Repairing or strengthening carbon fiber hiking poles.

[Brian Mix]

My last set of CF hiking poles lasted about 3 years. Some extraordinary hiking conditions caused me to break both poles on one trip and one I broke twice on that trip. Fast forward a few weeks and I broke the tip of one of my brand new poles. An upgrade was deemed necessary. From past experience I knew that the carbide inserts were knurled and press fit into the plastic tips.  They were just a vessel for crimping around the carbide insert to be held in the pole tip.

I had 3 pole tips snap off right where the insert ended in the pole. I decided I could weld a grade 8 bolt shank (I cut off the bold head.) to the end of the carbide insert lengthening it by a couple inches. Then I figured if I filled the all the interior space of the pole around the bolt with high strength epoxy it would strengthen the tip tremendously. When done I had added 20g of weight to each pole, significantly more than I planned on and needed to. The epoxy fill goes up 6 inches from the bottom of the pole-the interior volume is much smaller that I planned for as I only intended ti fill about 3″up. I’ll update this thread in a few months with longer term thoughts.

[Brian Mix]

This ridiculous site won’t allow anything bigger than a 1meg picture, so I guess I have nothing to share. My apologies.

This picture shows the stock carbide inserts as installed by the factory.https://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=a003f2bdfca984752f762628e38c6d8e#1480999914529

This picture shows how I lengthened the inserts by welding on a grade 8 bolt shank.https://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=a003f2bdfca984752f762628e38c6d8e#1480999914529

[Paul S.]

I’ve used Black Diamond alpine carbon fiber poles for years; probably my longest lasting price of gear. They are heavy by BPL standards (8-9 oz each) but they are very sturdy and comfortable.

Andrew Skurka uses them and found the tips last far longer than cheaper options.

A friend stepped on one of my poles they were borrowing, left at a 45 degree angle and it cracked. I adjusted the flint lock to clamp below the crack and made due the rest of the trip.  The replacement part cost a mere $10.

 

[Bob Moulder]

If you just want to get some decent poles cheaply and be done with it, these Cascade Mountain Tech poles are Skurka faves.

On to the problem with the current poles, the make/model of the poles is not mentioned and accessing the photos requires account information, so I can’t see those. 200kb image files are plenty big enough for forums so maybe find a cheap image editing program that lets you resize.

I think I can visualize the fix from your description and it sounds as if it might hold up for a while. I make my own CF poles and use JB Weld or JB Quick for the tips. The main reason for this is that unlike most epoxies (including Hysol) the JB epoxies don’t shrink.

[Sam Farrington]

Using only one pole, weight is less of a concern. But the pole must not break, as I cannot hike safely without one.
Ultralite carbon poles have a history of breakage, usually toward the tips when they get lodged in crannies. The heavier ones from Black Diamond, mentioned by Paul S, are over a half pound, so on the heavy side for carbon. The newer folding models, cannot be telescoped to exact lengths, for supporting tarps and awnings, and for making easy adjustments on the move to meet the terrain.
So I looked for a combo of alloy in the lower section(s) and carbon in the upper, and found some – Yukon Charlie Carbons at ~$50 per pair. Was concerned about quality, and the grips confirmed that. The foam was so soft it was next to useless, especially in the short grip extensions.
However, the rest of the poles looked solid, so replaced the extended grip of one with a much higher quality stiffer foam from an Italian made pole (Scott Explor) that had a worn out push button hole for its lower section. Boiling the grips to remove and replace them was not quite as easy as some have posted, but got through it all right. The result was a trekking pole that has a full size sturdy hand loop on the grip, a long and sturdy ribbed grip extension, a mud basket, and a rubber tip, totaling 7.5 ounces.
This has become a go-to pole, and surprisingly, is stiffer and feels more secure than some carbon poles, and alloy poles as well. Am not keen on UL poles that bend/bow a lot (‘first it bent and then it broke,’ as the old song goes). The flick-locks adjust easily, and get constant use, with no signs of deterioration or slippage.
Most of all, from my experience, the two alloy lower sections will be more likely to bend than shatter when locked in a crevice. A lighter pole would have a better swing weight, but since there is only one, 7.5 oz is OK. (Need a free hand often for the dogs’ leashes, for breaking a fall, or hauling self up a boulder.) For anyone willing to replace the extended grips, I would recommend these poles.

[Bob Moulder]

Ultralite carbon poles have a history of breakage

Statistically yes, but on an individual basis it depends in large part upon the user’s personal techniques and practices. I’ve been using trekking poles since about 1995 and have never broken a pole of any kind, including my current 4.3 oz myog carbon fiber poles that have about 800 miles on them. A few times I’ve had close calls and thought they were goners, for sure, but somehow they survived those incidents. (Kiss of Death; now I’ll go out and break one tomorrow. :^o)

Not being judgmental, but it is a simple fact that some people are very hard on gear and some people are very easy on gear, with the bell curve twixt ’em. ;^)

[Kevin Babione]

I bought the Gossamer Gear LT4’s when they first came out about 5 years ago and love them.  With that said, I’ve snapped three poles since I’ve had them.  I’ve never had a problem with the tips breaking off, but I believe that’s because I don’t have wrist straps so if the pole gets stuck somewhere when I’m not expecting it I just let it slip out of my hand.

All three snapped poles were a result of me slipping and falling on the pole while heading downhill.  The pole either ended up directly beneath me or, in one case, exactly where I put my hand to stop my fall.  A carbon fiber pole extended across two rocks will indeed break when you give it a solid (270 pound) karate chop (intentional or not).

At least GG sells the poles as single units…

[Bob Moulder]

Kevin, I remember one of those incidents! :^o

In part why I decided to “roll my own” with a slightly heavier CF… that, and I also wanted adjustable 2-section poles with flick locks. Hard to believe with all the trekking poles on Earth there was nothing available in that combination.

A few weeks ago I used my REI (Komperdell) Carbon Powerlock poles that weigh about 8oz each and it reminded me how spoiled I am for the lighter poles. But I need the heavier ones for pitching my Duomid.

PS…. GG’s Warranty says a lot about the use of CF trekking poles and various caveats!

[James holden]

Just buy the poles from somewhere like MEC with an unlimited warranty

komperdell also has a 2 years hippo sits on em warranty

or get aluminum poles … The BD alpine carbon are also made to be abused

if yr tent relies on poles (especially TWO poles) then a pole snapping can be a real issue

especiallly if there are no long sticks around

;)

[Kevin Babione]

Thanks Eric – I’m okay.  Almost all of my backpacking is in Pennsylvania and I sleep in a hammock (we have plenty of trees).  The biggest hassle I’ve had with snapping a pole is carrying it out!  I just need to learn not to fall…AND to make sure my pole doesn’t end up beneath me if I do.

[Dale Wambaugh]

If I had that many failures with a product, I would be looking elsewhere. Maybe a heavier pole will be safer and provide better service. Lighter is only good if it works. I’ve never broken a “standard” pole.

The BD carbon poles are great, but only slightly lighter than the aluminum poles. The only case I can make for them is for hiking saltwater beaches, where aluminum poles will corrode.

 

[Bob Moulder]

I actually carry some splints and CA glue and duct tape for repairs, although a splint might not work if a break is too close to the end of pole section.

In that situation my strategy is to do it the old fashioned way and walk without poles. :^)

With my Duomid, if I’m base camping and therefore using my trekking poles during the day, I find a stick to prop up the tent while I’m out hiking or snowshoeing…

[Kevin Babione]

Dale,

I don’t consider my snapped poles as “product failures.”  I have a set of Leki Ultralight Titanium poles as well and I believe they would have snapped (or bent enough that the poles would never again collapse) if I had landed on them the way I hit my LT4’s.  In my case it’s a failure of the user, not the product.

[Rosaleen Sullivan]

After hundreds of miles, I tripped and fell onto one of my Gossamer Gear poles. Unfortunately, it was suspended across a large rock and downed tree trunk so it pretty much shattered at the point of impact  My tears were more for the pole than the big scrape down my leg.  I carried it out, of course, and brought it home to hubby, who does a LOT of archery.  We found a discarded (broken) carbon fiber arrow shaft that pretty well fit inside the hollow pole.  Hubby use 5 minute epoxy to fix a section of shaft inside the break then smoothed more epoxy over and through the shattered area, gluing the fibers back together.  I really can’t tell the fixed pole from the broken one.  You CAN replace the pole or section, but try repairing it first.

[J R]

Fizan poles have popped on and off of  Massdrop for a while now, if I recall about $50/pair, they are aluminum at 6.1 oz each with strap, which is lighter than my previous carbons.

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