summit a ridge I stopped and cut some of the foam off my pole grips. As I never choke them up, the material was excess for me. I was amazed how much difference saving an oz or so on each pole made! Later I realized I never use the poles at full extension, so I cut some of the excess carbon off the pole, making them lighter but just as strong, and still long enough to adjust for going downhill.

The only thing I don’t like about poles is that my hands really take a beating. A light weight pair of gloves is essential for me. https://www.google.com/search?q=valley+fruit+picker+gloves&sa=X&rlz=1C1RFPM_enUS814US814&biw=1280&bih=646&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=ff5nFCWhicS3jM%253A%252CjvJCjktCUyXVGM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kTbESSps28LlfPD3kIT0Rye7Tfc-g&ved=2ahUKEwiaveL7nu3eAhVwTd8KHbXgCQcQ9QEwBHoECAMQBg#imgrc=ff5nFCWhicS3jM: Although the gloves keep the sun off, I still develop cracks in my digits. On a long trip at high elevations (like the Sierra) these need bandaids. I have tried lots of handcreams; cortisone seems about the best.

[Roger Caffin]

Eric: That bent shaft is amazing – or rather the fact that you managed to straighten it up. One for the archives indeed.

Erica: gloves needed despite using the straps in the recommended manner? Could it be the sun?

Cheers

[Mark W]

Great review of hiking poles!

With one personal caveat:

“The extreme (and probably the only appropriate) manifestation of this are the 45-degree angled and very short Pacer Poles, which customers seem to rave about.”

I’ll rave about Pacer poles. But at 6’4″, I’ll disagree with them being short. Mine are plenty long for me, and I could still extend them another 4 inches or so.  Wonderful poles, with that comfortable and sensible ergonomic hand grip.

(I also have a pair of noisy clicking BD shock-absorbing poles.  I dislike them.  Before getting a used pair of Pacer poles, I preferred my wife’s lightweight simpler BD women’s poles, still plenty long enough for my lanky frame.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

GREAT article, probably the most complete trekking pole use article extant.

And then there are the comparison reviews of CF poles. Again, great and very well informed.

 

UPDATE: 11/26/’18

I have to mention my Chinese made (GAK!) CF poles from CASCADE MOUNTAIN TECH, a US company. As the review says several CF poles mentioned were made in China. These poles have external clamping type adjustments and I like them better than internal mandril type adjustments which always seem to crap out at the worst time. This includes Leki poles.

Yeah, I got mine from COSTCO for about $35. but they have withstood two years of training and one rim-to-rim Grand Canyon backpack and are doing well. The came packaged with a small “summer” basket set and a nice set of snow baskets that do work well with my Tele skis and skins.

 

[Sam Sockwell]

would have been awfully nice to include pacer poles as one of the more carefully reviewed poles.  Still getting used to mine but they feel different going uphill, allowing a push.

[Rawhide .]

As always, comprehensive and fun article to read! I’ve had a variety of trekking poles over the years, and hiking the PCT in 2011 was my introduction. Love them. I just picked up a pair of Micro Vario Ti COR-TEC poles for a hike down the length of Ireland next year, so at about 16 oz., the features and the price point they seemed about right. They just arrived, so tomorrow will be the first round with them.

Rawhide

[Ryan Jordan]

Following up on one of the comments above about force, torque, and units. @spmltd wrote:

You have a technical error in this review – Force is NOT measured in lb-ft. lb-ft is a unit of torque NOT force.

Maybe a more accurate way that I should have presented this section:

The “swing effort” (force, e.g., in ft-lb) required to use a trekking pole is proportional to the product of its weight (e.g., in lb) and the position of its center of mass measured by its distance from the grip end of the pole (e.g., in ft).

Is to denote the swing effort as “work” or “energy” and not force. Torque doesn’t seem quite right either.

I’m not really looking for a way to accurately measure specifics because the actual physics is dependent so much on the user as well (and their ability to manage the effort and momentum of a swinging pole), but simply come up with a value that represents the effort required to swing a pole through some arbitrary arc.

Thoughts or suggestions on rewriting this so it’s more accurate? I’m happy to change the text accordingly. Crowdsourced editing! :D

[Ryan Jordan]

@spmltd wrote:

Additionally, Gossamer Gear LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles are NOT discontinued – Gossamer Gear still list LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles within their product line and provides support and replacement parts for the LT4/LT4S Trekking Poles.

Somebody better tell Glen that. He’s gonna be super ticked when he finds this out! He’s the one who told me.

OK, seriously though, they have some stock left but when that stock is out, they’re gone for good. Source: Gossamer Gear.

[Bruce Warren]

Sometimes a great review or discussion descends into confusing trivia that is of no practical use to any anyone. The forces involved in using a hiking pole are not worth discussing or evaluating. (Kinda like discussing the forces involved in blowing up your air pad, or steering your car.) So many other hiking pole technical and emotional issues are way more relevant to personal satisfaction and a successful trek… like stiffness, or noises, or fashionable style, or colors, or price, or future parts availability, or made in China, or self-defense, or snake wrangling, or tip mileage, or moldy grips, or strap stiffness, or water trapped inside,  And one day soon, which pole will work best on Mars?

[Eric B]

Ryan, if you’re analyzing the physics behind swinging a trekking pole, it might be best to start with the moment of inertia. For a uniform rod pivoting about one end (a reasonable approximation for a trekking pole) this is:

The swing weight, or moment of inertia, is proportional to the length *squared*. Torque is applied by flexing the wrist to overcome this moment of inertia.

Of course in reality the pole doesn’t just rotate around one end. Besides the rotation of the pole, there is also translation – the pole is being lifted and lowered by the arms, and moved along the trail. Further, in reality we don’t pivot only at the wrist, we pivot at the elbow and shoulder.

If you search on “moment of inertia” “swing weight” you will find all sorts of sports-related information.

[Gary Dunckel]

Ryan, that was a fine review of several great poles. My personal favorites include the Costco poles (very cheap), the Fizan version often sold on Massdrop (fairly cheap), and the 2016 version of the Komperdell Carbon C2 UL (free!), which were gifted to me by the company to do some beta for snowshoe use. But my all-time favorite poles are my beloved BPL fixed length Stix. I nearly always use rubber tips with my poles, and those on my Stix are now showing signs of wear. I couldn’t find any replacements that would fit them. Then, you mentioned in the review article that the Komperdell poles you reviewed have the same carbon fiber shaft as the old Stix. I contacted the good folks at Komperdell (great customer service, by the way, as opposed to that of Black Diamond IMO), and they are sending me a couple pair of the 10 mm pole tips, which should fit the Stix nicely. I’m a happy boy, and I thank you for that tid-bit of info, Ryan!

[Benjamin Stewart]

<p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>Trekking poles are not allowed as a carry-on item on airplanes. This means they have to be stored in checked baggage or left at home.</p>
Wow, I just checked and this is indeed TSA policy, but that was news to me. I’ve brought my collapsible trekking poles in my carried-on pack on dozens of flights. Never had a question or a problem.

[Bruce Warren]

I think a standard hiking pole looks like a spear to the TSA. I have taken my hiking pole, the neoTrekk BigStik, onto many flights. It has no pointy end and looks kinda like a cane. So put a rubber crutch tip on it, limp a little. look handicapped… and you get onboard OK. Have not tried using two poles…. one is just right for me when backpacking. Then I can swat mosquitoes or pick my nose with the free arm.

[Michael Shearer]

I use BD Trail Ergo Cork which are over the weight limit for this test.  They replaced a pair of pretty basic REI aluminum poles with a twist lock and foam grips.  Twist locks didn’t work for me at all and the foam gets kind of slimy and slippery on a hot day after a while.  My hiking partner went through two pairs of extremely expensive bespoke carbon fiber poles in the time it took my twist locks to give out, so I am willing to carry the extra weight.  I also like how compact the BDs collapse, since terrain where poles aren’t helpful is also where you are least likely to want anything on your pack sticking way out – class 3 sections etc.

I use them about 50% of the time on trails and easy terrain, and then usually I’m sort of playing with them.  They are primarily for steep(ish) snow and tent poles.

 

[SFOldManClan]

I bought the Mons Peak IX Carbon last week.  They are nice, but just a couple of observations:

1. Mine weight 17 ounces vs 13.9 ounces – so I am trying to figure out what changed from your gear review to the production model.  I check it on two scales that I have – one hanging and one platform style.
2. They rattle when when plant them, it’s minor, but noticeable.  It some sort of resonance, not a hardware issue.
3. Love the hardware claps, easy to use with gloves
4. Didn’t have skin on cork handles yet (its cold here in Prince William Forest).
5. The carbon weave is beautiful
6. Customer Service was awesome, answered on the first ring…
7. Just perplexed by the weight…..I can see a couple of grams, but a couple of ounces is a huge delta in  trekking pole.

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