Did you take the wrong Poles this morning?

[Nicolam]

This is for a fellow pilgrim - Katie Stone, who stayed in SAN Juan de Ortago Albergue/monastery last night. Someone much taller took her black diamond Poles by accident this morning and left her theirs -120 cm. Too high for her! She will be at the albergue municipal tonight in Burgos if you want to exchange.

 

[Waka]

Hope she gets them back, it must be a pain when that happens.
I always tie my poles together with some colourful ribbon (I know but it works) and to date they've always been there in the morning. I also do the same with my footwear.

 

[t2andreo]

I use a Brother brand 1/2 " (13 mm) labeling machine to affix a double-line label to each of my poles. These hand-held things are very handy around the house, and for identifying things you travel with.

The label contains my e-mail address (which is also my name), and my mobile phone number with country code. Instead of "Tel" or "Phone," I state "iPhone: 1-999-999-9999," so the finder will understand they can text me as well.

I place the label high up, just under the grips, where it will not be affected by rubbing and water. Lastly, I place a strip of 3/4 inch clear Scotch tape over the label to provide additional protection from the elements.

I do this because: (1) I HAVE walked a kilometer or so from my lodgings the night before, or at a cafe / bar, THEN remembered I forgot my poles, and had to backtrack...(I HATE backtracking ALMOST as much as I deplore MUD); and (2) Just seeing the labels might indicate to a casual person that these poles are NOT theirs.

I hope this helps someone...

 

[grayland]

I mark mine with a few yards of colored duct tape (to be used for other needs)
wrapped around each pole. I can spot them easily and it is more difficult for others to mistake them.

I also mark my Poles...but with my email address as I have found that many people are reluctant or unable to make phone calls..but will email.
I also mark all of my valuables this way, including my credential and national passport.

Actually...I always fold my poles and put them away in my pack before I arrive at an albergue. I do not put them in the big barrels with all of the others.
You are only required to leave them with the others if they are not put away and secured with your pack.

 

[Sheesh]

...
Actually...I always fold my poles and put them away in my pack before I arrive at an albergue. I do not put them in the big barrels with all of the others.
You are only required to leave them with the others if they are not put away and secured with your pack.

Agreed. My Pacer poles stay with me.

Hope Katie gets reunited with her poles.

 

[Multipurpose]

This is for a fellow pilgrim - Katie Stone, who stayed in SAN Juan de Ortago Albergue/monastery last night. Someone much taller took her black diamond Poles by accident this morning and left her theirs -120 cm. Too high for her! She will be at the albergue municipal tonight in Burgos if you want to exchange.

My 120 cm Black Diamond Z poles fit in my pack with all my gear.

 

[Peter Barker]

This is for a fellow pilgrim - Katie Stone, who stayed in SAN Juan de Ortago Albergue/monastery last night. Someone much taller took her black diamond Poles by accident this morning and left her theirs -120 cm. Too high for her! She will be at the albergue municipal tonight in Burgos if you want to exchange.

Hoping there was a happy ending here.

 

[Nanc]

I wrapped my piles with reflective tape both identifier and safety

 

[t2andreo]

I always INTEND that my poles stay with me. But, one does have "senior moments" each day. Also, I distract easily...

So, putting contact information on these costly items is a good idea....IMHO.

Also, I use 3M reflective tape, cut to 1/2 inch wide x 2" wide strips around every segment of my hiking poles. This creates a four-band reflective strip on each hiking pole. It also marks my poles distinctively, differentiating them from other pilgrim's poles.

Marking my poles, both with the contact label and the reflective stripes, is something I do as soon as they are delivered to my home.

FWIW, when walking facing traffic, and if the oncoming vehicles have headlights on, I flick the right pole, from my wrist, in an arc. To the oncoming driver, it looks like a spinning propellor with strips. It ALWAYS gets their attention. Have not been hit yet, and all the oncoming traffic sees me early enough to move over. I can see it.

I hope this helps.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I always INTEND that my poles stay with me. But, one does have "senior moments" each day. Also, I distract easily...

So, putting contact information on these costly items is a good idea....IMHO.

Also, I use 3M reflective tape, cut to 1/2 inch wide x 2" wide strips around every segment of my hiking poles. This creates a four-band reflective strip on each hiking pole. It also marks my poles distinctively, differentiating them from other pilgrim's poles.

Marking my poles, both with the contact label and the reflective stripes, is something I do as soon as they are delivered to my home.

FWIW, when walking facing traffic, and if the oncoming vehicles have headlights on, I flick the right pole, from my wrist, in an arc. To the oncoming driver, it looks like a spinning propellor with strips. It ALWAYS gets their attention. Have not been hit yet, and all the oncoming traffic sees me early enough to move over. I can see it.

I hope this helps.

That is a great idea with the reflective tape I will have to try that. I hope that after your sharing you will not encounter another pair marked up exactly the same. I also encountered folks grabbing the wrong pair, sometimes a more expensive pair from the barrel. So early on my poles stayed with me.
I also have Black Diamond carbons the locking mechanism is a compression clip, yet the tool I regretted not bringing along was my Leatherman for the poles others carried that twist tightened. Yes it was their issue but such a simple problem to correct. Someone has to have a light tool for gripping & turning those poles?

 

[james walter purdum iv]

This is for a fellow pilgrim - Katie Stone, who stayed in SAN Juan de Ortago Albergue/monastery who last night. Someone much taller took her black diamond Poles by accident this morning and left her theirs -120 cm. Too high for her! She will be at the albergue municipal tonight in Burgos if you want to exchange.

Well usually there is that persons who took your poles to use until it rectified itself. I left mine at a hostel virgin of Guadeloupe the hospiterlaro was a crazy man I think he heard the buzzer but wouldn’t come down to I could see them but could not reach them. Turns out it all worked out because I liked walking without them but I sure needed them the first two weeks! Camino provides and also takes

 

[Hiawatha]

I wrapped my piles with reflective tape both identifier and safety

Gee does that work?
I've always used Hemorrhoid cream

 

[t2andreo]

That is a great idea with the reflective tape I will have to try that. I hope that after your sharing you will not encounter another pair marked up exactly the same. I also encountered folks grabbing the wrong pair, sometimes a more expensive pair from the barrel. So early on my poles stayed with me.
I also have Black Diamond carbons the locking mechanism is a compression clip, yet the tool I regretted not bringing along was my Leatherman for the poles others carried that twist tightened. Yes it was their issue but such a simple problem to correct. Someone has to have a light tool for gripping & turning those poles?

I carry a Leatherman Style PS2. That's it. In the beginning, I carried a full-out Swiss Army knife. Then I found the Style PS2. Once I weighed both, and considered which tools I actually used, there was no other choice.

Now, if making the same choice again...or the next time, I might consider the slightly larger Leatherman "Juice S2." It does have a knife blade, so must be in checked luggage flying to and from. But it has all the tools you need, and none that you do not need.

Remember, corkscrews are ubiquitous...everyone has one...just ask. A bottle opener is far more important as most European beer bottles are not screw-top. In my experience, I used the tiny scissor daily, then the small pliers. This represents the most utility to me at the lowest overall weight.

I hope this helps.

 

[julia-t]

I wrapped my piles with reflective tape both identifier and safety

Haha!

 

[kdespot]

The grammarian in me just had to giggle at the use of capitalization here. I was picturing a kidnapping...

 

[steppingpono]

I wrapped my piles with reflective tape both identifier and safety

Great idea!

 

[zzotte]

This is for a fellow pilgrim - Katie Stone, who stayed in SAN Juan de Ortago Albergue/monastery last night. Someone much taller took her black diamond Poles by accident this morning and left her theirs -120 cm. Too high for her! She will be at the albergue municipal tonight in Burgos if you want to exchange.

For this reason I always pack my inside my backpack before arriving at the albergue I refuse to leave my poles at the door, I don’t like leaving my boots at the door either

Zzotte

 

[MTtoCamino]

For this reason I always pack my inside my backpack before arriving at the albergue I refuse to leave my poles at the door, I don’t like leaving my boots at the door either

Zzotte

I found it interesting fewer people left these items at the door the farther along we got.

 

[Icacos]

Gee does that work?
I've always used Hemorrhoid cream

You are terrible, and wicked.

 

[tpmchugh]

I always INTEND that my poles stay with me. But, one does have "senior moments" each day. Also, I distract easily...

So, putting contact information on these costly items is a good idea....IMHO.

Also, I use 3M reflective tape, cut to 1/2 inch wide x 2" wide strips around every segment of my hiking poles. This creates a four-band reflective strip on each hiking pole. It also marks my poles distinctively, differentiating them from other pilgrim's poles.

Marking my poles, both with the contact label and the reflective stripes, is something I do as soon as they are delivered to my home.

FWIW, when walking facing traffic, and if the oncoming vehicles have headlights on, I flick the right pole, from my wrist, in an arc. To the oncoming driver, it looks like a spinning propellor with strips. It ALWAYS gets their attention. Have not been hit yet, and all the oncoming traffic sees me early enough to move over. I can see it.

I hope this helps.

Also used the reflective tape idea which I put on my rucksack as well. My poles are what some may call cheap from Lidl. Used on three caminos and recently replaced with same make. Great poles, distinctively marked and no one else wants them