Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trekking Poles

So I need to get some trekking poles for a hike I'm going on. It's almost 8,000 feet ascension. I don't want to spend too much money, but also I want a pair of poles that won't break and that will help out my knees for the way down. I was wondering if anyone had a pair they liked or any suggestions?

Walmart sells a couple of different types of trekking poles that are inexpensive and work.

I had Komperdell carbon fiber poles. One snapped coming down from Whitney. REI replaced them at no charge but one of the new ones snapped coming down off Baldy. REI gave me full credit towards whatever poles I wanted so I picked a pair of Lekis. One of them wouldn't hold a setting. REI took those back and I finally ended up with Black Diamond poles with external locks. They have been good for me for several years. None of these poles had springs.

I absolutely have to use poles or I couldn't hike. If trekking poles had been available when I was starting to hike and backpack maybe I wouldn't have so much arthritis now.

I agree, Black Diamond are the best engineered. Lekis are lightest. Komperdell quality is poor...I also had a pole snap (and Komperdell is the company that makes REI brand).

I did a lot of research then settled on these about a year and a half ago. BD Trailshock. They have external locks (best)not the twist=lock style that often wears out, and they have a polyurethane bushing just under the handle to absorb shock. I got mine on a close-out for $80. They currently retail for about $120. They are very strong, durable, and light weight. Worth every penny.
http://www.rei.com/product/830472/black-diamond-trail-shock-trekking-poles-pair

Every man has to decide for his or her own self but poles with shock absorbers don't work for me with my arthritic knees. I know that's counter-intuitive but I've tried them and I do much better using my arms to absorb the pounding going downhill. I just advise borrowing a pair if possible and trying them before buying shock absorbing poles. (And the poles with internal springs, which are not what Stryker is talking about, are way heavier than the either the straight metal ones or the BDs with the bushing under the handle.)

Ditto the Black Diamond Trail Shocks. I put well over 1000 miles on my first pair with zero problems. The external locks are rock-solid. I learned long ago not to trust the twist-locking style so many manufacturers use - they're just not durable. The only reason I replaced my old pair of Trail Shocks was that a marmot chewed up the padded wrist straps and exterior rubber coating.

It's hard to go wrong with BD - they make quality gear, from poles, to technical pro, to single-wall tents. I've never been disappointed with any of their products I've tried.

At 235lbs and sometimes a clutz I am hard on poles. Leki has replaced bent pieces for me, no charge, twice by mail, no problem. I do love the external locks on my Black Diamonds, not sure if Leki has gone to that lock yet, both are very light.

I have a pair of Maks that I have long used (20 years) as my backcountry ski poles, but only just started using as treks. One thing I have wondered a lot: how come people who walk with canes and crutches hold them more or less directly in line with the the shoulder and arm, with the more or less straight arm bearing right down on them, but when you get a pair of trekkers the store people always instruct you to adjust them like a ski pole, so that they hit the ground in front of you with your arm bent at a right angle? If the idea is to use them like curb feelers or wading poles, this makes sense, but otherwise what's the point if they are not actually bearing some weight?

Used as thus instructed, you cant put much weight on them at all, and if you look closely, you will observe that most people you see with trekkers are just sort of tapping the ground ahead of them on each step and the poles are actually bearing little if any weight.

I shorten mine way up, so that my arm and pole are almost straight under my shoulder as the pole hand passes my hip on each stride. I have actually measured the weight borne by the pole this way, and its up to ten times what I can put on it as instructed by the average REI staffer.

In fact, If I ever buy a new pair, they will both have either cane or combination grips, so I can use them as twin canes more of the time.

My poles rarely ever go beyond 120cm... and I hold them on top.

The reason I recommend and use Walmart poles is that I break everything (Leki, Komp(whatever), BD, etc) and feel guilty about asking for warranty service on something that's my fault. I don't cry about the (less than) twenty bucks I've spent on the Walmart poles.

I do really like that everybody seems to be copying the BD Flip-Lock mechanism.

A few months ago I was with a group in Death Valley and we were negotiating some C3 terrain. One of our group had the Swissgear poles (or equivalent cheapo twist-locks) that he had dug up somewhere as he had forgotten his usual pair. And, of course, Murphy's Law prevailed. One pole completely collapsed on him while descending a tricky section, and he took a nasty fall. Luckily, no real damage done except to his pride, but I couldn't help thinking that if this gear failure had happened about twenty yards back up the ridge - where we were looking at about 500 feet of exposure less than six inches away - it likely would have been all over for him.

I use trekking poles more for balance and stability on rough terrain than anything else - especially on the descent. After seeing that near-calamity happen to a very experienced mountaineer, I mentally upgraded trekking poles to the same don't-screw-around-with category as climbing harnesses, pro, and ropes.

Operator Error? (Sometimes experienced mountaineers forget that they still need to focus on the Basics... twist tight, but don't over-tighten, etc.)

Using poles on "technical terrain?"

Let the poles hang by the straps while you grab something solid with your hands for balance, etc...

Actually, we had just come down out of the pure C3 stuff into transitional terrain, so having poles out was not unreasonable where this happened (highest of the Death Valley Buttes). Think some of the big-step sections on the backside of the Whitney Crest where exposure is high - only narrower where we were. Razor-sharp rock here as well, so that had a bit to do with choices.

And the pole actually separated into two pieces.

I wanna see that...

So let's talk about failures:

(I have to preface this with the fact that I climb, and used to ski, hard with my poles. I also spin off the basket and use one as a second tool when I'm on steeper snow climbing terrain. Not a recommended use...)

The majority of mine are related to bending a section of the pole. Now I can't collapse the pole and have to take it apart every time I need to stow it... Not Good!

I have had twist locks fail on a couple of high end, carbon fiber poles - one was just poor design, which the manufacturer admitted to (and replaced) and the other was related to over-tightening the thing.

I've also snapped two sets of carbon fiber poles. After the second break, I decided I'd had enough of dealing with it. I can manage a few extra ounces of aluminum in my hands and it seems to bend, rather than break when stressed. (In the one manufacturers defense, they told me I probably nicked the carbon fiber with a ski edge, which weakened it before it snapped... made sense to my non-scientific mind... the break was down low near the basket.)

Never had a twist lock failure on any of the aluminum poles I've used... and the majority of them have been Walmart purchased for the last decade or more. (Talk to Doug about twist lock failure. He'll probably confirm that most are related to using too much force...)

If the heat doesn't kill me, I'll go out to the garage and take a photos of the two corners where there are probably almost as many "broken" poles as there are boots that I don't use any more... it's pretty amusing.


EDIT: I'll say it again... buy poles with the newer flip-lock design... much more reliable.

I really need to have my poles take some of the impact off my hips, knees, and feet. The way I use them so they do that is:
On steep trails, going uphill, I shorten the poles so that when the pole is on the ground ahead of me my forearm is level. Going downhill, I lengthen the poles so the forearm is level. If the grades are moderate I just set an intermediate length and leave it at that.

I do one thing that I don't see many other people do: Going uphill I plant the tip of the pole as far back as the heel of the same side back foot (directly under my shoulder) and I push strongly off the pole. This transfers a lot of the work of taking the step to my shoulders and upper arms. This works on an uphill slope, even a very steep one, but it doesn't work if the trail has steps. If it does I put the pole on the next step up and use my upper body strength to help lift me up.

Going down, I plant the pole ahead of me and put a lot of my weight on it as I take the next step. The more weight I put on the pole with my upper body the less I am putting on my knees.

Side note: the reason I had wanted carbon fiber poles was they don't attract lightening. If I get caught in an electrical storm I make sure to put some distance between me and my aluminum poles.

I like how Leki names a pole Titanium and its made of aluminum. Mine came with a lifetime warranty, now they hang on the garage wall and I grab the BD's. Not that I don't like them they're just number two in the arsenal.

Ask Speedy about his buzzing Carbon Fiber Poles on the East Ridge of Mt. Russell which he quickly tossed aside...

I live a more dangerous life, so I grabbed then thinking I would keep them, but felt guilty about it, so I gave them back to him...

[quote=burtw]

Side note: the reason I had wanted carbon fiber poles was they don't attract lightening. If I get caught in an electrical storm I make sure to put some distance between me and my aluminum poles. [/quote

Not so sure: do you know what the electrodes in a carbon arc lamp are made of? Hint is "carbon arc".

Thanks for protecting other people from my misinformation. It doesn't matter to me since I no longer use the carbon fiber ones.

Also, on the way I place my poles behind my feet and push off - I believe the way I use them going uphill is the same way a Nordic skier uses poles.