High Sierra Topix

This might narrow my search on the cork/rubber. I tend to have sweaty hands. I don't care if color or anything gets on them, but would one be better over the other? I keep saying in my head cork would be more slippery, but I'm not sure if that's the case.

I too have a set of BD poles, but mine are 2 part, bottom half is carbon fiber while the top is aluminum. I prefer flick locks, twists just don't work as well, especially when they get dirty.

I love the flick lock BD's, much better than twist IMO, my only issue after a several
seasons of use is the screws in the bottom locks came loose, otherwise they have
been the best poles ever, and I have been thru several different brands.

maverick wrote:...my only issue is after several
seasons ...the screws ... came loose.

Thought we were talking about poles, not my hiking partner.

I had the shock poles with a T shaped handle and thought they were fun to use. I got to where I could play the shock just right and get a great push off when it was most needed. I lost one of the poles at a trailhead, then used the remaining one as a cane style walking stick, again using the shock for advantage. It reminded me of double hauling a fly line for distance. Then I replaced those with a new set of adjustable Gossamer Gear carbon poles. Very light and functional, but after two years, one of the poles will no longer hold the adjustment, grrrr. Welcome to the world of UL cottage industry. I'll send it back for a repair, but it's the hassle of it all. Fixed or adjustable? I like adjustable so I can compensate for the wide variety of terrain the Sierra offers.

maverick wrote:I love the flick lock BD's, much better than twist IMO, my only issue after a several
seasons of use is the screws in the bottom locks came loose, otherwise they have
been the best poles ever, and I have been thru several different brands.

Blue locktite!

Leki, Leki, Leki. I have to assume you're a big guy at 6'4", so get some solid aluminum, twist lock poles with no anti-shock. Flip-locks are great, but I wouldn't trust them at your size. When it comes to poles, I always think, would I trust these on the edge of a bottomless drop? Lots of good poles on the market, so it's hard to go too wrong.

My Leki Makalu's are classic aluminum twist lock poles. Heavy at 22 ozs, but bulletproof. Never had a twist lock, slip or fail. Since my poles were about the only non ultra/lightweight piece of gear I use, I just switched to the BD Ultra Mountain Carbon Z-Poles at 15 ozs. These are awesome folding fixed length poles, but if I was standing on that edge, I'd go with the Maks.

Look at poles in the $50 - $100 range. Less then $50 poles are probably poorly constructed with low grade(weak) aluminum shafts. Poles over $100 tend to be lighter(weaker), carbon(weaker), or with extra features like anti-shock(horrible), everything you do not want.

I've used several types and pairs over these years of long trekking and the pair I used last year which were Black Diamond Alpine Cork were the best I have ever had. The new type of flip locks they use worked perfect. I never had to tighten them once and they never collapsed in on me. The first tip to break off lasted 110 days and then the other tip broke off after 121 days on the trail. That's double the life I have ever gotten out of tips. So for now I will not even consider another pole.

i like gossamer gear as they are fixable. when they fail to lock, all you have to do is pull it apart and screw the rubber cylinder farther down the screw. fixed! most reliable poles i have used. i broke one in the trunk by forgetting and filling it with backpacks - too much stress cracked the lower section. fortunately they sell per section.

i use them with my lightheart solo tent. had them for five years. love 'em. GG even replaced the cork handles for free when a marmot chewed them up.

when the komperdells stopped locking, i tried to contact the company without any success. GG answered emails the same day. can't beat it.

all you have to do is pull it apart and screw the rubber cylinder farther down the screw. fixed!

AlmostThere, that worked. Thanks for sharing the fix! I like the Gossamers for their lightness and are great for pacing. I wish they had some anti-shock in them for pushing off talus and going down steep inclines in the boulders because I've heard of carbon material shattering under certain kinds of stress, but for now I favor the UL. No need to be lugging around poles that weigh in at more than a pound these days.