trekking poles

[grandview]

I made a couple trekking poles this afternoon from two lawn and leaf rake replacement shafts (lowes $4.00 each), can tips (eckerd $4.00 for a 2 pack), and bike grips (walmart $5.00 for a 2 pack). They look nice, feel good, and it beats paying $100.00 for a pair of suped up ski poles.

[hikerjohnd]

Sounds nice - Any photos?

[grandview]

I meant to type "cane tips" not "can tips" up there...I'll get a picture up tomorrow. I'm 6 feet 2 inches tall and the height of the shafts worked perfect for me...the cane tips absorb shock well...and the schwinn bike grips are very easy on the hands.

I had to soap up the inside of the bike grips to slide them over the shaft...and I had to wrap a small amount of duck tape for the cane tips to hold tight, but the tape is completely covered under the tips.

[grandview]

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/augustabackpacking/vwp?.dir=/HOMEMADE+GEAR&.src=gr&.dnm=grandview%27s+trekking+poles.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/augustabackpacking/lst%3f%26.dir=/HOMEMADE%2bGEAR%26.src=gr%26.view=t

I don't know if that link will work...the picture is posted on our augusta club website....you're more than welcome to join us...Pooler is just down the road a piece...link below.

[Bloodroot]

Looks great! Are you going to use anything to laynard around your wrists?

[grandview]

Looks great! Are you going to use anything to laynard around your wrists?
thanks...

I've been thinking about the laynard question....Do they make that much difference in your opinion?

[weary]

I had to soap up the inside of the bike grips to slide them over the shaft...and I had to wrap a small amount of duck tape for the cane tips to hold tight, but the tape is completely covered under the tips.
I cut my own poles, mostly because they cost nothing and I can choose the weight based on the use intended, but cutting your own also eliminates duck tape to make tips and handles to fit snugly. I like alder saplings which have a good combination of light weight, flexibility and strength.

I tend to use "handles" from Komperdell because they have straps attached, but increasingly I find I don't use the straps. One of the advantages of cutting your own poles is that the natural contours provide numerous hand grips for when you reach steep ascents or descents.

My homemade hiking sticks tend to range between 7 and 12 ounces. I use the heavier versions to knock off dead limbs from trees while bushwhacking or scouting new trails.

Weary

[orangebug]

I've been thinking about the laynard question....Do they make that much difference in your opinion?The "lanyard question" is the reason to spend money on trekking poles. Carrying pole or poles often provides little other than assistance with balance. Trekking poles use the wrist loop as a means to lean into the pole and employ your arms and shoulders without fatiguing your forearms in gripping the poles. This is where the benefit of trekking poles shines through.

There is nothing wrong with good old fashioned "alder staffs" or new fangled poles as you have made. There is nothing wrong with using no poles at all. I like my $100 Leki's and would replace them easily if lost or broken. I'd encourage you to go on a couple of hikes, with someone showing you how trekking poles work and then compare to your homemade poles.

[weary]

The "lanyard question" is the reason to spend money on trekking poles. .
Well, I don't agree totally with that statement. A rubber crutch or cane tip is essential for pole longevity and to avoid damage to trails. And crutch tips cost some money. I buy mine at a hardware store for less than a dollar.

I've used lanyards and agree that occasionally they are useful and recognize that some use them all the time. It was on the recommendation of lanyard enthusiasts like OB that prompted me to invest in a $12 hiking pole "handle."

But one doesn't need to spend $100 to get same. Komperdell retailers sell handles with straps for prices between $7 and $12. A simple leather throng can be purchased in craft stores for a buck or two.

Is the resulting hiking stick better than $100 versions? That's a decision everyone should make for themselves. But this is a thread devoted to "do-it-yourself" gear. I offer my suggestion for one way to achieve that do-it-yourself goal.

OB has certainly offered an alternative solution. Earn money and buy the best. I think that even if one has the ready money, factory-made isn't always the best in self-satisfaction, if not function.

Weary

[orangebug]

Of course, there has been no demonstration that trekking poles are more damaging to trail than boots or other gear. I have not heard of problems from other maintainers, only from those keen to declare their devotion to Luddites on the trail.

Try to get the opportunity to compare your poles to trekking poles. There is a major difference between a lanyard and wrist straps with adjustable length poles. The comparison is much like comparing apples to pomegranants. Many like trekking poles, and they have become very common over the past 7-8 years. Many prefer no poles. Many prefer any number of varieties of staffs.

Remember, there are many bargain trekking poles out there, such as REI's house brand for less than $50 (last time I checked).

[grandview]

It's not a matter of how much trekking poles cost, it's the do-it-yourself satisfaction that comes along with using your custom made gear. Anyone with a 100 bucks and an internet connection can order a pair of Leki's. And I'm sure they work extremely well but people were walking around in the woods with sticks centuries before ski poles crossed over into the world of hiking.

About the laynard question...It's not that I don't already have an opinion about whether or not they make a difference...It's that I wanted to know other people's opinions....Thanks for the input so far.

Happy New Year Whiteblazers.

[grandview]

Of course, there has been no demonstration that trekking poles are more damaging to trail than boots or other gear. I have not heard of problems from other maintainers, only from those keen to declare their devotion to Luddites on the trail.

Try to get the opportunity to compare your poles to trekking poles. There is a major difference between a lanyard and wrist straps with adjustable length poles. The comparison is much like comparing apples to pomegranants. Many like trekking poles, and they have become very common over the past 7-8 years. Many prefer no poles. Many prefer any number of varieties of staffs.

Remember, there are many bargain trekking poles out there, such as REI's house brand for less than $50 (last time I checked).
OB, I had to look that word up....interesting history lesson:

Luddism
and the Neo-Luddite Reaction
Cultural change necessarily involves resistance to change. The term Luddite has been resurrected from a previous era to describe one who distrusts or fears the inevitable changes brought about by new technology. The original Luddite revolt occurred in 1811, an action against the English Textile factories that displaced craftsmen in favor of machines. Today's Luddites continue to raise moral and ethical arguments against the excesses of modern technology to the extent that our inventions and our technical systems have evolved to control us rather than to serve us and to the extent that such leviathans can threaten our essential humanity

[gardenville]

Hi, I made my own trekking poles (about 3oz each), they will adjust to 3 different heights and I was able to design an adjustable wrist strap for them. The wrist strap works great and I would not have a trekking pole without them. I also used a Leki replacement tip on the ends of the poles.

I have pictures of them in my photo Gallery here. They should be on page 6.

I love being able to make my own gear.

[swamp dawg]

I understand not everyone has the big bucks to be modern but I will bet they work just fine. You can't beat good old American engineering. HYOH
Life is good on the trail.......Swamp Dawg

[gardenville]

I understand not everyone has the big bucks to be modern but I will bet they work just fine. You can't beat good old American engineering. HYOH
Life is good on the trail.......Swamp Dawg

I am not sure I understand the comment about "big bucks' but my poles were very cheap, less than $20 each to make. That is using all new material and my free labor.

I agree about "good old American engineering"

Life is what you make it....mine is not as good as I would like it right now (medically) but it is better than it was 6 weeks ago. The light at the end of the tunnel is close at hand.

[weary]

Of course, there has been no demonstration that trekking poles are more damaging to trail than boots or other gear. I have not heard of problems from other maintainers, only from those keen to declare their devotion to Luddites on the trail.Try to get the opportunity to compare your poles to trekking poles. There is a major difference between a lanyard and wrist straps with adjustable length poles. The comparison is much like comparing apples to pomegranants. Many like trekking poles, and they have become very common over the past 7-8 years. Many prefer no poles. Many prefer any number of varieties of staffs. Remember, there are many bargain trekking poles out there, such as REI's house brand for less than $50 (last time I checked).
OB seems to be confusing luddism with frugality and self satisfaction. He seems to be arguing that if it isn't the newest fad and isn't made in a factory it must be inferior.

I make my own hiking staffs for many reasons. They are better, stronger and more attractive than factory made poles, less expensive, less damaging to trail soils, and work better, especially on the rocky trails of northern New England.

I use natural wood saplings for my pole shafts partly because I like the looks of natural wood, partly because the alder that I use has more strength than the same size of milled wood replacement handles that I have seen. Milling wood cuts across some of the grain. How much that weakens the wood depends on what the original tree looked like, which the purchaser cannot know.

But replacement handles are available in stores because the original rake handles broke. None of my homemade staffs have ever broken, though I did begin to experiment in earnest with homemade staffs a few years ago when I feared that the staff I picked up on the trail in 1991 from a trail clearing crew might break and after 10 years and a walk from Georgia to Maine it had too many memories associated with it to risk.

Because they are so easy and inexpensive, I treat my new staffs pretty roughly. I routinely use the heavier ones to whack off dead branches that get in my way.

As for the damage pointed sticks do to the trails, OB is probably right. The sticks may be no more damaging than boots and other gear. But the damage they do is certainly in addition to the damage done by boots and unnecessary I have found. The rubber crutch tips on my wooden poles provide enough traction on most soils and better traction than Lekis on rocks.

What else can I say. I envy the 3 ounce pole someone has made, but wish people would recognize poorer performance and extra damage that the Leki tips cause.

As I said previously my wooden poles range between 7 and 12 ounces. The pole I use most often weighs around 10 ounces, but that's because it has a screw imbedded in the top so that it can be used as a monopod for my camera. Someday when I get around to it I'll make a lighter monopod.

Weary

[gardenville]

But replacement handles are available in stores because the original rake handles broke.

What else can I say. I envy the 3 ounce pole someone has made, but wish people would recognize poorer performance and extra damage that the Leki tips cause.

Weary

I use a replacement fishing rod grip for my handle. They are made of EVA and I cut the lower 3.5" off and use it as a "rubber" tip over my Leki tip. When I am on rocks I take the EVA tip off and go for the safety of the Leki tip.

I almost never use 2 poles at the same time but always carry 2. I use a Tarp and the poles also do double duty for my tarp if I don't tie it to a tree. I made a very light tripod (top part) and the Trekking poles become the legs for the tripod.

The trekking pole when needed is for my safety and if I saw a dog peeing on my pack it would become a dog wacker.

[orangebug]

Weary seems to be arguing.

There are many ways of dealing with hiking poles. There are many ways to demonize someone else's choices. There are many ways to waste time and intellect.

Arguing is just one way. :rolleyes:

Happy New Year.

[lbbrown]

Happy New Year Whiteblazers! I'm new to WB. I have been reading Sgt.Rock and others for about 6 months. Great stuff! I recently saw an article about "PACER POLES" on ula-equipment site. The grips looked very comfortable and functional but totally different than trekking poles. Any comment? God bless our Troops!

[Footslogger]

Happy New Year Whiteblazers! I'm new to WB. I have been reading Sgt.Rock and others for about 6 months. Great stuff! I recently saw an article about "PACER POLES" on ula-equipment site. The grips looked very comfortable and functional but totally different than trekking poles. Any comment? God bless our Troops!==================================
No personal experience with the "Pacer Poles" but I have read all the info available on them. I'm still milking all the life out of a pair of ultralight Komperdells before I look seriously at a new pair. But those Pacer Poles ahve caught my eye. One thing I can tell you though ...is that Brian Frankle at ULA is great to work with. I own 2 of his products now and whenever I call or send an e-mail I get a direct reply from Brian. Nice to deal with the main person as opposed to my experience with some of the larger outdoor companies.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[coastal_guy]

They look great Grandview. I always enjoyed making my own equipment, and since retiring I have plenty of time! Good job.

[The Hammocker]

I never understood why you would use two poles.