Yo Cody. What ski poles these?

[donutlynx]

Zip ties on a hand grip surface? That sounds like it would suck.

Handlebar tape or racquet tape...sounds pretty comfortable.

[Shorty_J]

if that is insulation/zip ties that's a pretty sweet pole mod and I am definitely gonna copy it. I've been using climbing tape wrapped over some ~3mm cord wound round the pole and it's functional but not ideal

I used tape twisted into a tube as my grip... The cord sounds like a better idea. But yeah, the tape isn't great.

Many years ago I have some old komperdell collapsible poles that had a 12" section of some sort of siliconed grip part way down that accomplishes the same thing the OP was asking about. I liked them but they died.

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[Shorty_J]

Noob question here, is the purpose of the grip tape/pipe insulation/bar tape for ascending without collapsible poles? I like the idea.

Collapsible or not, it's good for sidehilling without constantly changing the pole length... Just choke up a little.

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[jondrums]

hockey stick tape works great for me. I do spiral of twisted up tape first, then overlap wrap bottom to top

[Svengali]

b-bear wrote

those are what all the cool guys in chamonix etc use those a216’s

I've heard the really kool guys are using DTS(Dodge The Shot)sticks.?

[RShea]

Bike handlebar tape is a possible extension like that. There are some hiking trekking poles that have the longer foam grip below a molded hand grip (but many are 3 section collapsible poles too) . Maybe able to also use tennis racket or racketball grip tape- but probably not as thick as a padded foam handlebar tape....

[mall walker]

Collapsible or not, it's good for sidehilling without constantly changing the pole length... Just choke up a little

yeah this, having a 12”-18” section of pole grip (instead of a hand-sized section) means you can get a comfortable grip position easily quickly between switchbacks etc without having to adjust poles (if you use adjustable poles at all)

not strictly speaking necessary but I think it’s very very nice. I’m always moving my hands around on the pole shaft as the terrain undulates and the skinner moves around (yeah yeah )

[Peruvian]

Totally fucks up the swing weight. No one can ski 50 degree coolers with poles like that. Proven fact.

[DolphinSki]

Another option besides tape is a longer voile strap wrapped around the pole a few inches below the grip.

[hutash]

Hockey tape for the cheap win. Unfortunately it is not readily available in southern California. Kind of silly to order and ship a $3 roll of tape.

[Dee Hubbs]

Hockey tape for the cheap win. Unfortunately it is not readily available in southern California. Kind of silly to order and ship a $3 roll of tape.

Medical fabric tape, gaff tape, or kinesiology tape will all work the same as hockey tape.

[zion zig zag]

Another option besides tape is a longer voile strap wrapped around the pole a few inches below the grip.

This. You guys are complicating this with your princess hands.

[muted]

Saw a guy with part of an old skin on his poles, seemed like an easy thing to do.

[Boissal]

Another option besides tape is a longer voile strap wrapped around the pole a few inches below the grip.

People need to keep playing that game so I can increase the size of my Voile strap collection. Found 3 on the skinner so far this season, they don't seem to want to stay on the pole. Maybe that's what pockets are for?

The issue with all these fancy grip mods is how fast you trash them during a good bushwack. I obliterated the handlebar tape I used on my old whippet with a half day of brushaneering. Some of the stuff was thick enough that I had to swing the pole by the basked end and the tape does not like being part of what effectively becomes a small maul. The only thing that survives is, surprisingly, the BD Expedition extended foam handle. I managed to break the head of the handle itself (plastic) while whacking at a tree but the foam just does not care/

[PNWbrit]

Hope they are carbon for the added warmth it provides.

[RShea]

Hockey tape for the cheap win. Unfortunately it is not readily available in southern California. Kind of silly to order and ship a $3 roll of tape.

Back in the days of ice hockey and skating on any frozen pond including the back yard if too much rain in the fall, used plain old friction tape for taping up our hockey sticks blades, or the white athletic tape from sports trainers on the handles and grips...

[DolphinSki]

People need to keep playing that game so I can increase the size of my Voile strap collection. Found 3 on the skinner so far this season, they don't seem to want to stay on the pole. Maybe that's what pockets are for?

The issue with all these fancy grip mods is how fast you trash them during a good bushwack. I obliterated the handlebar tape I used on my old whippet with a half day of brushaneering. Some of the stuff was thick enough that I had to swing the pole by the basked end and the tape does not like being part of what effectively becomes a small maul. The only thing that survives is, surprisingly, the BD Expedition extended foam handle. I managed to break the head of the handle itself (plastic) while whacking at a tree but the foam just does not care/

Personally I've never lost one, but good on ya for finding booty. I imagine the gumbies of the Wasatch leave all kinds of cool shit on the skintrack. That bushwhacking situation is the exact reason I use old solid poles and not fancy adjustable ones.

[meter-man]

Saw Alka say address this on his Insta: https://www.instagram.com/p/BtoJBnJF..._web_copy_link

Says basically... " the @salomonfreeski crew builds them that way, they’re amazing for touring and climbing" but not much more detail than that. Something about pipe insulation.

I had asked the same question in teh Fifty thread. Anyway - they are SWEET!

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I recommend BD expedition 2's with duct tape just below the lower grip:

[galibier_numero_un]

I recommend BD expedition 2's with duct tape just below the lower grip:

I sometimes steal my wife's BD poles from a few years ago. They have a cushy, grippy section below the handle. I haven't looked at current models.

It dawns on me that if comfort is an issue (although the only reason I can think of is a brutally cold day where an aluminum shaft might suck the heat out of your hands), that you could use some bicycle handlebar tape (road bike).

[edit] this thread took off since viewing it on my phone. I just scrolled up and realized that this seems to be what they're doing (not that adding grip material this is rocket surgery). It wasn't as apparent when I viewed it on my phone.

... Thom

[I've seen black diamonds!]

a brutally cold day where an aluminum shaft might suck the heat out of your hands)...

Or a warm day when you take your gloves off.

[margotron]

I use tennis grip tape but have to re-wrap every few tours. More often than my tennis wreckers when i played in school

[cyborg]

Another option besides tape is a longer voile strap wrapped around the pole a few inches below the grip.

This is what I do. I'm phenomenally lazy when it comes to my ski set up, unless it has to do with safety. The voile strap is always something I can remember at the trailhead. Wrapping the pole with nice comfy, grippy bar tape? That would require me to put in even more effort than it takes to clean up my gear...

I re-used the grip tape off my road bike^^ the tape only gets worn on one edge cuz the other edge is covered by the overlap so you can take it off the bars and reuse it by wrap it on the pole bottom to top with the unused side showing, secure with electrical tape

the reason for wrapping bottom to top is so that when you are gripping/ pulling down on the pole you don't wreck the tape

I put that Cannondale cork tape on the BD flicklock pole several years ago

Great idea for used bar tape. I definitely use the whole pole (that's what she said?) especially when it gets steep and/or sidehilly, I should take the 15 minutes of time to wrap them.

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[XXX-er]

IME used cork road bike bar tape actulay lasts quite a long time on a ski pole and is warmer than gripping an aluminum pole

or you could just thro it out eh

you are to be commended for actualy reading the whole thread

where you seen my post

[cyborg]

I sometimes steal my wife's BD poles from a few years ago. They have a cushy, grippy section below the handle. I haven't looked at current models.

It dawns on me that if comfort is an issue (although the only reason I can think of is a brutally cold day where an aluminum shaft might suck the heat out of your hands), that you could use some bicycle handlebar tape (road bike).

[edit] this thread took off since viewing it on my phone. I just scrolled up and realized that this seems to be what they're doing (not that adding grip material this is rocket surgery). It wasn't as apparent when I viewed it on my phone.

... Thom

I have a pair with a grippy section. It slips all over now. Some safety wire would fix that, or just cut it off and replace it with old bar tape like XXX-er does.

IME used cork road bike bar tape actulay lasts quite a long time on a ski pole and is warmer than gripping an aluminum pole

or you could just thro it out eh

you are to be commended for actualy reading the whole thread

where you seen my post

You can also wrap your tool handles (wrenches, hammers, etc) among other things. Like Thom said, not rocket surgery, but like you imply, much better than the landfill. I've worked at/been around a few bike shops where the policy for "not too thrashed" tape (or the extra from a bar wrap) is to use it to replace the slipping, wearing plastidip on pedal wrenches and such. I just sold my gravel bike (my last "roadie" rig), so I'll have to source from bike shop trash cans from now on.


Another idea, and probably the last thing I can add on this topic, would be reusing silicone grips (ala ESI) from your bike with some safety wire to keep it from slipping and maybe electrical tape underneath to get the pole diameter close to that of a handlebar. Might be pretty comfy?

EDIT: decided I'd give the grips a try. Grabbed some BMX grips from the garage and tried this (see pics.) Don't even think I'll need safety wire. Just used some gorilla tape to add thickness, with a little flaring at the ends to prevent slipping. Bonus is you have your emergency tape under the grips for a SHTF situation.

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