[pct-l] Trekking poles?

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good evening, Gerry,

I think poles are great, but not everyone likes them.  As I age and become
less panther-like in my coordination I’ve come to appreciate them greatly.

For a beginning user an inexpensive pair may be a good answer to avoid
laying out big bucks before knowing for sure if they will be liked.  Some
experienced hikers I know buy old ski poles from the thrift store and they
like them.

Inexpensive poles will be heavier than the “good” ones because they are made
from lower-strength alloys:  The ones I use are titanium alloy or carbon
fiber and weigh 16 oz. or less per pair.  Inexpensive poles are likely to
have hard, poor-feeling, plastic grips or grips made of short-life open cell
foam.  In addition to what I think is a poor feel, those materials seem to
be greatly affected by DEET insect repellent which softens the material and
usually turns one’s hands black.  Also, inexpensive poles are likely to have
steel or aluminum tips which wear very quickly compared to the more common
tungsten carbide insert tips.

The question of energy management is interesting.  Many of these poles are
marketed to casual hikers who are exercising to lose weight.  For them any
claim of increased energy usage is an attractive plus, but for a serious
long-distance hiker I don’t accept that idea.  Upper body muscles are really
no more, or less, efficient than lower-body muscles at converting Calories
to trail distance.  More Calories are consumed with poles probably because
more distance is covered; if only because walking with good balance is more
efficient than stumbling along.

To that I’ll add one caveat: Weight does matter.  Adding 16 oz. to my
overall mass does proportionately increase my energy consumption;
uncompensated by additional distance traveled.  Laws of physics really are
laws – not suggestions.

I don’t use poles with the anti-shock feature.  It adds weight and doesn’t
do anything useful for me.
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 Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 7:57 PM, Devon Taig <devon.taig at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've always managed to find ultra-light cross country ski poles (I just
> carry one) at Goodwill's / Salvation Army stores.  Dirt cheap.  **BUT** I
> actually had one confiscated from me by TSA...the pole was deemed to be a
> separate piece of luggage and therefore they wanted $25 (which I found
> ridiculous of course), so I thought I'd just carry it on the plane.  I
> tried
> to go through security with it, but apparently it was too sharp to be a
> "safe" carry-on (which was even more preposterous).  I was imagining the
> headlines..."Cross-country ski pole wielding pacifist hiker - TERROR in the
> skies!".
>
> As a side note, my favorite game while waiting for rides while hitch-hiking
> into towns is to play base-ball with my walking stick and little road-side
> pebbles.  This is extremely challenging (my batting average being .005 last
> season).
>
> River
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