things you love about your ski poles

[o3jeff]

Just stomp on your bindings to get them off. If you insist on using a pole, hold it lower with one hand and it won't bend as much. You ditched composites in favor of aluminums to make it easier to take off your skis? :blink:

Sounds like a good poll question on how to unclick. I for one find using a pole a pain and use the stomp method.

 

[drjeff]

Just stomp on your bindings to get them off. If you insist on using a pole, hold it lower with one hand and it won't bend as much. You ditched composites in favor of aluminums to make it easier to take off your skis? :blink:

Sounds like a good poll question on how to unclick. I for one find using a pole a pain and use the stomp method.

I for one like my bases intact without any extra "binding dings" so I use my poles for the first binding release and then my newly free boot for the other.

 

[severine]

Sounds like a good poll question on how to unclick. I for one find using a pole a pain and use the stomp method.

You must have thought I was an uber-gaper then.

I have always used my poles to release my bindings. Always. If I tried to stomp my way out with my skis, hell I'd probably fall over and make an even bigger fool of myself. :lol:

I don't like my poles. But then again, I don't know what to do with them anyway so they work just fine for getting me through the flats/liftline and onto the chair.

 

[ctenidae]

I do like the flex in the composites (I have 2 year old K2 4-Speeds). I use them to click out- if you're a little careful and make sure you're pushing straight down, they won't bend on you (kind of the standing on a beer can thing- if you're centered, it'll hold you. If not, crunch)

 

[bvibert]

I just stare at my bindings with an angry look and they come off on their own out of fear.

 

[Greg]

I for one like my bases intact without any extra "binding dings" so I use my poles for the first binding release and then my newly free boot for the other.

I've never been known to worry all that much about the state of my bases...

 

[tjf67]

Steezy green grips and old school K2 graphics.

http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/ou...l?CMP_ID=SH_FRO002&CMP_SKU=K2S0410&mv_pc=r126

People joke about the importance of ski poles, but anyone that is using aluminum poles should really give the composites a try. You'll never go back.

Composite are great until they snap. Then its anoth 80 bucks. I use the chepapest poles i can get. They seem to bend break all the time

 

[Greg]

Composite are great until they snap. Then its anoth 80 bucks. I use the chepapest poles i can get. They seem to bend break all the time

I've had two pairs of composites. Haven't broken one yet. I found those poles above for $30 on Evogear. That BCO price is the cheapest I've found now.

 

[drjeff]

Composite are great until they snap. Then its anoth 80 bucks. I use the chepapest poles i can get. They seem to bend break all the time

Try spending a little more for a GOOD pair, in the long run you'll spend less since you won't bend/break them.

1 pair of $50 poles ends up being cheaper than 3 pairs of $20 poles, and if you think that there isn't a difference in the aluminum/composite of a 'good" pair vs. a cheapie, you'd be suprised

 

[Hawkshot99]

Just stomp on your bindings to get them off. If you insist on using a pole, hold it lower with one hand and it won't bend as much. You ditched composites in favor of aluminums to make it easier to take off your skis? :blink:

Yes I did ditch my composits to make it easier to take off my skis. I like my bases to be nice.

 

[Greg]

Yes I did ditch my composits to make it easier to take off my skis. I like my bases to be nice.

You guys are crazy. :lol: Any little ding I might put into my base by stomping on my binding will be dwarfed by the scratches and gouges it already has. :lol:

Needing a perfectly tuned ski means you're skiing the wrong terrain. IMHO of course...

 

[wa-loaf]

1 pair of $50 poles ends up being cheaper than 3 pairs of $20 poles, and if you think that there isn't a difference in the aluminum/composite of a 'good" pair vs. a cheapie, you'd be suprised

I don't buy it. I've had the same two pair of aluminum poles since the mid 90s. If they bend a little you bend them back. Broke a few in the past but I figure if I'm getting 15 years or so I'm getting my moneys worth.

 

[jaja111]

turn one into a bong and have more fun!

A Google search yields nothing for "ski pole bong". YOU my friend may have a patent application ready for approval! (I'd buy a pair). I am already thinking of what can be done with a drill and a some sealant.

I just spoke with a friend just getting into skiing from snowboarding, and told him my 2 cents that composites are bad. I've stuffed two aluminums into my gut ripping turns in uneven terrain with a bad / close plant and they bent over probably saving me from internal bleeding (albeit it had me on the ground gasping for air for 5 minutes each time).

 

[Bumpsis]

I love my ski poles because they have lasted me for over 25 years and nobody even notices that they are not shaped

 

[Greg]

Last night I stomped on my bindings harder than usual in honor of the perfect base lovers... :lol:

 

[bvibert]

Last night I stomped on my bindings harder than usual in honor of the perfect base lovers... :lol:

Me too. Then, when I got home I checked the bases under a microscope, just as I suspected there was no additional damage...

 

[andyzee]

I like the fact that ski pole, ski poles, and pole ski could all refer to Polish people or even better Polish folks that ski.

 

[Hawkshot99]

Last night I stomped on my bindings harder than usual in honor of the perfect base lovers... :lol:

Well my aluminum's worked nicely! Only 1 spot on my base needs to be repaired, but that is from some rocks...

 

[o3jeff]

I think I have more damage from when the bases and edges rub when carrying them clipped together than I do from popping out of my bindings.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

Try spending a little more for a GOOD pair, in the long run you'll spend less since you won't bend/break them.

1 pair of $50 poles ends up being cheaper than 3 pairs of $20 poles, and if you think that there isn't a difference in the aluminum/composite of a 'good" pair vs. a cheapie, you'd be suprised

+1 Series 7000 alum poles are much lighter and more durable than the cheap and crappy ones. When I was a teenage bumper I used to buy $10-20 poles and go through 23 pair a season...bent them all...once I started buying more expensive poles they stopped bending everytime I looked at them wrong...plus the grips on those cheapos suck and so do the tips...when you pay more for pole you get a lighter, stronger shaft, a carbide tip, and a soft rubber grip with a quality strap.

What I like best about my poles...the sound aluminum makes when you clink them together...lets other people know I'm there...especially usefull on cat tracks or anytime you're on a snowboarder's heel side. Other favorite thing about my poles...powder baskets on some of them, and the Leki Trigger system on two pair.