View Full Version : $10 Hiking pole at Wal-Mart
I was at one of the seven wal-marts in town (yes, seven) today and was looking around the sporting goods section. I came across something I had never seen there before... SwissGear hiking poles (made by the company that make swiss army knives) for $9.80 each.
I picked up a pair and I must say, for $20 these things are awesome. So, just a heads up for those of you that may be looking for a cheap (or backup) pair of poles...
Here is another site I found that sells them for twice as much:
http://www.click-n-order.net/item--Swiss-Gear-Aluminum-Hiking-Pole-SG66201--hikingpole.html
And here is a review:
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/swissgear/hiking-pole/
Made of durable aluminum alloy
Comfortable hand grip with adjustable strap
Anti-shock design
Adjustable telescopic sections, Fully compressed 26", Fully extended 54". Measurement from the top of the handle to the tip of the pole.
Durable carbide tip
Built-in compass
Protective cap, basket and rubber tip included
A friend gave me a set for xmas, after examining them I decided to keep them in the umbrella stand by the door. They are ok for short jaunts, but would never survive a thru-hike.
To Be Determined
05-20-2006, 23:20
I'll be sure to let you know about that when I get back, Ridge. I'm leaving for a week with those as my primary poles. I'm on an extraordinarily tight budget, so I don't really have any other option.
ffstenger
05-21-2006, 01:36
I was given a set of these poles for X-Mass and they work very well, but I use them only for short hikes. When I'm on the At I use a hand-carved wooden, emotional-strings-attached, staff. Some Wal Marts have some
OK hiking stuff, others don't. But when you live in Missouri like me you always have more than one close by to choose from (I'm ona budget too)
Show Me
I was at one of the seven wal-marts in town (yes, seven) today and was looking around the sporting goods section. I came across something I had never seen there before... SwissGear hiking poles (made by the company that make swiss army knives) for $9.80 each.
I picked up a pair and I must say, for $20 these things are awesome. So, just a heads up for those of you that may be looking for a cheap (or backup) pair of poles...
You need to be real thorough and check these out carefully before buying. The locking do-dads inside the poles have a high failure rate. Tightening them too much can also cause them to fail. I'm glad they bundle rubber caps with em though.. hate carbide tips.
Doug Frost
RITBlake
05-21-2006, 01:56
you get what you pay for
cannonball
05-21-2006, 08:22
I picked up a pair of these this past spring. I used them on the AT in SNP and have used then on the FT. No problems so far. I would even go so far as to say I got more than what I paid for.............in this case.
If I were to throw them in the trash today I can say I got far more than my moneys worth out of them.
mnof1000v
05-21-2006, 11:18
Lots of people are using them, and I've only heard a few complaints.
vipahman
05-21-2006, 11:21
At $20 a pair, they are pretty cheap to replace during a thru' even if you go thru' 3 pairs. They seem to be heavy though I don't know what the actual weight is.
I bought Komperdell (sp?) and only paid about 50. I still get the warranty and the confidence of knowing they are quality. You get what you pay for and as I learned years ago...you pay for quality. If I go through 3 pair of the cheap ones, that's over 60 dollars. I would have already paid more than what I paid for the Komperdells. IMO
At $20 a pair, they are pretty cheap to replace during a thru' even if you go thru' 3 pairs. They seem to be heavy though I don't know what the actual weight is.
Just a quick thought to suggest that some things are even cheaper than Walmart. My wooden hiking staff weighs around 9.5 ounces -- complete with a rubber crotch tip. I've used it now for about five years, and replaced the 66 cent rubber tip twice. Otherwise it has cost nothing. I cut it from a bunch of alders near a trail I walk most days, typically 2-5 miles.
I used my previous wooden staff from 1991 until about 2000 -- including an almost through hike in 1993. It's still as good as new. I found that basic staff at the foot of Dunn Notch Falls in Maine, where it had been cut by a trail maintainer. I was on a 270-mile ascent of Katahdin from Grafton Notch with a 9-year-old grandson. I made a new wooden staff because the original had so many memories attached to it I was afraid I might cry if it ever got caught between rocks and broke.
Has anyone ever been tempted to cry because a $10 Walmart pole broke?
Weary
Toolshed
05-21-2006, 12:43
Weary, where do you get the rubber tips?
Thanks
Weary, where do you get the rubber tips?
Thanks
They are standard crutch tips, available in most any hardware store and medical supply store. I buy mine at the local Ace Hardware store. They come in a variety of widths to fit most any wooden walking staff, from 1/2 inch to an inch or more.
The mistake most people make is to use wood that's too heavy and too large. I look for alder that can be whittled slightly to three-quarters of an inch in diameter or less at the bottom and no more than 7/8th inch at the top.
I've been amazed at how strong and how light alder can be. I would never use the stick that did the AT this way, but my new staff is routinely used to knock dead branches off pine and spruce trees when I'm bushwhacking or scouting new trail locations.
I noticed the other day that after five years of such use the stick had developed some parallel lateral cracks, but it still works okay.
I've embedded a hex-head 1/4-20 screw in the top to make the stick double as a monopod for my camera. Just drill a 7/16th hole in the top deep enough to hold the screw and a couple of nuts and epoxy the things in, leaving a quarter inch or so of threads produding. The extra nuts simply supply more surface for the epoxy to grip.
When not being used for a camera the threads can be capped with a cap nut (cheap and light) or a Komperdell cork tip with compass and strap ($12 and 2.5 ounces)
The only real draw back is that a wooden pole is not adjustable. But the alder saplings I use have natural hand grips along the shaft so that doesn't effect it's function, though it makes transportation a minor problem.
Carry two wooden poles if you like, but I find one works better for me. I like to keep one hand free for grabbing trees and taking photos.
Weary
Weary,
It makes me smile every time you post about your alder staff.
BTW, I just noticed your meter recently advanced one more click. Happy belated birthday! Keep on truckin'.
cannonball
05-21-2006, 16:28
Forgot to mention above-I use one of those poles on my tent set up- a six moons lunar solo, 11/2 lb.:banana
I had all three, Leiki, Wallmart, and a wooden stick with a rubber tip. For the wooden staff I prefer brown ash but you wont find brown ash much south of Maine. It is the same wood our Native Americans use for basketmaking. It is common on the AT and strips of bark easily, is strong as iron and once it dries weighs very little, My Leiki Poles have done he entire AT, and a couple hundred mile +/- in ALaska, The Senorian Deaert, The Grand Canyon, and much of the Montana section of the CDT. I have bent them and straightened them out on the trail. They have never been back to Leiki and even thoughh the paint is rubbed off them they still served me well. When I saw a pair of Walmart Poles I had to try them. You may get what you pay for but these are a great value. I used them exclusively the last half of last season and all winter and this spring. I have had no trouble, they lock securely,the anti shock feature works well. and the carbide tips grab ice and rocks. They are shorter than my Leiki's when I close them up. I bent one when I fell on it and was able to straighten it out as well as my Leiki. There is no gaurentee beyond Walmart's and I have never had a problem returning a product to Walmart if it was not satisfactory. I once took a cheap pair of hiking boots back to Walmart. I had them over a year, had lost the recipt, and Walmart still replaced them. I would purchase Leiki poles for an extended hike anytime because of the gaurentee and service but I have no problem at all with the quality of the Walmart poles. The trick might be to purchase three. It would cost less than $30 and you would have a spare. My Leiki poles were lost a month ago when my wife left them at a trail head and when she went back a day later they were gone. I miss them but will for now get along with my Swss designed, China made Walmart poles.
Weary,
It makes me smile every time you post about your alder staff.......
There are so many posts from people lamenting their inability to finance a thru hike that I like occasionally to remind people that by ignoring conventional wisdom, there are many ways to save money. A wooden staff is one way.
Even more important is the price of food. When foil packets of tuna first came out a couple of years ago, I mostly ignored the price differential on the theory that competition seemed likely to bring the price down.
Though sales of foil stuff occasionally can be found, I noticed at my supermarket yesterday that foil is still twice as expensive per pound of fish as tuna in aluminum cans -- something like $7 plus, vs. about $3.50 for canned.
I measured the extra weight of cans vs. foil a few months ago. I forget the results, but it was around an ounce or so. Ultra lighters with big pockets may find this worthwhile, but if I were hiking on a tight budget, foil tuna would be a rare purchase.
Weary
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-21-2006, 20:46
Re: the Wal-Mart poles -- I camped next to a couple at Trail Days that are thru-hiking and currently at Troutsville. The female half of the couple is using these poles and loves them. She did say she had to replace the tips with Leki tips, but otherwise they have worked well.
Weary, the male dino uses a wooden staff (wood unknown) and also has added the monopod screw. I used one for many years before being forced to use the offset canes. The tips are also available in large drug stores (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) and most stores that sell canes and crutches. We have replaced our tips many times.
I noted the foil packs were virtually the same weight as the cans at the grocery store and didn't buy them.
MrSparex
05-21-2006, 21:13
I bought mine on ebay and paid a little more before I saw the same ones at Wally World for 9.80 each! I walked the approach trail to Springer with them and have walked many other short trails with them. I like them. I just returned from Damascus. That's a cool town and a great wet parade.
Blissful
05-21-2006, 21:45
My son bent his Swiss pole from Walmart in two months when we did the Whites last year. But my Komperdells from Sierra Trading Post have lasted me four years and two Mt Washington summits. So you get what you pay for.
Just a quick thought to suggest that some things are even cheaper than Walmart. My wooden hiking staff weighs around 9.5 ounces -- complete with a rubber crotch tip. I've used it now for about five years, and replaced the 66 cent rubber tip twice. Otherwise it has cost nothing. I cut it from a bunch of alders near a trail I walk most days, typically 2-5 miles.
Same here. Used hand cut stick with rubber crutch tip for many years. I got a cheap China-made pole at Target because (a) I wanted something that would telescope down to something packable, and (b) I was getting sentimental about the old wooden one too.
Doug Frost
Speaking of those Target poles... I saw them for the first time last night. I *think* they may be made by the same company as the swissgear poles. However, they all seem to be a little higher quality (for $15/each). They didn't seem to have the overtightening problem that the wal-mart poles had. And they had a nicer hand grip.
Bass Pro Shops also sell the "wal-mart" poles with a Bass Pro label on them (all black)... but every one of these poles were messed up when I tried them out.
Skidsteer
05-23-2006, 17:42
Speaking of those Target poles... I saw them for the first time last night. I *think* they may be made by the same company as the swissgear poles. However, they all seem to be a little higher quality (for $15/each). They didn't seem to have the overtightening problem that the wal-mart poles had. And they had a nicer hand grip.
Bass Pro Shops also sell the "wal-mart" poles with a Bass Pro label on them (all black)... but every one of these poles were messed up when I tried them out.
That brings up an important point I've brought up before. Not all these poles are the same. I suspect that folks trying them out in the store are messing some of them up. It's easy to do if you're not familiar with the locking/adjustment mechanism.
Ideally, you should try out every pole in a over-populated bin and choose the two that seem the soundest. I found mine at the back of the display and they've worked fine, although I only use them in winter ice.
I prefer a wooden staff most of the time.
I used the Walmart poles on my last hiking trip (60 miles) and they worked wonderfully for me. Granted I have nothing to compare them with. They were defenitely taxed during the hike since there were times that I was dog tired and probably had most of my body weight resting on them at times. Different things work for different people and for 20 bucks they are worth a shot. Save your receipt, you have 90 days to return stuff at Walmart in case they break.