Trekking poles---worth the hassle?

Well, what's the best and what's the worst? Let's talk about all those things we carry to make our trips more comfortable...

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Post by Ear Mountain »

I can't imagine that a $9 pair of Walmart poles would be worth anything.

Here's a link to find all the poles stocked by REI.
http://www.rei.com/search?vcat=REI_SEAR ... es&x=0&y=0

There's quite a bunch. They go from $60 to $140/pair. Personally I like the Leki Super Makalu but that is a personal choice for sure. Good poles are expensive but the better ones are: lighter, more ergonomic, have an anti shock feature, easily adjustable, very strong and will last a long time.

If you are planning any off trail trekking get the best poles you can afford.
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Post by missguinness »

Heff & I both have a pair of Black Diamond trekking poles. We love them because of the Flick Lock. The Flick Lock is similar to what is on a lot of tripods. They hold the sections of the pole in place and adjustments are very quick and easy. I definitely agree with Ear Mountain when he said
Good poles are expensive but the better ones are: lighter, more ergonomic, have an anti shock feature, easily adjustable, very strong and will last a long time. If you are planning any off trail trekking get the best poles you can afford.
Like Hockey Ref, we bought ours for half price on Ebay. We love them! We like the cork handles because when your hands get sweaty, they absorb the sweat, which means they also absorb a lot of salt. We usually have to bring the poles in the tent due to hungry Mule Deer. :( Poles also keeps my hands from swelling while hiking. :D
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Post by llholmes1948 »

This has really been a great discussion! Thanks for all of the helpful comments.

I wonder if the fall or winter would be a good time to find trekking poles on sale as the hiking season slows down. Has anyone noticed whether this is true or not?

Thanks,
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Post by flatlander »

We tried the sticks last year for the first time. We love the sticks for the steep ascents or descents (ala Mt Brown), but they seemed like just something else to carry on the flatter hikes. Nonetheless, after enjoying the stability needed to ford the Middle Fork, I wouldn't do without them!
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Post by Stevo »

missguinness wrote:We like the cork handles because when your hands get sweaty, they absorb the sweat, which means they also absorb a lot of salt.
I spend a great deal of time biking during the summer, and this may seem like a goofy idea. But what I've found is that wearing my cycling gloves while using trekking poles help absorb sweat. As one of my co-worker would say...it be what it be.
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Post by Hockey Ref »

wearing my cycling gloves while using trekking poles help absorb sweat.
Not a goofy idea at all. I've done the same thing. In addition to helping absorb sweat, the gloves provide an extra layer of cushioning.
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Post by gypsyjack »

llholmes1948: about the best time to buy them.... I found that they go on sale around August. Perhaps the best prices are late fall or winter, but the selection will be smaller. I think it's a good idea to start hanging around REI or other outdoors store and start looking at them and playing with the mechanisms. Find out what you like and then pay attention to the week-to-week prices (vs. the number left in the store!).
Or you can do what I did: wait until about 4 hours before the train leaves for Glacier, and drop by to pick up whatever poles you grab first because you're in too much of a hurry to think about it..... Yeah, I kind of wait to the last minute for some things. (I guess the moral is that any poles are better than none).
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Post by Rose »

Has anybody used (or know of someone who has these) the Black Diamond Contour or Contour Compact (for people under 5'8" :D ) trekking poles?
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Post by northshorehiker »

Because of the potentially "iffy" trail conditions we were expecting on our most recent trip, I brought trekking poles for the first time, and I won't go out again without them. The climb up to Brown Pass was significantly easier than it was when we did it five years ago... if you're researching poles to buy, I'd recommend at least look at Life-Link. I'd not heard of them before we bought ours, but they're VERY light, strong, small when collapsed, reasonably priced, and have anti-shock on demand. Made in Jackson, Wyoming.

http://www.life-link.com/

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Post by Ear Mountain »

I'd say the Life-Link poles look OK especially for the price.

northshorehiker, I saw that they listed replacement baskets for the Life-Link poles on their website but I didn't see replacement tips. Did I miss them? I go through about 2-3 pairs of tips in a season so would definitely need replacements.

I use Leki poles and replacement tips and baskets are easy to find. Also some trekking poles come with a trekking basket. It's a small round solid basket that keeps the pole tip from digging too deep into soil or sod. Some people don't use them but I prefer them. I change them out to snow baskets for winter skiing.
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Post by northshorehiker »

We put about 40 miles on ours, (I think I have the "Yosemite" and my wife the "Grand Canyon" poles) and they performed wonderfully. It might take a little more work to track down replacement parts, but here's a place with tips:

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/ ... cfm/LIF365

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Post by Ear Mountain »

Thanks. Will look into these as the price seems so reasonable.
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Post by wjlapier »

My son used the Walmart versions and one pole wouldn't lock so he went with one pole during our Siyeh Pass hike. I used LL Bean snow shoe poles and they worked very well. I'll buy better ones for us for next year, so this has been a great thread to read.
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Post by Ear Mountain »

I definitely prefer being bi-polar! :wink:
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Post by GoDucks »

RE: Cheapy poles. Someone above said they could not imagine Wall Mart $9 specials being worth a darn. Well, we bought a no-name pair at Marshalls for about $12.50 for the pair - they probably started out at a whopping $25 a pair before they hit Marshalls. I have used borrowed REI poles before and I really could not tell any difference in the effect. We used those cheapies during our Glacier visit last year and it was a big help over nothing. Last week, while in Maine I climbed Mt. Katahdin and did wish I had one of those poles. I did manage to find a decent stick to use as a substitute, but even the cheapy pole would have been nice. I realize that some poles are very high-tech, but the basic "take some of the load off" purpose really does not require all that tech. I would certainly think it a good idea for anyone who is not sure they would like hiking poles to buy cheapies first and see what they think.
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