[pct-l] getting steamy...

[John Abela]

 > John, Paul  -  I'm old school, still walk w/o poles...  but I'm wondering if
> there is a trust question in first using such light poles, ie, "how can
> something so light bear any load"...  does one find themself using them
> gingerly at first? [generaly I've been expecting to continue to hike
> poleless...  but a couple comments here on the list about using them to
> cross blowdowns - from experience sounds like that extra "leg" would make
> life easier..  and adding 6oz to one's entire kit weight, doesn't sound
> excessive....  still living, still learning.]
> TheDuck

Hello,

When I originally got my GG LT4's I did treat them with a bit of "over
protectiveness" I guess you could say from some perspective.

At the time they were one of my more expensive pieces of gear (now
they are about 80% down the list on my gear list, sorted by price) so
the last thing I wanted to do was break one.

Plus all of horror stories I had read about how people snapped them
just made me all the more cautious.

Now that I have had them for awhile I pretty much treat them without
any more extra care than any other piece of gear I take with me, with
the exception of my sleeping bag which gets the utmost of care.

I can very much understand why people 'snap them' because I have
almost done it myself once. When I first started using them I would
have situations where most poles break/bend - that is, you are walking
along, the pole end gets stuck between two rocks (or in my case here
in the Redwood forest, between a couple of roots) and in your natural
course of walking your pole stays where they are because they get
wedged, and you keep walking... and, snap.

So what I learned is to subconsciously be able to very quickly let go
of my pole if I feel/sense the slightly amount of pressure from the
pole not coming up off the ground. It took me maybe 4 miles of using
it to train myself.

What this also taught me is that buying the ones without the handle
strap is the best way to go (which are the ones I bought) because I
can totally see how if you had them strapped to your wrist and they
get stuck and you do not immediately stop... yeah, they are going to
break, its just the way things work.

As for adding 6oz to the entire kit... the GG LT4's are 7.2 ounces per pair.

As for whether the LT4's can safe you on a fall... yes. My LT4's have
saved me ending up on my butt more times than I can count. A couple of
times I have put my full weight (200lbs+pack weight) on just a single
one of them in order to save me from falling. Even if one cracked or
whatever during such a situation, to me, it would be worth the
expenses (both in monetary value and ounces carried for all the miles)
if it meant they died in an honorable act of saving me from falling.

For anybody who does not like hiking with two poles, but instead
prefer just a single pole, my recommendation is to go with a
"LuxuryLite Big Stik 60-inch" - it would provide you amazing support
for stream crossing or setting up a tarp if you only have one tree, or
a whole host of other things.

John