[pct-l] pole maintance

[Tortoise]

Worse yet, a collapsing pole turning a stumble into a serious fall.

My old Leki titanium poles do slip a little but then I readjust and tighten 
again. I also bent one lower section last year when I stumbled and fell 
climbing over and thru some blowdown. Straitened the section and it is 
still going strong, though maybe not quite as strong as before I bent it.

Tortoise

<> Because truth matters! <>

On 10/28/10 19:41, CHUCK CHELIN wrote:
> Good evening, all,
>
>
> I have a different view of pole section locks based upon the aggravation of
> twice having lower pole sections buckle badly, then break when I attempted
> to straighten them.
>
>
> Over the years I’ve often had twist-locks slip a bit when I have to lean on
> them heavily over rough ground.  The slippage was usually only an inch or
> two, and rarely as much as 6-8 inches.  It was no big deal; I just quickly
> readjusted and continued on the trail.  There was never a structural
> failure.
>
>
>
> A couple of years ago I bought a pair whose manufacturer claimed for them an
> enhanced twist-lock mechanism to resist any such slipping – and resist
> slipping they certainly did.  I leaned heavily on one pole on Fuller Ridge
> and indeed it did not slip – instead the lower section buckled to a 45
> degree angle.  The same thing happened again north of Tehachapi Pass, but
> this time it was complete breakage.
>
>
>
> I view the locks as a stress limiter; a safety valve, if you will.  I would
> much sooner readjust occasionally – seldom more often than once a week –
> than have the lower section suffer a catastrophic column failure
> necessitating replacement of the section or possible the entire pole, or
> pair of poles.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
>
> On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 6:56 PM, greg mushial<gmushial at gmdr.com>  wrote:
>
>>> Message: 7
>>> Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:10:22 -0700
>>> From:<ned at mountaineducation.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] pole maintance
>>> To: "Amanda L Silvestri"<aslive at sbcglobal.net>
>>> Cc: PCT MailingList<pct-l at backcountry.net>
>>> Message-ID:<BC790FDBB2974E49AE87BF6564D654BA at PacificCrestPC>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8";
>>> reply-type=original
>>>
>>> The twist-lock poles we product-tested this spring failed miserably,
>> where
>>> the cam-locks held every time we fell against them in time of need! You
>>> should have seen the inventive ways other hikers used to keep their
>>> twist-locks from compressing--even denting them because the duct tape
>>> slipped.
>>>
>>
>> This was the only way I found to keep the twist-locked poles from
>> collapsing - which they always did at the most inopportune time
>>
>> http://www.harborfreight.com/150-piece-hitch-clip-assortment-96243.html
>>
>> either a small hole through both poles, pinning the together, or a small
>> hole through the lower half, with hitch pin as a stop, keeping the upper
>> portion from descending past it. Both were suboptimal, but "worked" -
>> pinning them together was somewhat stronger. (a scribed line aroiund the
>> bottom half at the bottom of the top half helped in reinserting the pins if
>> one had to collapse the poles for shipping - this is assuming pinning the
>> two halves together; with pins in the lower half as a stop this wasn't
>> necessary.)
>> TheDuck
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Just remember, Be Careful out there!"
>>>
>>> Ned Tibbits, Director
>>> Mountain Education
>>> 1106A Ski Run Blvd
>>> South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
>>>     P: 888-996-8333
>>>     F: 530-541-1456
>>>     C: 530-721-1551
>>
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