[pct-l] Antishock Trekking Poles

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, Kevin,

Typically, the force applied to a trekking pole is not a pure column load,
meaning not a load applied directly centered on the top end of the grip. The
grip of one’s fist tends to make the entire hand a rigid part of the
pole.  This
is further enhanced when one uses wrist straps.  Under these conditions the
arm force is applied at the center of the wrist joint which is displaced
several inches rearward from the centerline of the pole.  That eccentric,
i.e. off-center, down-force tends to bow the pole forward without any
particular tendency to bend it to either side.  Since the load on the pole
is then asymmetric in the longitudinal direction it is entirely
understandable, from a design standpoint, to make to make the strength of
the pole greater front-to-back vs. side-to-side.    If the long axis of an
elliptical cross-section is in that direction -- good.  If the long axis
were lateral – meaning sideways – I wouldn’t have the foggiest notion what
they are doing.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 11:25 AM, Kevin Cook <hikelite.pctl at gmail.com>wrote:

> Wouldn't an elliptical cross section make them weaker along the wide axis?
> Intuitively it seems a circle is the strongest in all directions. I want my
> poles strong no matter which way I'm falling. :p
>
> Anti shock is probably worth more to the manufacturers as a marketing
> gimmick than it is to hikers.
>
> Mine have anti shock. Would I car did it didn't? No. Might be lighter. I
> think a collapse le pole without it might be ideal, but mine don't feel
> heavy, so anti shock is just a bonus. Can't hurt. Might help.
>
> Misspellings and typos brought to you by iPhone.
>
> On Apr 10, 2011, at 7:56 AM, "Peter Shaw" <pshaw999 at cox.net> wrote:
>
> > Black Diamond Contour. They also don't have those unreliable twist locks.
> > They have cam locks that do not slip when the pole is put under a lot of
> > pressure. The cross section is elliptical, not round, and that adds to
> their
> > strength without adding undue weight.
> >
> > I have had anti-shock poles for the reason Chuck suggests - they seemed
> like
> > a good idea at the time. But I never found them to have any benefit and I
> > wouldn't go back to them.
> >
> > Peanut Eater
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:
> pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
> > On Behalf Of giniajim
> > Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 7:24 AM
> > To: CHUCK CHELIN; Eric Cook
> > Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] Antishock Trekking Poles
> >
> > Does anyone know of collapsible (or take-apart) poles that do *not* have
> the
> > anti-shock feature?
> >
> >  ----- Original Message -----
> >  From: CHUCK CHELIN
> >  To: Eric Cook
> >  Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> >  Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 10:20 AM
> >  Subject: Re: [pct-l] Antishock Trekking Poles
> >
> >
> >  Good morning, Eric,
> >
> >  I'm with Shroomer, Yoshihiro, and probably a minority of other
> > long-distance
> >  hikers:  I don't like the trekking pole anti-shock feature.  I say
> >  "minority" because my impression is that's the case.  I speculate many
> >  select anti-shock poles because they don't really think about it, or
> don't
> >  have the experience to guide a choice.  Besides, marketers and peddlers
> >  strongly favor this lucrative up-sell.
> >
> >  Some of my reasoning can be seen at:
> >
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-December/044063.html
> >
> >  Steel-Eye
> >
> >  Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT - 1965
> >
> >  http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> >
> >  http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
> >
> >
> >  On Sat, Apr 9, 2011 at 11:04 PM, Eric Cook <ericccook at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi, I have been wondering if more long distance hikers prefer to have
> >> anti-shock, shock absorbing, Trekking Poles or if it ends up just being
> > a
> >> problem? I am just trying to make a decision on the poles. Thanks for
> > any
> >> advice.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Eric
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