[pct-l] Hiking Pole Grips

[Ned Tibbits]

Hey, Mango!

Would you tell us more about that "unplanned swim" in Miller Creek (the one 
west of Tahoe?)? How did it happen and could it have been avoided and how?



Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jim & Jane Moody
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 4:15 PM
To: CHUCK CHELIN
Cc: PCT listserve
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hiking Pole Grips



Speaking of grips ... I learned the hard way to wash them off at least once 
a day in a creek, preferably late in the afternoon.  Somewhere near Dicks 
Pass in 2011 I woke up to find my wrist straps gone and the grips chewed up. 
A salt-craving critter or two had feasted during the night; one grip was ab 
out a foot from my head, holding up the Lunar Solo tent.  That's when I 
realized that I was a sound sleeper.


Two days later I lost one pole in Miller Creek, when I went for an unplanned 
swim and had to let go of the pole to grab a passing branch.  Now I'm 
smarter than I was.



Mango
----- Original Message -----
From: "CHUCK CHELIN" <steeleye at wildblue.net>
To: "PCT listserve" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 4:12:17 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Hiking Pole Grips

Good afternoon,

Over the years I’ve used three basic types of hiking pole grips:  Dense
foam, hard plastic, and composite cork.  I well realize that all three are
– mostly – some form of polymer, i.e. “plastic”, but the nature of plastic
varies.

The dense foam grips were among the most comfortable that I’ve used.  They
had good cushioning, they had a surface that didn’t require a choke-hold
for the hand to stay in place, they didn’t encourage a sweaty hand to slip
around, and they didn’t show any noticeable wear.  The shortcoming of this
material began to be apparent soon into the Sierra.  After about a week the
adhesive that held the foam in place on the pole disengaged and the whole
grip began to slip up and down and around making them unusable for me .  I
believe the culprit was DEET:  It didn’t seem to degrade the actual foam,
but I believe the DEET did migrate through the foam to attack the glue.  I’m
not certain of that, but it seems more than a coincidence that the problem
began only a few days after I began using DEET at Death Creek.

The hard, molded, black plastic grips were on a moderately low-priced pair
of poles.  They weren’t the really cheap, slick plastic; and they had
molded-in texture that felt quite good.  Again, the problem began with the
use of DEET; it directly degraded the plastic surface and my hands were
always black with residue wherever I touched the grip.  It was pretty awful.

The composite cork is – I believe – made with some kind of moldable plastic
mixed with ground-up cork or ersatz cork.  The plastic base was a tan color
to more-or-less match the color of cork.  These have performed the best for
me.  If there has been any degradation from DEET I haven’t noticed it.  They
do seem to become darker in color over time – probably from ground-in hand
grime – but what isn’t grimy on a long-distance hiker?

I don’t think there’s any way a purchaser can be sure about the effect of
DEET without actually giving them a try, so I’m going to try to limit
myself to using name-brands with composite grips.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
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