UKC

While in the alps I saw some trekking poles which worked like elasticated tent poles, once in a hut and once in a shop window but I didn't get a chance to go and check them out. Has anyone had any experience of them? They look good cos they would collapse down really small and be light to carry in a pack while climbing-they don't look very robust though...?
Sam

In reply to Sam L: Bump

In reply to Sam L:

Like this? http://www.trackspoles.com/travel.asp?Action=CompactTravelStaff
Can't really see the advantage over telescopic ones, though.

In reply to Mark Bull: No, they seemed to work like the tent poles of dome/tunnel tents, with sections slotting into each other-there wouldn't have been any adjustment. They just looked really light and compact, but also not very strong, so I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences.
Sam

In reply to Sam L:

are you sure it wasnt an avalanche probe ?

In reply to Sam L: http://www.likeys.com/acatalog/Trekking_Poles.html

this is one option, about a 1/4 to 1/3 of the weight of normal poles, not as strong obviously, but people do use them in ultra or AR stuff

In reply to lost1977: Yup sure, although they slot together in the same way as an avalanche probe, but unlike a probe they had a handle and tip, and were the length of a trekking pole...

In reply to gear boy: That looks like them, 80 quid is pretty steep! Certainly out of my budget...

In reply to Sam L:

Having recently just started using poles for backpacking I'm quite a convert. I think that the lack of length adjustment is a very limiting factor for these poles - I found it quite useful when traversing to have poles of different length. There are a few poles with four sections that are more compact than most (Kohla and others?) that might be worth loooking at.

Steve