Wal Mart Poles vs the Expensive Stuff

[NewHampshire]

I haven't kept count, but I think most of the people "going through" poles (every year/twice a year) are breaking them and are tired of the replacement expense. If that's the case: a cheap pole will function fine until you break it, as will an expensive pole. I did break a Leki. My Swissgear's have not broken, but one doesn't close and one doesn't open.

And that is my deal too. I KNOW I will snap a pair of expensive poles as quickly as the cheap ones. It is not really a matter of "quality" material vs "cheap" material. It is the simple fact that I am a tall person (thus my poles are usually extended almost to their limits, thus compounding the "fulcrum" effect) and pretty heavy too (260 pounds stark nekked). If anyone knows of a $70+ pair of poles that they can guarentee will last me 5 years then I am listening.

Brian

 

[Kevin Rooney]

...one doesn't close and one doesn't open.

A perfect set for the Sidehill Wampahoofus.

 

[Paradox]

Are you suggesting this is a polarizing issue? jumping on the Little Rickie and Paradox wagon

Tim

I think I'm getting the shaft.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I think I'm getting the shaft.

With a 90-degree bend and a carbide tip.

Tim

 

[Scotzman]

If it's important that you're pole doesn't collapse when you're leaning hard on them while decending sending you into a downhill faceplant, pay a few extra bucks and get something you can depend on.

So for the sake of amusement and having some pun...I was returning from a big hike and was Russian to Finnish because I was so Hungary that Iran into trouble because I forget to Czech my Polacks to make sure they were still tight. All of a Sudan, they collapsed and I fell and Iraq them all together. When the Oman heard about it he said, Kenya just buy quality next time?

 

[Paradox]

So for the sake of amusement and having some pun...I was returning from a big hike and was Russian to Finnish because I was so Hungary that Iran into trouble because I forget to Czech my Polacks to make sure they were still tight. All of a Sudan, they collapsed and I fell and Iraq them all together. When the Oman heard about it he said, Kenya just buy quality next time?

Jamaica that up all by yourself or did you Welch it off someone else?

 

[Little Rickie]

I think I'm getting the shaft.

He did make a good point and that is the long and short of it no matter how much this threads extends or collapses.

 

[Chip]

Okay, now both my cheap Swissgear poles are opening and closing. They must have decided to man-up after the shiney new BD Flicklocks appeared . The baskets on the Swissgears are broken so I'll use those for 3 season. So my personal experience is that I broke a Leki and Swissgears are still working.

 

[erugs]

One of my Leiki's wasn't working this weekend and nothing I did seemed to help. So I decided to go all out: I took the pole that was working apart to see if anything looked different than the pole that wasn't working. There was a piece of orange plastic inside the top of the working one that was about half way up the piece it sets in. The non-working pole had that piece at the bottom. I was able to make a finger adjustment, put both poles back together again, and they worked fine for the rest of the trek. I was pretty pleased with myself.

 

[Mike P.]

If everyone on page four said this sorry for repeating. (I read 1-3 & pg 5)

I've used a pair of old one piece ski poles for the last three or four years. No moving parts, nothing to clean or neglect to clean,quite sturdy too.

In winter do you ever not use your poles? (maybe the Owl's Head Slide? how many are climbing headwalls in the winter?)

How many trips in summer would you actually not use your poles or wish you could put them away? A few Ravine headwalls, maybe flume slide? Mahoosuc or 6H? After awhile don't they become just an extension of your hands? I've not done KRT or HRT or 6H with one piece poles but have been up Blueberry Ridge, North Tri, Flume Slide without having to put them away.

On the ravine walls if you out of the trees, does it matter if one piece poles are two feet over your head if you attach them to your pack? (I won't look cool!)

I still have two or three pair of broken poles in the car. Kids use them, one section still adjust okay, A missing basket isn't an issue on a rail trail or on easy terrain.

After a few years of beating my poles up, one is slightly bent, I may actaully visit a tag sale or yard sale & see if I can pick up a pair or ski poles.

(sadly my wife's Uncle just passed, skied until recently, I may be able to use his old poles & help remember him)

Made my son a hiking stick for Cub Scouts, kind of hoping he doesn't use it much, it's more of a trophy for the number of miles he hiked than meant as a practical stick.

 

[Chip]

A perfect set for the Sidehill Wampahoofus.

We spotted a herd of left handed Sidehill Gougers on Mt Wasburn in Yellowstone, oddly there were 2 right handeds with them...very sad. I would only use these poles to pursue them. Perhaps an aged Sidehill Gouger or Wampahoofus could use them prophylactically.

In winter do you ever not use your poles? (maybe the Owl's Head Slide? how many are climbing headwalls in the winter?)

I use them going up and down trails. I have seen people carry poles and not use them, which is pretty pointless. They'd be easy enough to put away if say, you encountered a slide or don't use poles for the descent.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Some use them only on the descents.
Some use them only for water crossings.
I use them for most ups and downs but I will stow them for road walks, generally, or the Wilderness Trail.

Tim

 

[Willoughby]

Some use them only on the descents.
Some use them only for water crossings.
I use them for most ups and downs but I will stow them for road walks, generally, or the Wilderness Trail.
Tim

I find poles help keep me moving on flat grades and am annoyed on road walks when there's not enough dirt shoulder for effective pole use... to each his/her own.

 

[Mike P.]

Some use them only on the descents.
Some use them only for water crossings.
I use them for most ups and downs but I will stow them for road walks, generally, or the Wilderness Trail.

Tim

On most ascents they help as the knees don't get as tired. On descents the weight transfer is even more obvious. On road walks at times I carry the poles in my hands or over my shoulder, I guess I have gotten used to holding them. Not concerned on a road walk of having a free hand.

In the 2nd or 3rd Joe Simpson book, he is on his way into a remote peak & is resting his knee (the one busted in SA detailed in Touching The Void) when a group of trekkers comes by. One trekker asked where his poles were & he basically said they were for sissy trekkers. She then rattled off some numbers on the thousands (or more, I should reread the books - found three of them but not the right one) of foot pounds a 15 mile hike has & how transferring just 10% of your weight from your knees and ankles moves a seemingly unbelievable amount of weight off your knees. (The transferred amount is in the tens of thousands of foot pounds over the course of a long day hike)

Additional content:

Found this on a website (Disclosure, they are selling hiking sticks)

KLETS Study

According to a study by the KLETS group (Ken Ledward Equipment Testing Service), the amount of weight that is saved from the lower half of your body by using a trekking pole each hour is remarkable. Using the amount of weight transferred to each leg (a number that appears, for most people to be around 5-9 kg), the number of pounds transferred with each step over the course of an hour with and without a pole was calculated. According to the KLETS study, the following numbers were found:

- 5kg weight transfer will produce a saving of 37.40 ton per hour.

- 6kg weight transfer will produce a saving of 44.80 ton per hour.

- 7kg weight transfer will produce a saving of 52.36 ton per hour.

- 8kg weight transfer will produce a saving of 59.85 ton per hour.

- 9kg weight transfer will produce a saving of 67.33 ton per hour.

The full report can be seen here (http://www.klets.co.uk/walking_pole_report.pdf), but the result shows that, due to the average person’s body weight, the pressure they put on each foot with each step, the number of steps that they take and the weight that is taken off of their feet by using just a single walking pole, the average person can reduce the weight on the lower half of their body by roughly 50 tons each hour, or 100,000 lbs.

Over the course of an entire trip, this number adds up even more, and does not include the amount of weight saved by getting more support walking up and down steep hills, which can put more pressure on your feet and joints due to the increase in gravity.

What are the Implications?

URL: http://www.walkingsticksguide.com/trekking-pole-weight-legs.htm

 

[DougPaul]

What are the Implications?

The implications are that advertisers can generate all kinds of meaningless statistics.

Doug

 

[Billy]

...In the 2nd or 3rd Joe Simpson book, he is on his way into a remote peak & is resting his knee (the one busted in SA detailed in Touching The Void) when a group of trekkers comes by. One trekker asked where his poles were & he basically said they were for sissy trekkers. She then rattled off some numbers on the thousands (or more, I should reread the books - found three of them but not the right one) of foot pounds a 15 mile hike has & how transferring just 10% of your weight from your knees and ankles moves a seemingly unbelievable amount of weight off your knees...

Good. I'm glad Simpson gave her a wise-ass answer. Sounds like she was eagerly waiting for an opportunity to dazzle someone with her bio-mechanical brilliance and rock solid, umimpeachable statistics. Always good when know-it-alls are met with that kind of response.

I don't agree with Simpson that poles are for sissy hikers. But I don't use them. I've tried them. I know how to use them properly. I just don't like them.

 

[Maddy]

!

I have done my own study. It's called aging.
For many years I refused to use poles because deep down I thought they were for sissies to. Aging taught me that I am much better off with them. Nothing like chronic knee and back pain to help one see the light.
Hiking with dog on leash, I use one pole but I sure do love hiking with two. It sure beats not hiking at all. Perhaps if I had used them early on, I might have spared myself a little damage.
It is what it is. Too late now!
Tried cheap poles and like most everything I buy cheap, they did not last.

 

[sierra]

I started using poles way before the trend hit. I might have been one of the first to use them in the Whites and I heard them all " going skiing?'' "are you hurt?" poles make hiking more efficient, stable and have saved me from many falls. They are not for sissys, but I wouldnt argue with Joe Simpson, after all he is one tough sob.

 

[Little Rickie]

If I didn't have poles I'd use a walking staff. Poles just work better and I can put them in my pack if I don't need them. I think their cool too. Makes you look good on the trail.

 

[Quietman]

While they are mainly knee savers for me, I also like that they give my arms and upper body a good workout. They are also great for helping to clear water bars, in addition to flicking small sticks and the occasional poo piles off of the trails.