Been thinking about getting a pair of trekking poles to take a little weight off the knees. They'd also come in handy as supports for my summer tarp shelter. I've been looking at the Leki Ultralight Ergo set, REI has them for about $110. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hi LED

I recently got a pair of Carbonlite Poles at a UK company called Alpkit for £35 about $70. (They are now £40, about $80 though)

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16154&category_id=251

For a review

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/3480/v/1/sp/354161394690602739618

Alpkit does ship Internationally.

Well last year I trekked for the first time with pair of Leki Titanium poles and uphill didn't make much difference but for my downhill game I was amazed on how much they can do. My pair is telescopic so from now on when going up they ride compact in the pack and I take them out on my way down.

I have some older Leki poles, which are light and yet have been used for things they weren't intended, and still hold up. If you like the Ultralight Ergo, I know that EMS had them in their Memorial Day sale for $93, I think it's still on until tomorrow (6/5), might save you a couple bucks:

http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442593131&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302875694&bmUID=1181008930521

If you've never hiked with poles before, you might want to borrow a pair first, and take a hike with them. Some folks never take to them, and you can figure that out with some $19.99 poles, rather than spending a Franklin on them and having them sit in the closet. I have hiked for a long time with a hand carved hickory stick, much of the time that's really all you need, and there's nothing like having a walking stick that you carved on your own.

Thats good to know, downhill is where I could really use them as that seems to be the hardest on the knees.


And thanks everyone for the links and suggestions.

And Ron, I do like wood hiking sticks and have used them off and on over the years. The only problem is portability. Going uphill I didn't really need it (or prefer it). I figure with the telescoping poles I can just strap them to my pack if needed.

The question now is which material has the best strength to weight ratio, Titanium? Even though the carbon ones were the lightest it felt like they might break too easily.

I'm a huge fan of trekking poles. Once you start using them, it's hard to imagine how you hiked without them. I've gone through a few pairs, I started with some cheap aluminum poles from Target, my current set is the Mad Rock carbon fiber, which weigh about half of what my first set did.

If you're just starting out, pick up a pair at Walmart for $10 each, they're heavy, but pretty durable, and if you decide they're not for you, then you haven't lost that much. The ultralight poles are really nice, but you do have to be a little more careful with them, a wrong placement could easily break them. It will also give you a chance to learn how to properly use them. There are some techniques to learn that will make it much more efficient than just using them as two walking sticks. Notice I always talk about them in pairs, they work much better as a pair than individual poles.

Oh yeah model I had was Makalu...

As far as the carbon goes. You would have to do some pretty crazy stuff to make the pole break. They may bend but I did some pretty stupid things with my poles while skiing and didn't break them.

I think that carbon is also more expensive but if you can afford it get them.

I have a pair of the Leki Ultralight trekking poles: I mail ordered them from REI since the closest store is a 3.5 hour drive away for me.

I think trekking poles require a personal fit: I don't particularly like how the Leki Ultralights fit in my hand. If you can actually go into a store and feel them, you might love or hate them.

I decided to keep them since they do the job and they are light weight and strong.

Justin

If you do make a walking stave, make it tall enough. The knowledgable survivor makes it taller than he is but within a comfortable reach with his arm. If it's too short you may have the problem of hitting your face with the end when leaning down. You may look like Gandalf the Grey carrying his magic wand but there are many advantages of carrying a long stave like having more reach in testing the terrain in dense bush and fending off a skunk or Bart the bear for instance.

There was also a pretty informative discussion a while back here .

Good luck,
Jason

Thanks jason, I read that old thread and it looks like although foam may feel comfortable, the rubber and/or cork grips are the way to go.

If you are using them properly, the material and type of grip isn't as important as you might think. Most of the weight will be supported by your wrist using the strap, so the grip is really just to pick up the pole and place it again. So pick one with the comfortable wrist straps, not the most comfortable grip. I don't really notice much of a difference between the soft foam and the hard plastic grips on mine.

I just bought a pair of poles on eBay. They were sold as "ski walking" poles. $69. Not collapsible. 130cm, I think (yes, I am that tall). Made by SWIX in Norway.

The seller was real nice, he even threw in an extra set of rubber tips for free after he had to tell me he didn't have the carbon fiber versions I originally ordered (carbon fiber poles were $79).

If you google "ski walking" his site is the first hit. So far, I like them a lot, but I haven't done any serious hiking with them.

I agree the "proper" way to use poles is to heavily rely on the wrist straps. Manufacturers/pro-staff give instructions about proper strap use in line with the above, and I'm sure it is more efficent. I just don't like the feeling of a properly tightened strap. I think because I feel like my hands are tied. While they really take strain off of hands and forearms by reducing grip pressure requirements, I just don't like the feeling.

For me, grip material is very important. To each his own, for sure. Everyone's different and you gotta go what your comfortable with. It's awesome to see different takes on things!! Helps us all find what works.

m