So I was in Tkmaxx today and they had a couple of trekking poles in. Not by any name I'm aware of, but at £8 a pole's a pole right? Wrong. Every single one had at least one part missing. 
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 I still stick to just one pole... my favourite is the Leki Wanderfreund with its versatile grip.
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 .... but I'd steer clear of those Mountain King 'TrailBlaze' tentpole things if you want to put any weight on the poles(and you probably will)
I'd recommend the MountainKing brand but not those tentpole type.
Just wondering if those opinions are based on having tried the Trail Blaze poles? Only I can't say I've had any real bother putting weight on mine. That said, I've found those new Fizan Ultralites really are the dog's danglies and for the relatively small weight penalty over Trail Blazes I reckon they're going to become my regular poles except when all I want to carry is something for contingencies such as precarious stream crossings.
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Just wondering if those opinions are based on having tried the Trail Blaze poles? Only I can't say I've had any real bother putting weight on mine.
tried TBW's briefly at Glen Coe meet- felt too bendy for me ...watched Ed H's snap in use when coming off Great Gable the other week....
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I too had knee problems a few years ago and was worried about re occurance so I bought some cheap supermarket poles. They were excellent and after lots of searching for something better I bought some black diamond contour elliptic. I do a lot of walking on my own and they have been invaluable (esp in ice) for keeping my balance and often wondered what would have happened if I didn't have them on that near slip. I use rubber tip protectors for tarmac work, twisting them on and off the pole is not an issue with the flitlock, they would be with a twist lock mechanism. They have other benefits too, more of an upper body workout, use them to put tents, tent doors and tarps up. Compact poles are nice if you want to hide them away but not very useful if you need the extra length for pitching use. Try some cheap ones, using them is a bit like marmite. shock systems are a waste of time IMO.
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Just wondering if those opinions are based on having tried the Trail Blaze poles? Only I can't say I've had any real bother putting weight on mine.
tried TBW's briefly at Glen Coe meet- felt too bendy for me ...watched Ed H's snap in use when coming off Great Gable the other week....
Ummm that was cos I slipped and put a sudden massive load on them as you well know Other than that they are great for ascents and OK on descents too as long as you 'tension' them; if I could find a pair of the 'same idea, but stiffer' Gripons I saw in Cham last summer that would be pretty much an ideal for me I think.
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Ummm that was cos I slipped and put a sudden massive load on them as you well know
true - I've done similar things and bent cheaper poles before, but.... as you are of 'average height'  and were carrying a light load, it does beg the question 'are they tough enough for a taller person with a heavier backpacking load?' Maybe that pole section had an inherent weak spot?
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Nah - they are just not meant to take loading like that; tip was in frozen turf and the pole got bent at right angles  Generally poles such as those,Raidlights and their ilk are used for acsents - and careful descents; you see lots of 'ultra-trail' French folk with them in the Alps....they are obviously not for the 'clumsy oaf' 
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I'd recommend the MountainKing brand but not those tentpole type.
Just wondering if those opinions are based on having tried the Trail Blaze poles? Only I can't say I've had any real bother putting weight on mine.
Matt - I have tried them in a shop only so my experience is limited with them, however I am quite hard on poles so I would prefer a pole to give me more confidence in them surviving. I won't get carbon neither for their catastrophic failure mode. I tend to only use when backpacking (as I use them for tent/tarp poles). That used to mean a heavy load which I would take off my shoulders by leaning heavily onto the poles. Also meant the twist lock poles slipping and me falling forward a lot until I got the BD poles.
I'm also prone to catching them in cracks in rocks and one time I actually got pole vaulted over because of it on my two poles. Very funny, had me rolling on the floor in stitches anyway. Anyway, IMHO for me those thin tent pole style of poles from MK do not give me the same sense of confidence in their strength as a good old pair of normal alloy poles and it is their confidence that I look for in the poles. BTW I've heard MK poles with the twist lock is supposed to be better than most brands. Perhaps its due to the slightly bigger friction mech in it. They have a slight difference in design. Still with twistlocks if you are aware of the slipping problem you can cope with it so not a reall problem anyway. I'll find out soon when I get a MK pole to match my remaining BD pole that works properly. If I keep falling to one side when the pole slips I will know for sure that flicklocks are best. BTW what do people think of MK' carbon over alloy poles? IS that a better solution than purely carbon or purely alloy? Would the carbon de-laminate from the alloy over time due to the difference in their performance?
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not for the likes of me then edit(in response to Ed)
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| Edited: 22/03/10 10:43 |
Nor me. I managed to fall sideways landing where my feet had been on one of my poles which was pivoted onto a rounded but prominant edge of a rock. Anyway it didn't bend but put a nice, neat dent in the middle section such that it now doesn't close. Since I only use poles when needed and it is not unheard of to have them on my daysack all day it is most annoying to have one sticking up way above my head with the straps like a kid of flag. That is why I no longer use poles for day walks. My first pair of poles were expensive Kohla Alpen Absorbers (trail best in test and same with TGO in that year). Bought because my knees would not get me very far at that time without intense pain and the inability to bend the knees due to swelling. Anyway the poles and ibruprofen were the only things to enable me to keep walking. The first time I took them out I managed to bend one of them by catching in a rock crevice. I spent a few minutes using a neighbouring rock to bend it back into shape and it lasted me about 5 years or so. The only thing to fail was the locking mech which I have since found out are replaceable with a lot of manufacturers. They had that positive angle thing that fits your wrist well. Kind of the same principle extended further in pacer poles. Ergonomic I think is what it was trying for. Why aren't more handles like that? Where are Kohla now as a brand? Leki has taken over most retailers these days, not for the best IMHO.
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They had that positive angle thing that fits your wrist well. Kind of the same principle extended further in pacer poles. Ergonomic I think is what it was trying for. Why aren't more handles like that? many Leki poles are like that these days - mine certainly are - had them for about a year now. 15degrees off the straight - makes quite a difference IMO
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 Re: falling over, I find an advantage of the pacerpoles handle is that they are not tied to your wrists. Clumsy oaf that I am I've taken tumbles whilst using regular, wrist strap poles and whilst using pacers and being able to drop them is handy, you're hands are free so there's more chance of breaking your fall and unless you actually land on them less chance of damaging your poles too.
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| Edited: 22/03/10 11:51 |
Re: falling over, I find an advantage of the pacerpoles handle is that they are not tied to your wrists. Clumsy oaf that I am I've taken tumbles whilst using regular, wrist strap poles and whilst using pacers and being able to drop them is handy, you're hands are free so there's more chance of breaking your fall and unless you actually land on them less chance of damaging your poles too.
I don't really get that problem - I have fallen a couple of times, and just let go my poles- the fact that they are loosely hanging from my wrists (not hands) means they haven't stopped me using my hands to break my fall, and the poles have just slid behind me.
From what I have seen, most folks don't arrange the pole straps correctly to their full advantage. Many more times , the straps have save me from a full tumble when steep descending - pole drops point down below/infront of me, full weight goes on the straps - I stop falling. I rarely grip the pole handles firmly themselves - they are more there for 'steering' than putting weight on to - that's what the straps are for IMO. Pacer poles appear to need to be gripped by the handles to be carried -which wouldn't suit me. I often have fingers and thumb relaxed or pointing ahead whilst walking regularly with poles - the straps do the carrying. cor I'm a pole nerd too now
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 Ergonomic I think is what it was trying for. Why aren't more handles like that? A couple of reasons... First, and most obviously from the manufacturing point of view, it costs more to make. Second, despite appearances and "common sense" it's actually a bit of a non-help if you've bothered developing your technique to take the weight on your wrist through the strap rather than through your hand on the grip. You not only don't need to be holding the grip much, it can work better if you quite deliberately don't. Top pic shows it's easy to push the pole well ahead without having to cock your wrist up. Lower pic shows how significant proportions of your weight can go onto the straps with no problems at all. So with "positive angle" you end up paying more for something you don't need and can actually hinder you when you're pushing up with the pole left behind you (that is often helped by pushing off the top of the pole grip, which will be intrinsically less steady if it's not a line down the supporting pole, as below). Pete.
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I tried the handle of some pacer poles in a shop at the weekend. They felt good and fitted the hand quite well (not a perfect match but they weren't moulded to my hand which would change in shape with different gloves and mitts anyway). I could see they worked by pushing your hand and wirst down into the handle but TBH I didn't feel they offered any advantage over a well adjusted strap on a normal handled pole. I'm with Moley on this one. IMHO at £100 a pair Pacer Poles are not worth it and overall I doubt they would offer any discernable benefit for most people. Give me a £30 each or £60 a pair set of MountainKings. One thing to note about Pacer Poles and that is the company behind them has a website and they don't appear to have updated it for a while or the shops as the alloy ones are being sold direct at £67 a pair. Just something I noticed last week. I only need one pole but I might seriously have been tempted if I needed a pair. Another thing about poles, I use mine for tent poles (a single skin tent). So personally I prefer a straight and simple handle with the handle extending down the pole in a soft and grippy material. My BD poles had that and so do the replacement MK one I will get. It helps with gripping the guyline when using a clove hitch in the middle of the guy to lift a tarp side up. Just something that I consider when buying poles and that is their other uses. I've even used a pair to make an impromptu clothes line.
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Pacer poles appear to need to be gripped by the handles to be carried -which wouldn't suit me. They work better than they look like they should, you really don't need to grip them hard at all just have your hand closed round the handle, instead of a strap taking the weight it's the moulded base of the handle. Still....I'm not going to get all evangelical about pacers, as long as you're happy with straps what does it matter, If it ain't broke don't fix it.... . ...and if it is broke I reserve the right to say I told you so.
cor I'm a pole nerd too now
...and me.
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I must admit I've not really noticed any difference between my old positive angle and the newer BD straight pole handles. I agree with the strap thing. It kind of annoys me to see someone with poles and using the strap wrongly sometimes (usually if I'm in a bad mood or stuck behind them unable to pass on a narrow path). BTW someone said he was a pole nerd I suspect the people with the most to say on poles are also the ones with something to say on most gear related matters. You don't need to add the word pole, nerd would be sufficient.  Takes one to know one BTW. On a side issue with poles, which way up when using as a tent pole? Handle down or up? In a tarp I use it handle up so the spike goes into the ground but I have yet to use it in my groundsheeted single skin tent. I'm guessing handle down in that case but what do people use to prevent the spike going through the tent fabric at the apex? I'm guessing a rubber ferule tip might be needed. Any other ideas?
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Good pics Pete - (good pole pages too - found it useful when starting out with the poles - ta) mmm I occasionally use my OH's straight handled pole, but much more often the ergos. I'm a 'strap user' I don't know what it is, but the ergos feel better to me - to do with the forces and angles that are made when in use I guess. In 'normal' use, having the top of the handle - i'e strap pull point - angled 'away' from me definitely feels more useful to me than with the straight poles. more to do with where the pole tip drops really -with the ergos, cos of the bend it's a little in front of where a straight pole point lands... Means I get more of a 'lift' in the lower back/hips - which suits my back condition. IMO The short distance of the 'bent' handle section compared to the straight pole section wouldn't have a noticeable hindering effect in your latter pic. I don't put my hand on top of the poles in that situation - only do that occasionally when descending.
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I agree with the strap thing. It kind of annoys me to see someone with poles and using the strap wrongly sometimes (usually if I'm in a bad mood or stuck behind them unable to pass on a narrow path).
count to 10 and breath deeply BTW someone said he was a pole nerd I suspect the people with the most to say on poles are also the ones with something to say on most gear related matters. You don't need to add the word pole, nerd would be sufficient. Takes one to know one BTW.
On a side issue with poles, which way up when using as a tent pole? Handle down or up?
personally I use handle up and handle down at the same time
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