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Hiking pole handles, grip tape?

P

philo

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
April 2023
Hi, I have a set of poles with plastic handles.
I've noticed they sweat my hands.
The handles can't be changed.
Can you get grip tape for them?

Thanks.
 
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philo said:
Hi, I have a set of poles with plastic handles.
I've noticed they sweat my hands.
The handles can't be changed.
Can you get grip tape for them?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Some people also wear sun gloves with no fingers. (Also used for fly fishing). My husband has several pair and wears them when driving the car, too. Might work better than tape? If you try tape, maybe get medical grade silk tape.
 
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philo said:
Hi, I have a set of poles with plastic handles.
I've noticed they sweat my hands.
The handles can't be changed.
Can you get grip tape for them?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
You shouldn’t be gripping the handles.

Hold a pole in your left hand . Pass your right hand up through the strap and bring it down such that the strap sits in-between your thumb and index finger (of your right hand obviously) . Then loosely hold the handle with your right hand. When you use the poles your fingers and thumbs ought to be fairly free and the weight applied by the strap to your wrist, base of your thumb, or thereabouts. You may have to adjust the length of the strap to suit.

Repeat for other pole.

 
Ditto. You don't 'grip' the handles.
The weight is transferred through the straps.
You only need a couple of fingers touching the handles to guide the poles.
 
henrythedog said:
You shouldn’t be gripping the handles.
Click to expand...
This is true, but I still find that poles with hard plastic handles are less comfortable to use. Like @MilenaS has said, if they are uncomfortable to use, tennis racquet handle grip tape is a good option. I have used it to repair the handles of a pair of Komperdell poles when the soft rubber grip eventually wore through. It took about 10 years of regular use, including being the poles I used on several pilgrimage walks, so they had a pretty good run. I wanted to give the poles to a friend to try out before she committed to making her own purchase, and I felt that she didn't need to contend with the foam grip falling apart.

I should add that I also use a fingerless fishing mitt. That might also solve the problem, but I don't see the harm in using racquet handle grip tape.

And, @philo, if you didn't get the message earlier - I also advise not to grip the poles.
 
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I'm using them the way in the video and not gripping really tight.
It's the plastic handles.
That's why the question about the tape because I can't change to cork.
I could just get a new set but why throw away an ok pair if I can do something to solve my problem.
 
You might want to try bicycle handle bar tape. There is some that is actually made from cork. To finish the ends some experimentation will be likely necessary. I use a couple of wraps of PVC electrical tape (for my bike bars). I'd try some of that kinesiology tape cut into a narrow 2cm strip.
 
Last edited:
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
As others have stated you don't have a hard grip on the grip of the pole. You need to properly adjust the wrist straps. The exception to this for me at least is if I am ascending or decending a hill or in muddy wet terrain, I tend to have a tighter grip in these conditions.
I wear fingerless biking gloves that have light padding.
When walking on flat or gentle rolling terrain I only have a light grip.
I do use my poles 100% of the time. I scratch my head when I see the same pilgrims day after day carrying their collapsed poles on their back pack and never seem to use them.
 
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