Trekking pole question for 6'6 260lbs +/-

[NCarolinaHiker]

I'm 6'6 and 260 lbs or so (and dropping) and am looking to buy some trekking poles. I've never used them before so I don't know how I'll want them set whether it's higher or lower, and at some point may use them with a shelter.

I know about what size I need for length but am curious what poles will be able to hold my weight should I ever need them to.

Anybody here my size or thereabouts can toss a recommendation my way? Much appreciated.

[swjohnsey]

Not sure about the weight thing but you can get decent poles at Walmart that are Black Diamond clones (maybe made by the folks who make the Black Diamond poles) They were about $13/each last time I look at 'em.

I have a pair of Black Diamond Trail and took 'em up to Walmart and compared 'em side by side.

[Slo-go'en]

Pole length is adjustable, so you can find your optimum length. I set mine so my fore arms are parallel to the ground, and one is often longer than the other due to the side slope of the trail.

I've seen too many bent Swiss Gear poles from W-M to recommend them to a big guy. You'd probably want one of the heavier duty Liki poles.

[NCarolinaHiker]

I thought about the Walmart poles to start with but am looking for something more permanent (relatively speaking). Something that if I ever had to rely on them with my body weight I'll at least have a hope that they'll hold. The Walmart poles work for many, but not at my height and weight and not necessarily when they need it the most - should that need ever arrive.

Slo - do you know which models are the heavier duty? I suppose I could shoot some emails to Leki and Black Diamond.

Thanks.

[Berserker]

One thing to think about with poles is how you will use them. What I mean is do you plan to use them just for balance, or do want hiking to be a full body affair where you push yourself up the hills with them? The reason I bring this up is that I used to do the latter, and actually bent a pair of Lekis. I’m 6’-5” and about 200 lbs (at least for now) by the way. The problem with that style for me was that my shoulders and arms got pretty darn sore by the end of the day, and it pretty much sucked. I have since moved to a pair of Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4s, which are very lightweight as they’re made out of carbon fiber, and this improved my experience a good bit as I actually use my legs to hike and the poles just to maintain balance. I’m not suggesting that you get you a set of LT4s, all I’m saying is that you may want to start off with the cheap Wally World ones to see just exactly how you expect to use them. If you end up going hard on those then I would recommend some beefy poles like Lekis or BDs. If you’re gonna use them more for just balance than that opens up more options.