YOur Thoughts on Aluminum vs. Carbon when it comes to trekking poles...
Aluminum bends...Carbon shatters.... Experiences???
YOur Thoughts on Aluminum vs. Carbon when it comes to trekking poles...
Aluminum bends...Carbon shatters.... Experiences???
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
How about titanium? Lighter, smaller, and stronger than aluminum, but of course very pricey. I love my ti. leki poles. I have no experience with carbon fiber hiking poles, but when carbon fiber fails it does seem to explode.
If you'll check the Leki site, you'll find that the material in each version of the Leki Ti poles is actually Aluminum 7075. Great marketing idea, but more than a bit deceptive.
I've been using TiGoat adjustable CF poles at 6.4oz per pair since they were first introduced (actually had the very first pair ever produced commercially).
You should be fine with either kind under normal use, just like any other piece of gear.
It has been said that a journey begins with a single step. I say hogwash! It starts with a dream.
what do u consider normal use? an AT Thru -hike? Or less daily wear and tear?
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
Well, yes I would consider everyday use on the AT normal use.
I have done a lot of southern sections, I don't consider the AT to be either rugged or challenging based on my experience, maybe the northern sections are more challenging.
Go do the Blue Wall area (Blue Ridge Escarpment), or the Cumberland Plateau Escarpment area and you will see the difference.
Like I said, maybe the northern sections are tougher, but I don't see any reason to be too concerned.
It has been said that a journey begins with a single step. I say hogwash! It starts with a dream.
5 ounces of carbon for me baby
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
I second Picasso, the map feature that lets people see where the pic was taken really tips the scale for me.
It has been said that a journey begins with a single step. I say hogwash! It starts with a dream.
4' of rebar...doesn't bend or shatter!
geek
By experience, my first trekking poles were carbon and one broke on the first hike when I fell due to a log I stepped on breaking. When I took them back to REI, the sales guy said they had a lot of returns on the carbon ones breaking, and he personally recommended the slightly heavier aluminum ones.
I've got a couple hundred miles on my REI Summit ones now and am extremely pleased with them. They were also half the price of the carbon ones I initially purchased. The few extra ounces do not fatigue my arms at all.
Good question. To my complete and utter surprise, my REI carbon poles lasted for my through hike this year. I found them on sale and thought I'd give them a try, and had my titanium poles for backup, but they actually made it. I also heard of many stories of carbon poles shattering when wedged in rock or on falls. Whenever I saw someone using them, I'd ask and they usually had a story. They survived a couple of good falls in ME.
Some folks have problems with the joints sliding. I never had that problem.
Would I recommend them? For a through hike, definitely. I think the light weight was worth it, for me. If you're a die-hard dirtbagger, no way, they're way too expensive. And they're probably not worth it for day hikes or sections, again, too expensive.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Carbon is the way to go, imo.
I've snapped a Leki Ti pole as well, so it doesn't have to be carbon fiber to break! I've also bent my poles and have been able to bend them back, so there is that. If they'd been carbon they would have broken.
Haiku.
I for one got totally sucked in by Leki's "Ti" marketing scam. I can't believe it, and I fell for it. Thanks, Quoddy, for pointing that out. I will not buy another Leki product again. I'm happier now that I got the REI carbon poles, made my Komperdell, by the way, even though it was tough finding replacement tips along the AT last summer.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
If you break your stick, do they give you carbon credits?
The best ones are made of air. Very light, inexpensive and you can use your hands for other things. You never see athletes using poles and if there were an advantage they would be. There is a reason humans stopped using their arms for propulsion, millions of years ago. If you have knee pain try shorter distance, slower speed or less weight (get rid of pole weight). When you break your leg you don't use crutches forever. Granted pole scream "I AM A HIKER" and they sure look cool.