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Moxie00
10-10-2005, 13:03
:sun Let me open this thread by saying I love my Leili anti-shock poles. They have been with me for thousands of trail miles and show it. They have been on the Senorian desert, A glacier on the CDT in Montana, The Grand Canyon rim to rim and The AT 2170 miles Ga. to Maine. They have been bent around a tree in the Whites and straightened out on the next tree. Most of the paint is rubbed off, they have never been back to Leiki and they work great. They have saved me from hundreds of falls and at my age my knees are in great shape. I sometimes use a pair of newer Leiki poles designed for the ski patrol that have no anti shock feature and my legs and arms know the difference at the end of the day. Anti shock is better. Last week I met a hiker with a pair if anti shock poles called Swissgear. They were bright red, extended longer than nmy Leiki's, folded down shorter, had the anti shock feature, and came with titanium tips and screw on rubber tips. I found they are made by Wenger, The Swiss Army Knife people and are sold by Walmart. The price is $9.80 per pole or less than $20 a pair. There are a few features missing like the tip are not concave and there is no the strap configuration does not allow for a left and right pole. They have a compass in the handle and you don't need one for each pole as your left foot usually goes the same direction as your right. I purchased a pair and will evaluate them in the next few months but for the price I don't see how you can go wrong. For big hikes, my Leiki but for shorter hikes and for back up I'll use the ones from Wally world. I'll write more after I have given them a good trial.

Lanthar Mandragoran
10-10-2005, 15:53
Yeah, I'm looking at picking up a pair for a Boy Scout trip in a couple of weeks. You really can't beat the price. Especially if you plan to use as "beater" poles.

Twigs
10-10-2005, 18:57
I've got about 225 miles on mine. Have not had a single problem. Leki's would be good for a thru, since you could get them fixed on the trail. But for us weekend warriors, they're hard to beat in my book.

flyfisher
10-10-2005, 21:15
I hiked about 300 miles this summer with two cut and stripped wood poles. One was sycamore and the other was an invasive honeysuckle. Each about 3/4 to 7/8 in diameter.

They were very supportive, helped me balance when crossing streams, and were not a great temptation for the sticky fingered at trailside stores. They do not colapse into a shorter version without replacement.

They are quieter on the trails, with less metal on rock clicking.

Teatime
10-11-2005, 02:10
I saw a pair of these at Wal-Mart last month. I was curious about them and couldn't believe the price. Look forward to hearing more updates on them in the future. I might get a pair for my son.

Traction
10-11-2005, 03:17
they are cheap.. but. from what I've seen they have a tendency to unlock themselves and have to be re-tightened several times a day.. although for 10 bucks a pole i guess you can't complain.

justusryans
10-11-2005, 08:08
Laura and I use the Wall-Mart poles and have lots of miles on them. I havn't had any problems with them at all. A great investment.

tlbj6142
10-11-2005, 09:44
Sometimes you can find old used ski poles for less than $10/pair if you look around. Since they are not adjustable, I'd suggest something a bit "taller" than normal. Say, with your elbows at your side your hands would be ~3" above parallel with the ground.

MacGyver2005
10-11-2005, 11:01
Did you find these at Wal-Mart or a Super Wal-Mart? Are they easily noticable in the sporting goods section? Does anyone have a web-link for this item, or something similar in price? At a price like that I see no reason for anyone to hike without trekking poles ever again and would love to get more people using them at this price!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA-->ME

TAMBOURINE
10-11-2005, 12:17
I also have some of these they worked great for me all summer hiking in SNP and they are very compact.:clap

tlbj6142
10-11-2005, 13:06
Target also sells poles as well for $20/pair (each???).

The poles at Wal-Mart can be difficult to find and are not always available at every store. Either perform a very thorough seach of the sporting goods section, or take your chances by asking an employee.

SalParadise
10-11-2005, 13:11
You may have to do Ebay for these, but I bought Galyans hiking poles for $10 each and they lasted me the whole way. They are adjustable with no shock absorbers. Only downside is that the tips won't fit in grommets designed for Leki poles.

Private Pyle
10-11-2005, 13:18
I Bought a pair of these a couple of weeks ago. Theses are my first pair of poles. Got to use them only once so far and for the price are fine. A couple of personal peeves though, the stap cuts across the web between the thumb and fore finger and it seems the metal tip iswearing kind of quick. I only have about 10 miles on them all be it in Rocksylvainia on the AT. They did seem to need to be tightened a few time through the day. But...for $20 compared to the price of upscale poles, I'll live with it. The nice thing is they are inexpensive enough to experiment wirh.

SalParadise
10-11-2005, 13:39
Mine used to slip a bit, too, but I tightened them as hard as I could and it helped. Plus I think it's also the newness of the poles. Once they get some dust in them it'll get a lot better. The tips are wore down in mine, too. I've got about a half inch before they hit the baskets.

Lanthar Mandragoran
10-18-2005, 19:27
don't know how someone paid $26 for one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5277387569&category=23809), but there's a pic. Yeah, just look in the sports goods section at Wal-Mart. If you find the coleman and coughlans camping gear, you're really close.

Oh, and the Target / Eddie Baurer one is $20 EACH, just checked the other night.