Seeking advice re. carbon tube source and sizing for MYOG 2-piece trekking poles

[Warren C]

I want to see if I can make a pair of sub-11 oz. 2-piece trekking poles. I think I’ve sourced grips, tips, and the locks joining the two sections. But I could use some advice on the best place to buy good quality carbon tubes at the lowest price. I’m also unsure which diameter tube combo is best for my needs. Anyone have suggestions?

A previous thread recommended this eBay site: https://www.ebay.com/str/haozhongcarbonfibertube

The downside is the $30 shipping charge for pieces longer than 50cm.

There are plenty of sources on Amazon, but I don’t know which ones are good quality.

Also, I’m interested in people’s thoughts re. best diameter. I use a 125cm trekking pole, weigh 170lbs, and will be using them on and off trail including boulder fields, etc., as well as for tent support.

I’ve seen people using combos of 13x11mm for the top half and 11×9 for the bottom; 14×12 and 12×10; and 16×14 and 14×12. I want the poles to be light and have a low swing weight. But I don’t want to have to baby them. I use BD Distance Carbon Z poles, which I love, except they aren’t adjustable.

Thanks in advance to any MYOG trekking pole veterans who weigh in.

 

[Roger Caffin]

Using a trekking pole in a boulder field seems to be one of the most common ways of breaking it. They slip between boulders and jam.

As for sources for CF tubing – ebay works, and is a LOT cheaper than Amazon, including on postage.

Cheers

[Eric Blanche]

I bet any of the ebay sources will be similar decent quality for the price. I’ve placed orders from seller xzw791 on numerous occasions. Looks to be the same place you have been looking. Back when I used this source, shipping was a lot less. Less than half.

If considering US sources, I have had great luck using clearwater composites. As a starting point these two sections were originally rec. by CC.,

0.375-0.490-TW-72–Sanded

0.500-0.615-TW-72

The prices for the tubes are considerably more but they are of better quality and shipping was reasonable after cutting longer tubes to desired lengths. They offer sanding services to hone down on tolerances to ensure proper fit. You can help alter swing weight by using diff length sections and/or use thicker wall thickness bottom section (makes sense as the bottom is more likely to fail catastrophically).

#dextergear

[Jan Rezac]

Eric,

Can you tell me more about the clam on the poles you’ve shown? It looks very nice…

[Daryl and Daryl]

Kites and Fun Things.com

Good source of inexpensive wrapped carbon tubes.

[John “Jay” Menna]

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/.   Aircraft Spruce…but the website is really hard to navigate unless you are building an airplane.

[Eric Blanche]

Jan,

I hate to spill my secrets, but in respect to the MYOG community, this piece if from https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/14mm-flicklock-pro/

Just kidding, happy to share!! So, obviously, my current preference for sizing (for three season) is 14-12.

[Warren C]

Thanks for all your insights, Eric. Any suggestions on a good source for hand grips? The Gossamer Gear doesn’t sell the grips pictured on your poles. The closest thing I can find are from Diorite (formerly CNOC), but they have a hole for an 18mm tube. That means I would need to shim it, probably with an 18x14mm tube, adding weight and cost.

Let me know if you have other recommendations for sources of grips.

Best,

Warren

[Eric Blanche]

Hi Warren,

Grips have been a tough category for me. I’ve tried the fly fishing foam grips and you would probably be able to find what you are looking for if you sampled enough of them. They can be easily ‘shaved’ to the correct shape if preferred. The gg handle texture foam grips of that/similar density and hardness are not uncommon within the trekking pole industry, however, I’ve never seen these for sale to the general public. I’d bet there are similar blends in other industries.

If I needed another pair today, I would scour the usual MYOG avenues for used/spare GG grips. Others may know of new/better sources.

[James Marco]

I found some cheap fishing rods at Wallmart. These are Black Widow 10′ panfish rods but are rather durable for hiking staffs. I have made several and given away all but one. They go about 3-3/8 oz for the blank, screw-on top and rubber tip. I just drop a 1/8″ or 5/32″ bolt through with a nut on the rubber end. Leave about 1″ hanging out, then epoxy it all together with the pole. The top is a 14″ length of 3/4″ strap, heated and melted to prevent fraying. Then I drop a 1/8″ bolt with a couple washers through the rubber screw cap and epoxy it all together. The final product goes about 4oz give or take and will support well over 50 pounds. (I leaned on it with my entire 185pound body, but it was hard to say it will support that much…conservative is 50+ pounds.)

[Sam Farrington]

The best carbon tube is from Rockwest, Dragonplate, and Clearwater.  However, I have found the tube used in Yukon Charlie’s, with metal reinforced on the lower sections,  to be quite adequate; so removed the extended grip and replaced it with a long one.  There is an old BPL thread showing how to do this using submersion in boiling water. Worked, but was a bit sketchy.  The result was 7.5 oz per bomber pole, with telescoping flick locks.  Since I only use one pole so I have a free hand, 7.5 oz is AOK.

Since carbon trekking poles are thicker walled than tent poles, they can be poorer quality, like some of the sources mentioned above; however, a lot of even the thick walled tube is junk, and prone to break in situations where the pole gets jammed in a rock.

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