Trekking poles that extend to 57 inches

[Kevin G]

Hello,

I ordered the new Tarptent Double Rainbow Lithium, and in order to set up in fully freestanding mode it requires trekking poles that extend to at least 55 inches, preferably 57 inches. Any recommendations for lightweight trekking poles that extend to this length? Bonus point for budget options..

thanks

 

 

[BlackHatGuy]

Would an extender work for shorter poles?

[Kevin G]

I’m not familiar with that as I’ve never even used trekking poles until recently. I will definitely look into it..

[Nick Gatel]

My observations over the years is most trekking poles are around 51” max.

Some hiking staffs are around 57” like this one

https://www.rei.com/product/847813/rei-co-op-hiker-power-lock-staff-single

[William Chilton]

Leki Khumbu Speedlocks extend to 145cm (57″) and weigh 275g per pole (without baskets).

Also Leki, Black Diamond and Komperdell all do ski poles that extend to 145cm.

[Kevin G]

Thank you, that seems reasonably light. Do you think it makes more sense to look into pole extenders?

[Kevin G]

The Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon poles I have now extend all the way to 54 inches so pole extenders might be a good option

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

We set up ours up with Leki 140cm adjustable poles — shown in the photos and video. Those poles will actually go beyond the 140cm marks to where it says “Stop”  and will easily handle the stresses at that extended distance.

-H

 

[Erik G]

I’d consider MYOG’ing a slightly longer middle section for your poles. probably 14mm OD/12mm ID tubing. Cut to desired length, swap locking mechanism over (or get some BD flick locks, or email Leki about replacement Speedlocks). I ended up making a complete set of poles that extend to ~60″ and weigh 4.9 oz each.

Although, per Henry’s post above, none of this should be necessary. :)

[Todd T]

…trekking poles that extend to at least 55 inches, preferably 57 inches. Any recommendations for lightweight trekking poles that extend to this length?

They do need to be long enough, but it’s equally important that they be sturdy under bending stress.  In my experience, you can’t get anything close to a taut pitch without cinching things down really tight, and that puts a noticeable bow in the poles.  You can see it in TT’s own picture.  I’d avoid any of those super lightweight carbon things.

I personally think it’s a little “creative” to call this freestanding.  You still have to stake out the sides to keep the doors from hanging loose, and the corners will still feel slack.  Just stake the tent.  Disclaimer:  I generally don’t see much value in freestanding tents of any kind.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> I personally think it’s a little “creative” to call this freestanding.  You still have to stake out the sides to keep the doors from hanging loose, and the corners will still feel slack.  Just stake the tent.  Disclaimer:  I generally don’t see much value in freestanding tents of any kind.

Agree about “freestanding”. It’s an incredibly squishy term, esp. here in the US where it’s even possible to get away with calling 3 points of contact (for a 4-corner floor) freestanding.  Freestanding is free-floating when the wind picks up but can be useful in very rocky/hard-packed terrain and if the weather is otherwise cooperative.  I’ve always found that moving a few feet solves staking problems but I get that not everyone has that luxury.

[Kevin G]

Most of the time I will just stake it. However, on wood tent platforms I think the Trekking pole set up for “freestanding” mode is genius. I’m no expert but it seemed pretty straight forward and taut to me in the video. Yes,  you would still need two stakes for the the vestibules But that’s the same or less than the # of stakes you would need to use for traditional double walled freestanding tents. I’m going to check those Leki’s out but just trying to figure out if it makes more sense to just get the pole extenders since my poles go to 54 inches already

 

[Stephen Stephens]

Cnoc Outdoors trekking poles extend to 62 inches. They are currently out of stock but should back in stack by late June.

[William Chilton]

Thank you, that seems reasonably light. Do you think it makes more sense to look into pole extenders?

Well, I guess that’s a judgement call based on your financial situation, among other things.

I only got the poles recently so I can’t comment on their performance too much, but they feel substantial.

[Brad W]

Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon poles(Costco) I have can be extended to just over 58″ when pushing them past their markings and so the locking mechanism has a full bite on the tube.

[Ken Larson]

LOCUS GEAR ( Carbon Fiber Trekking Pole  “CP3″)  135cm adjustable poles will work with the Tarptent Double Rainbow Lithium. These poles will actually go beyond the 135cm marks where it says “Stop” an additional 2.5cm on each shaft that will bring you to a length of 56.5 in/ 143.5 cm.  That length 56.5 in/ 143.5 cm can safely be extended to 57in/145cm that will easily handle the stresses at that extended distance.

[Kevin G]

Thanks everyone for the help, gonna look at a couple of the models suggested , but would prefer to get the extenders rather than dropping $100+ on another set of poles.

[Marc Penansky]

Sorry I am getting in a little late but we have Gabel poles which extend to 144 cm and have  a double locking mechanism – both twist lock and flick lock – to prevent accidental compression.  It’s a pretty neat feature.

http://www.lightheartgear.com

[obx hiker]

Kevin: Late to the party as well but this should help. There’s been a lot of discussion over the years about an inverted dual pole setup. This invariable involves pole extenders. Here’s a link to a thread a few years back with a post by BPL regular Bob Moulder describing a method to get a really custom fit on a pole extension: Pole Extension Custom Fit

You might also consider PMing Bob?

Also you’d be (or I am often) surprised at the stuff you can find in existing older threads here on BPL. It’s a real treasure trove of info. Problem is figuring out the real “bingo!” search terms. I remembered this post but it took about 5 tries and using the term DPTE to find it again.

Happy Trails!

[Murali C]

I have the Mountainsmith Trekker FX Lite Monopod pole which can extend up to 59 inches and is $40. I use it for my Zpacks Altaplex tent and also to use it to attach my cell phone as it has a camera attachment option. I have used it for 1000 miles and is still going strong.

The main reason I bought it was for the cell phone attachment option (it has the screws – need to still buy a cheap cell phone attachment thingy from Amazon) which helps in easy access to take pictures plus look at navigation etc. And of course it goes up to 59 inches which is needed for my tall Zpacks Altaplex tent.

https://www.rei.com/product/155737/mountainsmith-trekker-fx-lite-monopod-single

 

[William Chilton]

Poles designed to extend to 57″ will be stronger than poles designed for a shorter length but extended beyond their intended limit. For example, I have the Locus Gear poles, but I would be wary of using them extended to 57″.

That’s for supporting a tent, though; they might not need to be as strong when used to make the Rainbow freestanding.

[Kevin G]

The Mountainsmith Trekker FX Lite seem to fit the bill but is that considered on the heavy side?

[Murali C]

Not really…..9.5 oz’s is pretty standard for the price – you can find some for 8 oz per pole – but, 9.5 and 8 oz are not that different. 5-6 oz versions are typically carbon and are expensive.

I also have the Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork poles which are 9 oz per pole and I think of them as bomber – more than 2000 miles on these and still going strong – I use one of these one of the Mountain Smith ones.

The good thing is that these poles have the lever (FLickLock) to adjust height which is good compared to some poles which are lighter weight which have TwistLock (which don’t have a lever but a screw like mechanism) which are a pain to adjust after a few months of hiking as gunk/sweat jams the TwistLock mechanism and makes it almost impossible to adjust.

 

 

[Murali C]

For me – since I use two poles for hiking, I don’t usually consider weight as an issue – I never keep it in my backpack and carry it.

If you are actually just going to use the pole for the tent and not using it for hiking, then you may want to check out MLD – they seem to have a 57 inch (or is it 59inch? – check with MLD) one for DuoMid XL at 4 oz at $65. Of course, I think hiking poles are stronger than tent poles – but, if MLD is selling it for their DuoMid XL, I would trust it completely. Maybe some MLD users can chime in.

Zpacks has the Trekking pole Jack which adds 12 inches at 1.2 oz – which is the lightest and cheapest.

[Murali C]

Tarptent itself also has tent poles:-)

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