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[pct-l] Superer Secrets - Hiking Poles



Hey Switchback

Thanks for your posts.  I hear you're time to the Kick Off with a tips and
tricks and weigh the gear table.  Looking forward to that one.


I've never seen proper use of trekking poles listed before.  I'm a little
dissapointed in myself to find out I've been using mine the wrong way  :).

I use the REI UL made by Komperdell (11.2 oz per pair before adjustment)
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=400000
08000&productId=47873584&parent_category_rn=4500699.  Near Snoqualomine
this year I noticed Billy Goat used the same poles without the REI name on
them and minor variations.  He had REMOVED the straps.
"Only in the way" he said.  Wow.  They are!  A few thousand miles with mine
"in the way,"  I shipped them home.  Under 11 ozs now with the snow baskets
on! (they're not just for snow).  The best part?  There's plenty of places
where I carry my poles for a short time.  Times when the tips don't belong
on the ground.  When I use them again, I toss them up and grab the hand
grips.  With the straps on, I'm guarenteed the weight distribution with the
straps on will throw the handles 90 to 180 degrees from their proper grip
position.  Then I have to alkwardly readjust.  Without the
straps........................ easy flip with a slight readjustment.  
Also, straps on, or hanging to the side, in the dessert, the constant rub
20-25 miles a day, I had dried worn hands with deep cracks.  The strap
contact and rubbing were part of the cause and a big part of the irritation
and non-healing afterward. Duct tape helped.

I've also had a recurring problem with trekking poles that, with a lot of
use, no longer locked in place.  I was on a constant exchange program with
REI, because their experts had no solution.  The day before I ran into
Billy Goat in Washington, I watched Triple Crowner Ronnie from Israel show
another hiker how to readjust the screw mechanisms and solve the problem. 
Amazing what these Triple crowners can teach that the experts don't know.

I'm not saying "Don't use straps."  They have pluses too.  I'm saying "I
don't carry straps."
"There is no right nor wrong, just thinking that makes it so."  -William
Shakespeare
"Some people like chocolate, some vanilla."  -Thomas Dunkley

See you at the Kick Off

Warner Springs Monty


> [Original Message]
> From: <Hiker97@aol.com>
> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> Cc: <Rattlesnake5648@Yahoo.com>; <carolwbruno@yahoo.com>
> Date: 10/9/2005 5:53:07 AM
> Subject: [pct-l] Super Secrets - Hiking Poles
>
> HIKING POLES: I like to use two of them for better balance protection (I
am  
> old and need help) and they are supposed to take some load off your back
while 
>  you hike.  I do not know about this last one, but I like them.  I use 
the 
> REI #720046 poles.  
>  
> Be sure not to extend the lower pole section all the way to the last 
marker. 
>  It can snap/bend out of the tube if you stumble on the trail and  put a
lot 
> of pressure on the pole. Just leave several inches of the bottom pole 
section 
> in the tube and then duct tape it in place.  Adjust the upper  section of
the 
> poles so your arms are 90 degrees to the pole on level  ground.  I never 
> bother to readjust for going up or down hills.  
>  
> Also, almost everyone you meet on the trail will be USING THEIR POLES 
WRONG. 
>  Slide your hand up the pole shaft and through the pole strap.   Then
grab 
> the pole grip and adjust the strap so it is snug.  The wide part  of the
pole 
> strap should be across the part of your hand below the little  finger. 
It is 
> the proper strap use that is the key to using the pole for  extra support.
>  
> Your hiking buddy, Switchback
> Trail Pirate, Bear Baiter, and Camp Ruffian
>
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