[pct-l] New Hiking Poles Arrived

[Hiker97 at aol.com]

_Tortoise73 at charter.net_ (mailto:Tortoise73 at charter.net)  writes  about the 
REI poles:
1. Grips are in-line / straight with the shaft. Which means  one's wrist 
bends and flexes much more than a slanted ergonometric grip like the  Lekis. I've 
found this important as I have carpal-tunnel syndrome and/or  arthritis in my 
wrists which leads to pain with straight grips.
2. I  used to have a pair of poles with the shock-absorbing feature. Found it 
to be a  hindrance rather than a help. When I plant a pole, I like the solid 
feeling of a  non shock-absorbing pole and no give when I 
need to put a lot of weight on  it to maintain balance.  Usually as I walk, I 
alternately swing each pole  forward and let the tip drop onto the ground 
with one pole swing to two steps.  This provides balance without any shock.
-------------------------------------------
Good points.  But I have used straight line grips/poles for many  years and 
never had a problem.  I think it is a personal thing.   Again, the years of 
pole use have been with the shock absorbing feature.   No problem at all.  One 
thing is there is wear and tear on the sliding  mechanism, so you have to repair 
that every 4 or 5 years.  It takes some  oil to keep it sliding well.  
Outside of that, they work fine for me  with no problems.

 
Cheers, Switchback the Pole



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