RE: [pct-l] Trekking Poles vs. Ski Poles

["Eric Lee (Office)" <elee@MICROSOFT.com>]

Greg wrote:
>
I have heard alot about the benefit of poles.  Owen points out one 
possible drawback of the standard ski pole, has anyone else found a large 
benefit of the trekking poles over standard ski poles, or vice versa?

The ski poles cost me $10.  I find it difficult to justify the $80 - $125 
that I see trekking poles for.
>

I guess it depends on your budget and how often you intend to use them.  I'd
say that $10 ski poles will get you at least 80% of the benefits.  So is the
other 20% worth another $100?  Depends on who you ask.  It was worth it for
me, but certainly not for everyone.

Specifically, the features I appreciate in my Leki Super Makalus are:
1.  Adjustable wrist straps.  That's pretty much a given with any pole,
trekking or ski, but I thought I'd mention it because it's the straps that
really make the poles work.  Supporting your weight via your hand grip all
day would suck.  Your weight should be supported mostly by the straps across
your palms, with your fingers just providing guidance.  Note to skiers: when
you're skiing the straps are there mostly to keep them from getting lost in
a crash, but when hiking the straps are there to bear your weight.  Not
everyone knows that.
2.  Positive-angle grips, meaning that the handles are not straight up and
down in line with the shaft, but are bent at an angle.  When you hold the
handles in the most comfortable, neutral position for your wrist, the tips
of the poles stick out in front of you where you want them.  Over the course
of a PCT hike, I think that would save your wrists from a lot of punishment.
If you've had problems with tendonitis or RSI in your wrists, I *highly*
recommend this feature.  I think some ski poles also have angled grips.
3.  Adjustible length.  It's really nice to shorten the poles on long
uphills and lengthen them on long downhills so that I can maintain a
more-or-less upright posture at all times.  (I don't bother to adjust them
for short hills.)  I can collapse them and easily stow them on my pack when
I don't want them.  And finally, they work as tent poles in designs like the
Nomad tarp/tent.  I don't think fixed-length poles would work unless you got
them exactly the right length.  I've never had a problem with a pole
collapsing on me, and I put my weight on them pretty aggressively.
4.  Carbide tips.  They grab and stick on wet, slipperly rocks in a way that
an ordinary aluminum tip can't.  In those places where your footing is
precarious (like stream crossings), these are good to have.

Suprisingly, I'm ambivalent about the spring action in most trekking poles.
I don't think it's really necessary (for me, anyway).  My Lekis allow me to
adjust the spring action from none to half to full, and I often have it set
to none, mostly because they're a lot quieter that way.  The springs can be
noisy!  I will sometimes turn on the spring action on long downhills,
because that's when my arms take the biggest beating.

Eric
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