Which touring pole do I want?

[::: :::]

I don’t think I’ve ever changed the length on my BD alum flick lock poles

This year I picked up a pair of folkrm’s I found discounted before xmas. It will be interesting to see how they go at 10cm extra
If it ever snows properly…

[singlesline]

Yeah it takes 30sec and i can adj in mid stride while chewing gum but alot of people have never evolved to pole adjustment, Lou Dawson was rabidly anti-adj-pole even tho it was his job to use the stuff and write about it

IME lengthening a pole to maybe 130 is great for skin tracks where the track has stayed hard and raised but the snow on either side has sunk

almost all the aluminium/ CF poles I have seen had the carbon on the lowers I only seen an aluminium lower/ carbon top once and I forget the brand

There are a few out there like these: https://www.utahskigear.com/products...able-ski-poles
https://www.coloradoskishop.com/K2-L...-p/ljcaeva.htm

It isn't a huge deal either way, most alu poles are fine, and carbon can be made plenty durable on non-UL ploles...but I skinned up the resort early this season with a pair of alu BD trekking poles with hard cork-based grips and I hated it...noticeably more vibration and hand fatigue. Found my carbon+eva komperdell poles the next day and it was much comfier on equally hard snow.

[bennymac]

Gotta say that extendable poles and kick wax have been a godsend for me more than once on long flats for entry/exit.

Absolutely- I have adjustable poles available for just that reason. But 99.99% of the time (for me - everyone is different and lives and skis in different areas) I go with fixed length.

Adjustable poles if your day involves long flats? Yes of course.

Adjusting you poles up and down midway up a climb? Never once felt the need.

[3PinGrin]

Absolutely- I have adjustable poles available for just that reason. But 99.99% of the time (for me - everyone is different and lives and skis in different areas) I go with fixed length.

Adjustable poles if your day involves long flats? Yes of course.

Adjusting you poles up and down midway up a climb? Never once felt the need.

Yeah, concur with that. I usually adjust them once for the climb then drop them down a bit for the descent.

[plugboots]

IME poles are more than 'just sticks'. Amazing tools that add or subtract to the experience, I've tried all brands and most models.

Spring volcano performance season: https://www.leki.com/int/en/Guide-Li...arbon/65227381

Big fan of the Leki’s. It’s the one sided stiff basket that we like for firm steep skin tracks.

[Sargentdrufus]

These poles are pretty special definitely an attention getter on the up track

[FloridaSnow]

These poles are pretty special definitely an attention getter on the up track

no ones stealing those and not getting noticed. Lol

[XXX-er]

back in the day an aqaintence had his poles taken so he just grabbed another set off the rack but he gets caught, the guy who had his poles taken is pissed so at apres ski he starts yelling in the bar that buddy had taken his poles

The ski hill band was pretty good that saturday, they were mid set when the guy starts yelling so without missing a beat the lead singer spontaneously breaks into Hall and Oates " Maneater " but he changed the words to " pole stealer "

the takeaway here is DO NOT EVER TAKE THE WRONG POLES

[centralparkskiclub]

Shorty-J hopefully this link is helpful. Happy to answer any questions!

https://www.centralparkskiclub.com/g...l-instructions

[ktoor]

Shorty-J hopefully this link is helpful. Happy to answer any questions!

https://www.centralparkskiclub.com/g...l-instructions

just saw these on THR. sweet stuff. if anyone in BC is interested id be down to split shipping.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[skaredshtles]

Outlet has an extra 30% off currently, bringing the price for these full carbon poles to <$65 with free shipping. Stated weight for 135cm is 175g. My BD Flicklock Carbon and Dynafit Tour adjustable poles (carbon bottom, aluminum upper) are both 245g per pole. The BD's have some extra bike tape between upper and lower grip, so they are prob a few grams lighter if stripped of this.

Saving 70g per pole is pretty substantial. We'll see if they hold up. Should go well with BD Carbon Megawatts if we ever get snow.

Picked up a pair of these since I was in the market after breaking *both* my BD poles last season. Holy shit are these light. We'll see how long they last.

[hopelesslyadolescent]

Outlet has an extra 30% off currently, bringing the price for these full carbon poles to <$65 with free shipping. Stated weight for 135cm is 175g. My BD Flicklock Carbon and Dynafit Tour adjustable poles (carbon bottom, aluminum upper) are both 245g per pole. The BD's have some extra bike tape between upper and lower grip, so they are prob a few grams lighter if stripped of this.

Saving 70g per pole is pretty substantial. We'll see if they hold up. Should go well with BD Carbon Megawatts if we ever get snow.

Picked up a pair of these too. First fixed length I've used in the bc and first carbon. Crazy light. I've only toured on them four times this very late starting season, but I like them more each time out.

[bossass]

I got older carbon adjustable Scepters from BCA that I like. That windshield wiper thing on them good for scraping snow off topsheets.

Currently running the newer Salomon carbon adjustables with the big, thick foamy grip. Swingweight is as good as any carbon adjustable pole I've had. Like the big comfy grips. Only downside I've identified, that's a real niche use case, is that if you're getting pulled behind a sled and holding your poles like a waterski handle through a loop in a rope... those thick-daddy foam grips together make for a real fat handle that fatigues your hands faster than a handle made of normal girth poles. Like clinging to a 2x4. Also, mine didn't come with the GoPro mount on top like Cody's have. I guess my "THE TEN most common ski tours in the PNW" youtube project going to have wait until I can sort that out.

Side rant: Companies need to chill the F out with powder baskets. The new BCAs are asymmetrical with some dumb tool thing (I guess) on the basket (that's what the wiper blade on the handle is for, y'all) and the above-mentioned Salomon's also have an asymmetrical basket that twists. Presumably, you'd have the short side facing forward, like the basket on some touring XC ski poles, but the things twist any which way and stress out my niche OCD for orientation/symmetry. I've been running some older BD powder baskets on the Salomons and like those much better. Noticed the Benchetler poles in this thread also have some kind of Robocop meets Mad Max baskets... just chiiiiiiilllllllllll. I think the BD pow baskets from like 8-12 years ago (they've also, sadly, "upgraded" them to something that's not as asthetically pleasing) were the pinnacle of pow basket design.

Second side rant: I know all the functional benefits of a fixed-length touring pole, and agree they are (marginal) benefits, but nobody looks good skiiing downhill choked down on those things and the dorkiness far negates any functional benefits. They are the five-finger shoe of ski poles. Don't @ me.

[plugboots]

but the things twist any which way and stress out my niche OCD for orientation/symmetry. I've been running some older BD powder baskets on the Salomons and like those much better. Noticed the Benchetler poles in this thread also have some kind of Robocop meets Mad Max baskets...

I fixed my BD baskets by putting a screw or some thing as I recall so they wouldn’t spin, but the Leki baskets do not spin. The wide part is always facing backwards. That’s part of why they’re so cool.

[XXX-er]

I got older carbon adjustable Scepters from BCA that I like. That windshield wiper thing on them good for scraping snow off topsheets.

Currently running the newer Salomon carbon adjustables with the big, thick foamy grip. Swingweight is as good as any carbon adjustable pole I've had. Like the big comfy grips. Only downside I've identified, that's a real niche use case, is that if you're getting pulled behind a sled and holding your poles like a waterski handle through a loop in a rope... those thick-daddy foam grips together make for a real fat handle that fatigues your hands faster than a handle made of normal girth poles.
.

being pulled behind a sled with any waterski like handle is gona suck so if you know you will be towing behind a sled the way to do it is bring an old mtn bike tube, biner it in a loop around yer butt

tie a small loop in the rope about 3 ft from the end, put rope thru the biner, back to the loop, back to your hand will give enough reduction so you can easily hold it with one hand, the rope is now pulling down lower and the innertube is taking some shock so its much easier to ride a very long way and if shit goes sideway just let go of the rope

i would slide poles between my back and my pack for this ^^ maneuver leaving 2 hands free

[North]

Should've jumped on those BD carbons. Oh well. I'll just continue using Scott Team Issue with BD baskets like I have for the past 15 szns.

[skis_the_trees]

BD Vapor Carbon Poles.... weight for 135cm is 175g. My BD Flicklock Carbon and Dynafit Tour adjustable poles (carbon bottom, aluminum upper) are both 245g per pole. The BD's have some extra bike tape between upper and lower grip, so they are prob a few grams lighter if stripped of this.

Saving 70g per pole is pretty substantial. We'll see if they hold up. Should go well with BD Carbon Megawatts if we ever get snow.

I used these poles yesterday for about 5k of pow touring paired with 120mm BD Carbon Megawatts (1860g w/ bindings - great combo with these poles). TLDR: They are awesome. They are noticeably light but actually stiffer than the aluminum equivalent. I've nerded out before on bindings and other kit to save less weight for more money. I'm only about 175lbs w/o gear and don't anticipate any durability issues having spent 10+y on BD carbon adjustable poles.

If anyone missed out on the Campsaver sale for the aluminum equivalent (still nice, basically the same for a small wt penalty) mine are for sale!

[oltrepiave]

aside from the always reliable scott team issues i've had a pretty decent experience with line paintbrush poles.
baskets are pretty decent, love the MTB grip, aluminum feels good. That grab tab thingy also comes in handy frequently (eg. flipping heel risers)

paid 30is euros for them, second season and they still work pretty well

[::: :::]

I don’t think I’ve ever changed the length on my BD alum flick lock poles

This year I picked up a pair of folkrm’s I found discounted before xmas. It will be interesting to see how they go at 10cm extra
If it ever snows properly…

day one: basket came off, not a good start

folkrm replaced it free after reaching out to CS — they didn’t have to, but they did. And I appreciate the effort to make it good.

Of note for anyone interested in the folkrm product, get their v2 product with the locking baskets. The original product is threaded and got a lot of review noise for falling off. So much that when I went looking for replacements, they were out of stock. I was unaware for the updated design so I naturally picked the wrong one when purchasing. They did offer to just upgrade me entirely, but I was happy with the fix (elec tape in the threads to lock the basket in).

On use: it is a little weird to have the tall pole & strap up above my hand skiing, but it isn’t fundamentally problematic. I’ve always tucked straps under my hand anyway (ie not really used them unless in a long traverse). The extra length when skinning/skating is pretty nice.