ski poles as hiking poles?
Toller
I have a pair of 48" 20oz. carbon fiber ski poles that I don't use because
I like the older molded grip rather then the strap that poles have now.
(found them in a cast off bin at a resort; they don't "exactly" match)
Aside from not collapsing, I don't see how they are different from hiking
poles; though I think hiking poles might be longer (I am 5'11).
Whatcha think? (yeah, I know "try em and see how they work out", but since
I don't have any experience with hiking poles, I wouldn't know one way or
the other.)
Rob
some. I occasionally fold mine up and strap them to my pack so I really
like the "fold up" feature. Plus you won't be able to adjust the height,
though this may not even be an issue for you. I might even go as far as
saying they are stronger than fold up poles in that they won't accidentally
collapse when exerting a lot of weight on them.
Rob
"Toller" <Tol...@Yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:IQmfg.2656$Oh1....@news01.roc.ny...
Wayne
and want to convert them to rubber tips, do the following: buy crutch tips
at the drug store, probably the smallest you can get. Buy a tube of epoxy
putty or "magnum steel". This is a 2 part epoxy material that you knead by
hand to mix. Mix up enough to fill the crutch tip, then shove in the pole
and get the crutch tip nicely centered. Set it aside to harden.
When the tip wears out, use a hacksaw to cut the end off, and repeat the
above. This is easier to convince yourself to do with telescoping poles.
Mine are on their third set of tips, and thus the poles are about 4 inches
shorter than when I bought them.
"Rob" <rbaf...@hdiss.net> wrote in message
news:BJpfg.88738$H71....@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
Gaucho
I think the whole point was to be able to shorten the length for
traveling/packing, and for different terrain. Some designs have the molded
handgrips. As I have gotten older, the ability the change the length for
different uses has really made an impact on my continuing enjoyment of
backpacking.
"Rob" <rbaf...@hdiss.net> wrote in message
news:BJpfg.88738$H71....@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
BobT
news:IQmfg.2656$Oh1....@news01.roc.ny...
As commented below, some people think hiking poles need rubber
tips. In my experience, whatever rubber tip I put on my hiking poles,
after the first hour or two the metal tip erodes throught the rubber.
I've given up on rubber tips and hike with the bare metal on my
ski poles without any problems.
BobT
rick++
Worked OK except for some blisters.
A couple weeks ago I attended the "Hiking Pole Lady" talk
at REI. I was kind of curious what someone could
say about hiking poles for 45 minutes. It turns out she
covers on 20% of the material in her instructional DVD
or half-day field course. I found what all those little gizmos
were on the expensive brands and the best way to hold
and adjust them (not intuitive to me). REI offers about
50 models (some have to be ordered) ranging from $39 to
$199. Its enough to scare me back to broomsticks.
(Coleman sells $15 poles with most of the bells and whistles.)
The funniest part of the talk was having fifty people march
through the aisles of REI trying out various cadences.
Wayne
"BobT"wrote in message
> As commented below, some people think hiking poles need rubber
> tips. In my experience, whatever rubber tip I put on my hiking poles,
> after the first hour or two the metal tip erodes throught the rubber.
> I've given up on rubber tips and hike with the bare metal on my
> ski poles without any problems.
>
> BobT
Just drop a metal washer into the tip first so that the pole presses into
the washer instead of the rubber. I also use epoxy, even if the tip fits
the rubber, so that the tip doesn't slip off. The tip usually lasts two or
more seasons.
Pat O'Connell
I used an old aluminum downhill ski pole I found in the woods near a ski
area as a hiking pole. It worked OK, but the pole was a bit short.
My current pole is made of hickory, and has a brass tube around its foot
which I forced on by heating the tube to expand it, then putting it over
the bottom of the pole. It's still there 20 years later.
I was looking at the Coleman poles someone referred to. One of the local
discount stores carries them. Anyone have any personal experience? How
about the idea of splitting the pair, so two people can hike with a
single pole?
--
Pat O'Connell
[note munged EMail address]
Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints,
Kill nothing but vandals...
Ernie W
>
> I used an old aluminum downhill ski pole I found in the woods near a ski
> area as a hiking pole. It worked OK, but the pole was a bit short.
>
> My current pole is made of hickory, and has a brass tube around its foot
> which I forced on by heating the tube to expand it, then putting it over
> the bottom of the pole. It's still there 20 years later.
>
> I was looking at the Coleman poles someone referred to. One of the local
> discount stores carries them. Anyone have any personal experience? How
> about the idea of splitting the pair, so two people can hike with a
> single pole?
>
One pole will help you with balance. Two poles are far better for
balance, catching yourself when you stumble and going up and down hills.
My estimate is that two poles are 10+ times better than one pole.
Ernie
dan
I never hike with poles, but I do use an old set of bamboo X-C poles on
which the baskets have disintegrated when I want to hikercize up the
local hill.
In 30 years of hiking, I have been tempted on maybe a half-dozen
occasions (usually creek crossings) to have poles, but can't see
carrying them the other 99.9% of the time.
Maybe when I get old...
Dan
bg4a
store. they were far better than my old cedar pole i had used for 15 years.
but, they are a bit hard to handle in typical backpack luggage thru the
airports.
i purchased some brand of adjustable aluminum poles off ebay and was
satisfied until i tried the REI ultra light carbon fiber poles. my my they
are as good as a heavy pole but so very light weight.
however, the foam rubber handles started to break down after one trip, with
the round tube top poking up through the foam rubber. am waiting for
replacement.
one thing on length. i find poles most useful for helping go uphill and
catching myself going down hill with the length set to fit into the palm
while standing straight up. so, i find the ones (most of em) that go to 55
inches, extra weight that is not needed.
bill
JR
Toller wrote:
> Are ski poles suitable as hiking poles?
Except for not folding up they work fine. I usually use the odd ski
pole as
a single hiking stick and tarp pole after one gets bent in an
(extremely rare) fall.
One annoying thing...I've encountered a few morons who seem to find
using one an extraordinary event worthy of a smart remark. The first
time was after staggering onto the trailhead after dayhiking the river
in GC. A couple of pale, soft-looking German tourists hanging around
trailhead/vista point remarked to one another "he must think he's
skiing" in German. Although a onetime German major I couldn't think of
a smart retort due to fatique and mental fog. Been going over what I
should have said ever since.
John Reece
Truckee
Peter Clinch
> One annoying thing...I've encountered a few morons who seem to find
> using one an extraordinary event worthy of a smart remark. The first
> time was after staggering onto the trailhead after dayhiking the river
> in GC. A couple of pale, soft-looking German tourists hanging around
> trailhead/vista point remarked to one another "he must think he's
> skiing" in German. Although a onetime German major I couldn't think of
> a smart retort due to fatique and mental fog. Been going over what I
> should have said ever since.
Back in '95, long before poles were common in the UK and (AFAICT) in N.
America, I was in the Grand Canyon. Recovering from a sprained ankle a
few weeks before I took my ski touring poles with me, and a Good Call it
was too.
Coming up Bright Angel at the end of my time in the Inner Canyon the
comments around the start of the climb were generally of the "hey buddy,
where's the snow? (ha ha ha)". Towards the /top/ there were still
plenty of comments, but generally more a case of "hey, that is a
/really/ good idea!" said with feeling born of pain.
Seems odd having Germans wonder about it though. The wholesale use of
poles seemed to me to have started in the Alps, often with Germans and
Austrians.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
Eugene Miya
Peter Clinch <p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk> wrote:
>Seems odd having Germans wonder about it though. The wholesale use of
>poles seemed to me to have started in the Alps, often with Germans and
>Austrians.
Sort of.
You can see photos of Hermann Buhl on Bride Peak in Pakistan in 1957
with them. And likely easily back to the 30s and before.
--
Ilja Friedel
> Seems odd having Germans wonder about it though. The wholesale use of
> poles seemed to me to have started in the Alps, often with Germans and
> Austrians.
A cartoonist in a German newspaper (taz) regularly makes fun of using
hiking poles for power walking/hiking. Seems the modern ski pole-alikes
are overused in Germany by the fashionistas. My grandpa still had a wooden
hiking/walking stick with many metal pins from different areas. I would
guess this to be an old fashion, eighteenhundreds at least.
Ilja.
Eugene Miya
You mean like an Alpenstock.
I have never understood power walking. Must be like adventure tourism.
People do brands, bands, pins, etc.
Makers put little mini ice ax heads with the argument that the adze can be
used to cut a step or two in a pinch. Useless as a real ice ax (oh but
its better than nothing).
As the ancient Egyptian riddle goes, there is benefit from a stick.
--
Peter Clinch
> A cartoonist in a German newspaper (taz) regularly makes fun of using
> hiking poles for power walking/hiking. Seems the modern ski pole-alikes
> are overused in Germany by the fashionistas.
I'd guess so, they are in the UK. While I've long championed their use
where used effectively the simple fact is that most of the people I see
with them aren't getting any weight through them to speak of, which just
makes them an expensive means of keeping your hands full. And while I'm
happy to use mine (actually my ski touring poles) on a long or arduous
day, I see a lot of people who shouldn't really be falling to bits
/quite/ yet using them for very small bimbles, a bit like the crowd who
use Goretex fit for K2 to wander round a country park on a nice day. It
would help if any of the manufacturers supplied instructions worth a
damn, but AFAICT none of them do, and if they came fitted with a sense
of proportion as to when you'll get a real benefit!
MB
> I have never understood power walking. Must be like adventure tourism.
Oh no. Btw, I think the stuff was "invented" over here (Fin),
and Exel continues to be big in the industry of these poles.
Nowadays pole/nordic/power -walking, or whatever it's called,
continues to be very popular over here amongst people in their
late middle ages, or older. It's probably very good excercise for
people with joint problems and the like, who'd better not be
jogging. I'm sure it'd be good excercise for many others too, but
younger people might find the senior-citizen image too much of an
obstacle.
> Makers put little mini ice ax heads with the argument that the adze can be
> used to cut a step or two in a pinch.
Huh? Never seen that. I guess some angry grand'ma might find it
useful though. <g>
Peter Clinch
> Nowadays pole/nordic/power -walking, or whatever it's called,
> continues to be very popular over here amongst people in their
> late middle ages, or older. It's probably very good excercise for
> people with joint problems and the like, who'd better not be
> jogging.
Like roller skiing, but without the bruises and gravel rash! ;-)
MB
JR >
> Except for not folding up they work fine.
I'd say that *because* for not folding up they
work fine. Otoh, you'll still need different
poles for skiing and hiking, as skiing poles need
to be much longer than hiking poles.
I'd suggest staying away from adjustible poles, whether
for hiking or, especially, skiing. Adjustible poles
simply aren't strong enough. At least not in my limited
experience of Komperdells, but it's obvious that an
adjustible pole is much weaker for its weight than
a conventional pole. Otoh, judging by the popularity of
adjustible hiking poles it seems that many others disagree.
With a walking pole, weakness might be acceptable, but in
backcountry skiing, pole breakage is a serious matter, and
adjustible skiing poles are a no-no (although they do exist).
Peter Clinch
> I'd suggest staying away from adjustible poles, whether
> for hiking or, especially, skiing. Adjustible poles
> simply aren't strong enough.
Though IME they're not prone to breaking.
> With a walking pole, weakness might be acceptable, but in
> backcountry skiing, pole breakage is a serious matter, and
> adjustible skiing poles are a no-no (although they do exist).
For backcountry skiing I use Swix Mountains for this very reason, but I
/have/ done plenty of tours with BD Flicklock adjustable poles and some
Leki twistlocks. I managed to bend one of the Lekis in a particularly
fine wipeout, but it didn't break.
Lots of people use adjustable poles, and while not as strong as
something like the Swix Mountain they can be pretty strong and have
other advantages. One needs to be aware of the strength issue for
skiing, but in many cases (especially hut to hut or similar) it isn't a
deal-breaker and for walking I'd say it's a bit of a non-issue unless
the poles are made of cheese.
Eugene Miya
In article <7uvr722...@hess01.research.nokia.com>, MB <*@*.*> wrote:
>Oh no. Btw, I think the stuff was "invented" over here (Fin),
Marcus, with you, everything is invented in Finland. 8^)
>Nowadays pole/nordic/power -walking, or whatever it's called,
>continues to be very popular over here amongst people in their
>> Makers put little mini ice ax heads with the argument that the adze can be
>> used to cut a step or two in a pinch.
>
>Huh? Never seen that. I guess some angry grand'ma might find it
>useful though. <g>
Try the Alps.
A mentor had one.
--
MB
> One needs to be aware of the strength issue for skiing, but in
> many cases (especially hut to hut or similar) it isn't a
> deal-breaker and for walking I'd say it's a bit of a non-issue
> unless the poles are made of cheese.
I guess my hiking poles are made of cheese, then. 3-section
'northern light' poles by Komperdell, an Austrian quality
manufacturer, or so they claim.
Besides, the hiking poles are shorter, but weigh more than good
skiing poles. Yet, never ever have I managed to break a proper
skiing pole, despite - uhm - having tried hard <g> (except the
baskets, of course). But these damned cheese sticks! The other
one got bent almost immediately when walking the dogs in the
backyard forest. It couldn't, even, take a little push from a
happy dog. After a week of usage, including several manual
re-straightenings of both the poles, the plastic bushing of
between the sections of the other pole broke, rendering it useless.
Komperdell didn't find anything wrong with the materials or
manufacture. They did replace the broken parts though, and
gave some spare ones. Perhaps these adjustible poles work well
for some trail walking on the Alps, but that's not what I tried
to use them for.
mkt
Peter Clinch wrote:
> Back in '95, long before poles were common in the UK and (AFAICT) in N.
> America, I was in the Grand Canyon. Recovering from a sprained ankle a
> few weeks before I took my ski touring poles with me, and a Good Call it
> was too.
[...]
> Seems odd having Germans wonder about it though. The wholesale use of
> poles seemed to me to have started in the Alps, often with Germans and
> Austrians.
Yeah, that was my reaction too, why would the Germans be surprised.
First time I saw people using trekking poles or two ski poles to hike
with was in Switzerland around 1991
or 1992. Only a few hikers were using them. I thought they were an
affectation at first, and was a single walking-stick user until one day
I decided to try using my friend's walking stick and mine
simultaneously. I could feel the difference immediately, and went out
and bought a pair of trekking poles as soon as I got back home.
--MKT