Pick a Stick

[Dov of the Galilee]

I've never used dual poles to walk but I'm thinking about doing it this go around. I currently own one pole made by Komperdell from Austria and it seems to be pretty good after seven years of use. But as Murphy's law would have it I can't find a match here at home but there is a ton of makers available. What brand have you found to be good and what to stay away from?

Shalom from Israel

 

[Rob the Slob]

I've been using a pair of Leki Corklites with the speedlock system for years now. Very happy with them: comfortable, strong, reliable. Leki also sell what they call 'tip butlers' for holding your rubber tips when they're not on your poles.

 

[dougfitz]

Here are some links to previous discussions on this matter:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/trekking-poles-or-staff.28310/#post-233518
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/walking-poles-or-not.12448/#post-88918
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/fisan-trekking-poles.31655/#post-277917

I suspect that there are many more that a search would find.

 

[gittiharre]

I like the Black Diamond Z poles. Light and fold up small. Have got away with taking them in carry on luggage over the past 4 years....

 

[Jo Jo]

Key is to avoid twist-locks (the mechanism is hard to use, and you can't quickly collapse them as you are walking into an alburgue to stow in a sidepocket of the pack, thereby avoiding being asked to leave them by the front door). Get clip locks. Or no locks at all (i.e. Zpoles--better for carrying onto planes). After having cork handles split on a pair, I now insist on rubber handles. YMMV.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[Introibo]

I was converted to two poles after my fourth day of struggling last year in Spain.
I was transformed from a tortoise to a hare. My back problems eased as well. I
went with one pole, based on my experience of walking with poles in the Lakes.
When you're picking your way over a small rocky path two poles aren't much of a
help. When you're tapping out the miles on a good surface, they're fantastic.
On my second trip I used Black Diamond carbon z poles, fixed length. Very light
and also very expensive. So getting them there and back is a problem.
However you do it I'd recommend you end up with 2 poles

Buen Camino

 

[PeterD1951]

I use 2 dirt cheap ones I got from Go Outdoors in the UK. £14.99 for the pair and they are fine. Slightly cheaper than my wife's Leki Makalus which were about 5 times as much. The Lekis are lighter though and,having praised mine, they will probably break next week!!!

 

[Mike Savage]

Love my Pacer Poles.

 

[dougfitz]

Key is to avoid twist-locks (the mechanism is hard to use, and you can't quickly collapse them as you are walking into an alburgue to stow in a sidepocket of the pack, thereby avoiding being asked to leave them by the front door).

@Jo Jo, I couldn't quite believe you said this, because it certainly hasn't been my experience with twist locking mechanisms over the years. While both sets of poles I now regularly use have flick lock mechanisms, I used twist lock poles before that. So I dragged out an older twist lock pole, and compared a number of common actions. I didn't find any discernible difference when adjusting the length of the poles and collapsing them. I would expect someone who has a low grip strength or suffers from arthritis might find the twist lock more difficult, and might recommend they consider a flick lock in those circumstances. But I certainly wouldn't be recommending that for something as superficial what seems to me an indiscernible difference in time it might take to collapse the pole before walking into an albergue!

 

[gerardcarey]

Pacer Poles forever!!!

 

[dougfitz]

Pacer Poles forever!!!

I remember committing, in some dark past, that on my next camino I would liberate a set of Pacer Poles and see if they were really as good the claims made for them.

That and reconsidering whether the benefits of a water bladder outweigh bottles should I see a thirsty koala on the way.

(ps - the Pacer Poles will be returned, so Pacer Pole owners need not have more than their normal level of paranoia about them being stolen.)

 

[gerardcarey]

I remember committing, in some dark past, that on my next camino I would liberate a set of Pacer Poles and see if they were really as good the claims made for them.

That and reconsidering whether the benefits of a water bladder outweigh bottles should I see a thirsty koala on the way.

(ps - the Pacer Poles will be returned, so Pacer Pole owners need not have more than their normal level of paranoia about them being stolen.)

You're welcome to try mine Doug.
Give us an address and I'll post them.
Regards
Gerard
PS
I'm sticking with bottles. I really dislike slinging that two kilos onto my back every morning.

 

[dougfitz]

You're welcome to try mine Doug.
Give us an address and I'll post them.
Regards
Gerard
PS
I'm sticking with bottles. I really dislike slinging that two kilos onto my back every morning.

Gerard, that is a generous offer, but I leave in a couple of days, so its now too late for this trip to take you up on it. I will just be a nuisance to some unsuspecting Pacer Pole user that happens to cross my path.

 

[gerardcarey]

Gerard, that is a generous offer, but I leave in a couple of days, so its now too late for this trip to take you up on it. I will just be a nuisance to some unsuspecting Pace Pole user that happens to cross my path.

Good travelling mate.
Regards
Gerard

 

[Dutchwalk53]

I have "Pace maker" poles.....so NOT pacer. Mine were very cheap ($40 ) but worked great !!! My pole tips lasted the entire Camino .
Pair of PaceMaker Stix "Journey" Anti-shock Trekking Poles with Attachments and Extended Life Vulcanized Rubber...
by Pacemaker Stix
$39.95
Pair of Pace Maker Extended Life Vulcanized Rubber Replacement Tips/asphalt Paws Ferrules (Fits Almost All Brands...
by Pacemaker Stix

 

[Robo]

Bit like recommending shoes/boots.....

I bought a couple of pairs originally. One set had shock absorbers, which seemed like a great idea at the time. But they seemed quite a bit heavier and I'm not sure I really needed the shock absorbers.

So last year I did 800 kms on Ultra Lite (Compact) Fizan poles. 3 section. Twist locks. They were great. My wife and I will be using them this year. 2 poles each of course....... Using one would be about as helpful as wearing one boot IMHO

Very comfortable and very light.

 

[Dov of the Galilee]

Well reading all of this and the two threads that were recommended above the votes are well in favor of the Pacer Poles. So I'm ready to order these beauties but now my dilemma is alloy or Carbon!?

 

[gerardcarey]

Well reading all of this and the two threads that were recommended above the votes are well in favor of the Pacer Poles. So I'm ready to order these beauties but now my dilemma is alloy or Carbon!?

Really happy with my carbons, but then I've never tried alloys. I get the feeling that some folks think carbons will snap under pressure, and alloys will only bend, and can then be forced back straight, albeit damaged.
Regards
Gerard

 

[Dov of the Galilee]

Really happy with my carbons, but then I've never tried alloys. I get the feeling that some folks think carbons will snap under pressure, and alloys will only bend, and can then be forced back straight, albeit damaged.
Regards
Gerard

That was the sentiment I picked up on

 

[Mike Savage]

Same for me. I have about 800 miles on a set of carbons (PacerPoles) and love them but I have not tried anything else.

YMMV.

Mike

 

[dougfitz]

Well reading all of this and the two threads that were recommended above the votes are well in favor of the Pacer Poles.

You seem to have confused the noisiness of the Pacer Pole devotees with them actually being in the majority. Let me assure you that they are far from that. Not that Pacer Poles are a poor choice - I don't think that. But you will find that when it comes to voting with money and purchasing them, Pacer Poles users are still a tiny minority of pole users. I don't recall seeing one set of Pacer Poles in all of my pilgrimage walks in Europe, although, as is clear, there is a vocal minority here that advocate loudly for them.

 

[Dov of the Galilee]

There's something to be said for availability too. Here we are dominated by one chain of stores nationally and you get to pick from what they want to provide. There's a lot of quality stuff but you'll pay a princely sum for it too. I've had my single walking stick well on eight years now and I paid over a $100 for it so when I hear people say that a pair of Pace Poles are costly I just think to myself " not from where I am". Some brand names I know from my travels e.g. Black Diamond & Leki but the ones I saw yesterday at one of these stores were all unknown to me and they were retailing for $35 which for here usually means it is going to have a short life. So doing the homework & buying quality will hopefully spare me from being a return shopper in a short time.

 

[Mike Savage]

You seem to have confused the noisiness of the Pacer Pole devotees with them actually being in the majority. Let me assure you that they are far from that. Not that Pacer Poles are a poor choice - I don't think that. But you will find that when it comes to voting with money and purchasing them, Pacer Poles users are still a tiny minority of pole users. I don't recall seeing one set of Pacer Poles in all of my pilgrimage walks in Europe, although, as is clear, there is a vocal minority here that advocate loudly for them.

I have to agree with Doug here. I love my Pacer Poles but have never seen anyone else using them AND I have never used any other type of poles. That said, I would absolutely buy them again.

 

[SeaHorse]

... some folks think carbons will snap under pressure, and alloys will only bend, and can then be forced back straight, albeit damaged.

I had and after about 1000km still have no-name carbon poles. Were advertised as lightweight, have cork handles. No problem. And I accidentally did step on them in the middle while both ends were resting on higher place, like on a pole bridge. Nothing happened to the poles, no bends, no damage. I'm more than on the heavy side.
My advice: take poles, take 2 of them!

In any shop along the Camino and certainly in the main starting points there are poles available. For 5 to 20 euros a piece. This way you don't have the problem how to transport them.

 

[MaidinBham]

Just a safety note on trekking poles - most novice trekking pole users will use poles for hiking across bridges with spaces in between the planks. Dont - the tips will become wedged in the space and break your pole, and/or cause you to fall. I have seen it many times. Also, a pet peeve of mine on Camino, were people who placed trekking poles on the tables of cafe's, restaurants! You have just hiked thru goodness knows what and you are placing your poles on top of a table where I am eating?!
Janice