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Choosing the correct poles

crgildart

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All in all, $50+ dollars for poles is a difficult sell to me. Especially when my high utility features are now gone. I see a stick, albeit a very durable stick with a little plastic or hard rubber grip and cheap strap, maybe a nice basket. Adjustable ones add some utility.. but selling me "swing weight" ain't gonna fly. I have so many different kinds of poles, other than length after the third turn they all feel the same to me when it comes to timing and swing. Heck bigger/thinner gloves have more of a weight difference than poles do..

Give me a barrel of $5.00 thrift store poles in good lengths for different functions and color choices to match the rest of my gear like jackets and pants also nice to match in addition to performance, style is a plus with gear for me..
 

Ron

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I value swing weight over everything else so its really a matter of preference I guess. But hey, i wear $19.00 ski gloves :roflmao:
 

Daves not here

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I have random sets of cheap poles and as they bend or break I swap. I found a pair of old reflex poles with the thick anatomical grips (one set with straps and one with none) - and I found I love the thick grips. So now I am swapping those grips to the next set of poles as needed.
 

markojp

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Minor Considerations:

Breakaway straps for trees/BC skiing too.

Most important attributes:

They HAVE to match the color of the skis you use them with,

Former: or better yet, no straps at all. Latter: :martini: yup. ogsmile
 

Don in Morrison

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My first consideration when buying new poles is finding one that fits my Scott strapless grips, circa 1974. Yep, I'm that guy. Then I pick one that is the same length as what I've been using since those cars rusting out behind the farmer's barn were new.
 

James

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All in all, $50+ dollars for poles is a difficult sell to me. Especially when my high utility features are now gone. I see a stick, albeit a very durable stick with a little plastic or hard rubber grip and cheap strap, maybe a nice basket. Adjustable ones add some utility.. but selling me "swing weight" ain't gonna fly. I have so many different kinds of poles, other than length after the third turn they all feel the same to me when it comes to timing and swing. Heck bigger/thinner gloves have more of a weight difference than poles do..

Give me a barrel of $5.00 thrift store poles in good lengths for different functions and color choices to match the rest of my gear like jackets and pants also nice to match in addition to performance, style is a plus with gear for me..
Well this makes sense. As I recall your boots were $45? Usually boots should be more than poles.
I might even still ski the vintage Kermas but they've no straps and their nice classic baskets I gave to @Doug Briggs.
I have probably 5 or 6 pairs of usable poles. In general I use the Scott wcup aluminum slalom poles. But I also like the Swix Carbon non racing poles but they need to be cut shorter again. I also greatly prefer the Scott straps.

The poles in Chamonix with the blue rubber foam grip down most of the shaft were cool. Should've taken a photo.
 

crgildart

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Well this makes sense. As I recall your boots were $45? Usually boots should be more than poles.

And I've got almost as many pairs of boots as I have poles, Scarpa tele boots in brown, Lange retro day boots grey with blue trim, Rossi casual day skiing boots in gray, stiffer, tight fitting RED race boots, and the older Rossi carving boots also in gray I was never all that happy with but still put about 80-90 days on.. In the end they were just too narrow for my feet. Each pair was $50 or less delivered or thrift stored. Each pair came with totally unmarked soles, essentially brand new, skied a week tops except the tele boots, those were "loved" and still are. I would like to swap out my softer rec skiing boots for a pair of slightly stiffer freestyle boots with less forward lean than the race boots.. and in a different color, preferably GREEN

Like ski quivers, pole quiver and boot quiver for different conditions and disciplines

Most importantly, You've qot to coordinate!

5765360090_bb77ab06e1_o.png
 

Rainbow Jenny

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I have a pair of Black Diamond carbon adjustables that are almost my favorite poles. They are both light and simple, great swing weight. I have a pair of LEKI hiking poles, also carbon and adjustable, that are the biggest PITA of my life. (ok that was hyperbolic) And I don't really like that LEKI glove-pole thing .... ogwink

As far as short vs. long, it's a lot easier to cut down poles that are too long than it is to make short ones longer.
Aaannnd, adjustable poles are not, by any stretch, all heavy and clunky. Check Black Diamond and DPS Carbon ones out. My DPS poles are fabulous:
http://www.dpsskis.com/en/nori-pole-355.html
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/ski-poles/razor-carbon-pro-BD111553_cfg.html

I finally decided to be a real skier after using my hiking poles for 5 seasons... thought about it for 2 years and trying to be a minimalist, just ordered the Razor Pro (with SwitchRelease safety straps) today after speaking to their staff about differences among a few models. Also ordered a Whippet.

Thanks for the discussion in this thread.
 

crgildart

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I just broke the bank and paid $20.00 for a pair of poles an hour ago. Brand new K2 Slopestyle Women's poles for my 13 year old daughter. Still had all the hang tags and stickers on them. They're 44" and will match her skis pretty well. She was using some older Kerma strapless grip fatter poles and happy to have them. She grinned ear to ear when she saw these come in to her room a few minutes ago..

k2-slopestyle-women-s-ski-poles-2012-triad-white.jpg


Gotta love the thrift stores around here.. Close enough to the mountains where people will THINK they want to gear up and learn to ski or return to skiing, but far enough to where many have second thoughts and donate their gear after a year or two (or ten) of buying the gear but never actually getting back there again.

There was a set of 2007 skis, boots, poles, and a bag across town at a different thrift store, also all brand new with the stickers, hang tags, box for the boots, etc.. They were 170 cm all mountain carvers, not sure about the rest but mid intermediate gear ever ever touched snow. Don't remember what they were, gone now. Someone could really get a good learn to ski deal there.
 
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ScotsSkier

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Dont know about the current Scott poles but their previous alloy race poles actually used a plastic pin to retain the strap. This in would self destruct in the event of a pole getting caught up or snagged to give a breakaway feature. And yes James, the old Kerma equip poles were really state of the art and beautiful to us. Had a couple of pairs but they ended up with the base of the pole getting chopped off. Also had a pair of the (88 Olympic special??) sugar plum fairy pink ones with the corrective angle. They were also beautifully built and balanced. As to the LEKI poles, we are totally aligned! A lot of my athletes use them and regularly see them bent/broken, not to mention the hassle with the straps. Never seen the point when I can use the six ones...

BTW, you need to post what you were drinking when you posted that epic pole thread!....:wine: must be good stuff!! :)
 

James

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Here's the Scott Pole Grip/Strap we're talking about. "Notch Strike Grip". They've updated this a little.
I'd like these straps on Swix poles...
Plastic pin holds strap in. Never had it fall out, did replace one strap.
Simple, good system.
406x1000px-LL-007ef7c7_ScottNotchStrikeGrip.jpeg
 

Budge

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Either something good :wine:, or smoking those non-adjustable hemp straps
 

crgildart

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I think some of my Scott poles may have that pin. I had no idea it was designed to break loose under duress. Hey, we've made it way down page 3 without any major :snowball: arguments over whether or not the old school pole strap down palm placement is still better than loosy goosy hahahaha!
 

Grass Sticks

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@Monique @Tony S @Ron @James

As of November, we do offer adjustable straps which become large enough for XL mittens. We are also no longer using hemp, all straps are made from recycled polyester which holds its shape better, is more durable, and very resistant to moisture.

@James - As far as straps vs. no straps vs. adjustable it's all personal preference! Personally, I only use straps in the race course. For safety reasons, the exception to anyone's preference (and because I personally don't enjoy asphyxiation) is when skiing deep snow, especially in the trees. If you fall into a tree well (which is a REAL fatal hazard here in Steamboat), you need your hands to be free so that you can create a space to breathe around your face. If you are stuck in a tree well or a small slide with your hands strapped to your poles you probably won't be able to move your hands to create a breathable space.

For my 2 cents on length: http://www.grasssticks.com/size-chart/
 

James

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@Monique @Tony S @Ron @James

As of November, we do offer adjustable straps which become large enough for XL mittens. We are also no longer using hemp, all straps are made from recycled polyester which holds its shape better, is more durable, and very resistant to moisture.

@James - As far as straps vs. no straps vs. adjustable it's all personal preference! Personally, I only use straps in the race course. For safety reasons, the exception to anyone's preference (and because I personally don't enjoy asphyxiation) is when skiing deep snow, especially in the trees. If you fall into a tree well (which is a REAL fatal hazard here in Steamboat), you need your hands to be free so that you can create a space to breathe around your face. If you are stuck in a tree well or a small slide with your hands strapped to your poles you probably won't be able to move your hands to create a breathable space.

For my 2 cents on length: http://www.grasssticks.com/size-chart/
Agree pretty much with the length thing, though 48 inch down to 46 inch is not "a tad shorter".

Do you have a picture of the adjustable strap? It's not on the website.
I get the reason for no straps. I don't get non adjustable nor why one pays more for adjustable. Well I understand why, but it's opposite of what the market decided long ago.

In other news, how do people feel about cork grips? Grass Sticks offers cork as an option.

Here's an off piste pole that's well regarded. There's also some that eliminate the strap all together and bring the shaft grip further down.
 
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Josh Matta

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