(Pictured poles with & without wrist strap. I make up a strap with a tiny piece of 1mm spectra myself for those occasions you need to carry them, eg across a walk wire).
These hiking poles are wonderful. (US$95 ea – Nov 2017). At just over 100 grams each they are about 150 grams lighter (per pole) than Leki (et al) which means for a lot less work using them. I reckon they take 30% plus effort out of walking – particularly over hilly and undulating terrain and they have prevented me from having many nasty falls and possible broken bones, an increasing worry as you get older – and in remote areas. The number of people I have had to have ‘choppered out’ with such injuries over the years would amaze you.
Unbelievably one of these poles will take all of my weight. We also use them for tent poles, for our zpacks and home made tents. It IS possible to remove a small round ‘plug’ from the handle of one and to insert the bottom section of the other pole there to make an extra long tent pole (6’plus) such as might be needed for one of the taller pyramid tents (eg Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Supermid’): http://gossamergear.com/trekking/trekking/lt4-trekking-poles-all.html
Can also be used with this great gadget, the Stick Pic for taking photos: Also check out Tenkara hiking pole accessories here.
