Trekking pole tip ends?

[skidhiker]

My trekking poles came with plastic caps over the carbide tips. At a hostel hiker box in Georgia I noticed several different kinds of pole tips/ rubber tips had been left behind. I have never used any of the caps/covers. I was a little frustrated on the hike when I got my pole off the hard packed trail and they would sink a few inches on a climb. I don't have trouble with them slipping on rocks and the tips carbide tips seem to be holding up well (500 miles on them). Does anyone use the rubber tip covers? Preferences?

[BobTheBuilder]

In my experience, the rubber tip covers can be slippery on a lot of surfaces that the carbide tips grip well. The minor indentation left by my carbide tips in the soft soil damage the trail way less than all of the rescue equipment and personnel that would be needed if I broke my leg because my pole slid out unexpectedly. (That is a horribly written sentence, but I'm too lazy to fix it, sorry.)

[peakbagger]

I find those rubber tip covers all the time on the trail. IMHO, unless someone is urban walking on sidewalks, skip the rubber tips. BTW Ebay has several sellers of replacement tiips for far less than OEM. Most outdoor retailers really want to sell a $100 set of poles so if they stock the tips, they usually are marked up generously.

[skidhiker]

I find those rubber tip covers all the time on the trail. IMHO, unless someone is urban walking on sidewalks, skip the rubber tips. BTW Ebay has several sellers of replacement tiips for far less than OEM. Most outdoor retailers really want to sell a $100 set of poles so if they stock the tips, they usually are marked up generously.

Good tip. I will check Ebay when the carbide ones are more worn.

[Mouser999]

you should be able to find rubber tips at local hardware store cheap.

[wornoutboots]

My thoughts are that the rubber tips are for mall walking and the like to protect flooring. The carbide tips are for rugged outdoor hiking.

I have also had several tips replaced verses replacing the poles all together

[One Half]

I guess I'm going to go against the crowd.
I use the rubber tips. I don't find that they are slippery. Certainly no more slippery than carbide tips on things like rocks.

I notice quite often the line of torn up trail edge by all the carbide tip users as well as all the gouging/scratching on rocks. While you may feel that YOU have little impact by using those tips it is actually really devastating on the terrain where there are large numbers of hikers.

[The Snowman]

One thing to keep in mind if you use your treking poles as tent poles the rubber tips will keep you from poking holes in your tent floor.

[peakbagger]

In the whites almost everyone wears traction of some sort like microspikes or in some cases crampons. They do far more damage than carbide pole tips. I heard one trail maintainer argue that the use of poles on either side of the trail actually was breaking up compacted soil and causing new growth which eventually serves to encourage the trail from being widened out. I wonder if anyone has done any formal research or if its just speculation on the actual damage done by pole tip versus rubber tip?

[Mockernut]

Not sure what tent uses poles with their tip ends down into the floor...most are tip up into a sleeve, grommet, or pole. Tents that have tips down have the poles outside the tent.

[NY HIKER 50]

If Lekki try black diamond tips. Don't use on soft trails or you'll lose em

[HooKooDooKu]

I found rubber tips to do great on a hike of the JMT where you're often hiking on granite and other hard surfaces. I had to make sure I took them off for any times I was using the poles in mud or snow/ice. But my primary hiking area is Great Smoky Mountains National Park where the ground is more likely to be dirt than hard surface (and usually if it's hard surface, it's rocks similar to a gravel road). The carbide tips seem to do much better there.

[JNI64]

My trekking poles came with plastic caps over the carbide tips. At a hostel hiker box in Georgia I noticed several different kinds of pole tips/ rubber tips had been left behind. I have never used any of the caps/covers. I was a little frustrated on the hike when I got my pole off the hard packed trail and they would sink a few inches on a climb. I don't have trouble with them slipping on rocks and the tips carbide tips seem to be holding up well (500 miles on them). Does anyone use the rubber tip covers? Preferences?

I use my plastic caps mostly because plastic is cheaper than carbide! But when I don't increbleibly difficult to keep together.

[JNI64]

The two little plastic caps are hard to keep track of....

[peakbagger]

In my experience, the carbides rarely wear out, the plastic they are molded into wears out to the point where the carbide falls out. Since I hike a lot in the whites which is very rocky I go through pole tips about every three years.

[Traveler]

I've always thought the plastic tips that come with some poles were for shipping, protecting luggage from exposed tips, and/or store presentation use, not for outdoor use given the lack of elasticity and the ease they are pulled off in grass, mud, sand, etc. Rubber tips are better suited to the trail with one caveat, be sure the tip is made for your trekking poles. Over the years I thought rubber tips were pretty universal but found a lot of them popped right off in mud and mire, but some remained on the pole as if welded there. The minute difference in size of pole tips between manufacturers can make a huge difference in performance and retention on the poles. When I have to get new tips, I will take a pole into the store with me to try out various brands, which inevitably lead me to the best fitting tip.

As an aside, my hiking buddy seems to lose rubber tips on pretty tame ground in just a few minutes of use. The poles he gets tend to be on the lower end of the price scale and after checking a few, have differing tip diameters that impact the rubber tip grip on them. To solve this issue, he secures the tips onto his poles then drills a small hole through the rubber tip and pole and uses, aircraft safety wire to secure tips on his poles which seems to work well. In winter he removes them to for better grip on ice and packed snow. Since he started this practice he has actually worn out several rubber tips as opposed to losing them literally within a few hours.

[Mikerfixit]

I use the rubber tips on my poles as the click clack of the metal tips on stones and pavement was annoying and they left scratches on the rocks.

At first I heard that the rubber tips had a chance to pull off if caught between rocks or tangled in debris so I wrapped a few rounds of duct tape around them. They stayed in place until I eventually wore them out. The replacement tips I bought seemed to be a bit loser than the OEM ones and fell of just swinging the poles around. I secured the new tips with some contact cement and haven't had a problem with them since.

When they wear out I'll just cut them off and replace them.

[camper10469]

i threw m away thinking they were part of the new product packaging.

[OwenM]

I use them all the time-to keep my trekking poles from poking things in the trunk of my car(where they live), or luggage when traveling;)

[xMagnolia]

I don't like the Clack Clack sound of metal tips on rock. My rubber tips don't seem to slip, either.

Charlotte