World’s Most Awesome Pole Jack

Looks nice. I suppose the same thing, functionally, could be accomplished by gluing a little rubber grommet into a cheap aluminum tube section, but it wouldn’t be adjustable for different types of poles, nor would it look as nice. They are not really that expensive either, although I would say that if you already have a pole jack, you could go down to the hardware store and pick up a grommet pretty cheap to make your existing jack work better.

Something like this: https://www.mcmaster.com/9600K102/

The nice thing about the Valesko/Leavitt solution is that it uses a spring mechanism, hence self-adjusts.

Here’s a link to the same pole jack offered by Zpacks (same idea, slightly extended length, slightly higher price).

Clever.

Another elegant (IMO) idea for a “pole jack” is to make an extended middle section of your trekking pole. Pretty simple if you have three-section telescoping poles: just order a length of the appropriate diameter tubing (carbon fiber for weight savings and shock absorbtion), cut to length, move existing lock to new section or order a Flicklock from Black Diamond. Boom, done. More stable than any pole jack, maybe a smidge lighter, and harder to lose!

Or use a locally sourced object to raise pole-rock, wood, etc.