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View Full Version : Trekking pole baskets or not?



Singto
06-16-2016, 08:04
I've been trying to find threads about using pole baskets or not using them but with no success. I'd think that having available and using the smaller "mud baskets" from time to time would be a wise choice but maybe this is wrong? I've seen in YouTube some people using them and some not.

What is the consensus about pole baskets?

Or is their a link to a similar thread?

Thanks

Singto
06-16-2016, 08:06
Duh....*there

Gambit McCrae
06-16-2016, 08:07
don't know of a thread on the subject, I have never put any thought into them. If the poles come with them they stay on, and if they don't have them, owell

Starchild
06-16-2016, 08:25
I used to be a basket believer, but recently took them off, no problems/issues also the poles store easier w/o. From a ultralight point of view it not only removes weight but also mass that is at the far end of a swing arm so makes the swinging of the pole easier than just the weight alone (rotational inertia physics stuff).

Odd Man Out
06-16-2016, 08:29
I didn't see the pint of them for the trails I do so I took them off and stuck them in the drawer. If I need them someday for a hike through sand dunes or snow, I'm sure I won't be able to find the again.

rafe
06-16-2016, 08:33
I've tried it both ways. Either way, poles will get snagged on rocks and shrubbery several times a day. Not a big deal.

lonehiker
06-16-2016, 09:55
If I am going to encounter snow i.e. in the Sierras, I take and use them. Otherwise, I take them off.

MuddyWaters
06-16-2016, 10:38
Try hiking in appalacians in fall without them. Youll have leaves up to your grips on poles.

0.2 oz , not worth worrying about. 99.9% of hikers have way more important things to consider

Puddlefish
06-16-2016, 11:06
Heard one guy complain about his baskets becoming packed with mud. Maybe the right answer just depends on trail conditions at the moment.

Another Kevin
06-16-2016, 16:03
I've heard a lot of arguments pro and con.

I usually stow my poles using an ice axe loop, and I find the baskets keep them from slipping through. (I also make a couple of twists in the loop.) I also have spent a fair number of miles slogging through cedar swamp, where I think my poles would sink straight down to China without baskets on them (which at least keep them afloat long enough to take one more step).

In winter, I switch to powder baskets. They make a big difference in not falling off my snowshoes.

The guy who said that without baskets, you'll be carrying shish-kebabs of autumn leaves the size of cabbages was onto something.

If your style is "light and fast" and you're more sure footed than I am, you may find the baskets to be weight that you don't need to carry.

QiWiz
06-16-2016, 16:12
I tend to take the baskets off except in winter on snow. I find they tend to catch on vegetation and are not necessary in most non-winter conditions. YMMV.

zelph
06-16-2016, 16:36
Leave them on. They are worth their weight in gold for when you have to go off trail in woodland situations.

Christoph
06-16-2016, 17:23
I took mine off after a few days on the trail. One actually fell off (never did find it) but I found another that worked along the way. Ended up removing them altogether a day later. I see the point where they help out in muddy situations but I saw a bunch of them along the trail that I picked up and trashed out. Wasn't worth the worry of missing one and having lopsided poles (I'm a little OSD I guess).

Capt. America
06-16-2016, 18:05
I don't use the baskets, but unlike most I kept the end caps on, I put a wrap of duck tape to keep them on. I discovered that the poles didn't slide off the rocks and they didn't go so deep in the mud that I had to stop to pull them out. The little bit of weight didn't bother me as my poles are only 6.5 oz. each with baskets and end caps. Works for me!

Deadeye
06-16-2016, 21:22
I leave 'em on, otherwise you collect a small tree's worth of leaves.

Singto
06-18-2016, 01:35
Great responses, thank you everyone.

peakbagger
06-18-2016, 05:07
I use winter baskets in winter and if I don't use summer baskets, the plastic threads on the poles rapidly wear out to the point that the winter baskets wont stay on. I also find the smaller mud baskets don't get caught in the ground as often, occasionally they will catch in the rocks but overall they are an advantage.

nsherry61
06-18-2016, 09:05
I find baskets a pain on brushy trails, unnecessary in drier, rockier terrain, and a godsend in wetter, softer environments. . . and yes, snow baskets in the snow . . . although calling them powder baskets is probably bit of a misnomer since they aren't really big enough to be best in powder.

I usually use baskets in the Pacific NW and New England because I don't like frequently loosing 8 inches of my pole into mud or soft forest litter. I usually don't use them in drier climates like UT, AZ, CO. In the mid-west, it's mixed, depending on the season, the location and whether I care enough to bother at the time.

MtDoraDave
07-21-2016, 07:24
I keep mine on, for both the stack-o-leaves issue, and the sinking in soft ground issue. I have lost a basket before, but I have also found some along the trail. Periodic checking to make sure they are tight has become routine.

If on the AT, when picking up others' lost baskets, rather than trashing them out, leave them at the next shelter you reach. This way, others who have lost a basket may be able to use it. To some this may be trail magic while to others, it's leaving trash behind. Since I like having baskets on my poles, I try to think of it as trail magic. :)

colorado_rob
07-21-2016, 08:25
I've never been more conflicted on an otherwise trivial matter for gear... I keep flopping back/forth, 50/50. I like 'em on for obvious reasons (fewer leaves, no sinking in mud, etc, etc), but I like having 'em off for all those other reasons (not catching on suiff, etc). I just keep changing them on/off, don't really see an end!

Right now I'm in the forced "off" position, I suppose because right now I have only one basket on a couple sets of poles....

Traveler
07-21-2016, 12:15
Depends on the size of the baskets. Summer use baskets on my BD poles are not very large in diameter but do tend to slow the pole down when it gets into sinking soils. They also help quiet the poles when moving through rocky areas where you can casually bang the poles into the sides of rocks. I usually keep them on and have larger baskets for snow in the winter.

Tipi Walter
07-21-2016, 12:37
I've been trying to find threads about using pole baskets or not using them but with no success. I'd think that having available and using the smaller "mud baskets" from time to time would be a wise choice but maybe this is wrong? I've seen in YouTube some people using them and some not.

What is the consensus about pole baskets?

Or is their a link to a similar thread?

Thanks

This is a relevant thread for me since on my last 24 day Pisgah trip I lost the mud basket on my hiking pole (I only use one) and as usual I was sinking down a foot or two in places where I didn't want to, i.e. dangerous spots.



Heard one guy complain about his baskets becoming packed with mud. Maybe the right answer just depends on trail conditions at the moment.

Packed with mud or packed with ice---either way I just bang the pole tips against a tree a couple times.


Leave them on. They are worth their weight in gold for when you have to go off trail in woodland situations.

They are mandatory for me because I rely on my one hiking pole for balance at times and it's no good when the pole tip sinks 2 feet into forest duff periodically.


I keep mine on, for both the stack-o-leaves issue, and the sinking in soft ground issue. I have lost a basket before, but I have also found some along the trail. Periodic checking to make sure they are tight has become routine.

If on the AT, when picking up others' lost baskets, rather than trashing them out, leave them at the next shelter you reach. This way, others who have lost a basket may be able to use it. To some this may be trail magic while to others, it's leaving trash behind. Since I like having baskets on my poles, I try to think of it as trail magic. :)

What's odd is that on my Pisgah trip just before I lost my basket I found another one on the trail but I did not pick it up. I should have.

Secondmouse
07-21-2016, 13:38
I just use one, best of both worlds!

j/k - I recently broke one clean off and finished my hike like that...

the one without the basket gets caught on brush much less but I liked having the basket on the downhill side when side-hilling to keep the pole from punching through the thinner earth there.

anyway, I prefer the smallest basket I can find. it doesn't take much for mud or leaves, etc...

Tipi Walter
07-21-2016, 13:54
I just use one, best of both worlds!

j/k - I recently broke one clean off and finished my hike like that...

the one without the basket gets caught on brush much less but I liked having the basket on the downhill side when side-hilling to keep the pole from punching through the thinner earth there.

anyway, I prefer the smallest basket I can find. it doesn't take much for mud or leaves, etc...

Yes! It's the sidehilling and punching thru which is risky.