UKH

Hello,

Can anybody recommend a pair of walking poles, please?

I'm looking to purchase my first pair. I mostly go hillwalking/mountaineering/climbing/scrambling in the uk.

Are the pacerpoles with their ergonomic grip worth considering?

Cheers

In reply to zarathustra:
I now prefer the Z pole types as they pack down much shorter than most other types for stashing in my pack when climbing, particularly in winter. Alpkit do a version that's much cheaper than any other brands, but have a few really annoying features (for me anyway). The nordic walking type wrist loop is great for power transfer and really comfortable, but I find too small for when I've got winter gloves on and I really miss being able to quickly and easily drop my hands out of the loops for nav, pulling food out of pockets, gripping pole lower down on traverses or steeper ascents etc.

Supplied baskets are a bit too small for softer snow too imo.

Open to offers if your interested in them though.....

Not used the pacer poles but a friend has them and thinks highly of them.

I'm going back to Black Diamond Z poles after the alpkit ones (broke the last pair through abuse unfortunately).


link to the alpkit poles: https://www.alpkit.com/products/compact-ultra

All of the above said, the construction of the poles seems good and pricing is better than competitors - might be worth looking at their range.

Cheers!

Stuart

Edit to add link to alpkit and sentence below.

In reply to zarathustra:

I use pacerpoles, and they go everywhere with me. The grip is good, it means you can put a lot of weight on the pole without using a wrist loop. That means you can move your hands around, get in your pack etc. with less faff. It also means that you can drop the pole if you fall, so you're less likely to break it (or dislocate your elbow or shoulder - actually more common than it sounds). I'm happy using them on rocky ground where I would probably want to remove a wrist loop for safety's sake. Supposedly thy're more efficient/ergonomic too, though in truth I don't see much advantage over a pole with a wrist loop on that count.

The neoprene grip on the upper shaft is handy on steep uphills and short scramble/steps, especially as there is no wrist loop. Replacement parts are available and reasonably priced; I've broken and replaced two carbon fibre bottom sections over the years.

That said, they haven't kept up with the times in pole design, the lineup hasn't changes since I bought mine 7ish years ago. The twist-locks are a pain, I would prefer flick-locks or a z-pole design. They are a little heavy, even the CF version, though since the weight is in the handle not the tip they don't feel too bad. Not cheap either.

It all comes down to whether the handle is a killer feature for you and your useage. If I was buying again, I'd probably buy pacerpoles again.

In reply to zarathustra:

I've got pacer poles and alp kit carbon fibre poles.

If I'm just walking or wild camping then the pacer poles are used. handles are great but they are not the lightest and difficult to store in a rucksack.

If I'm going to be climbing then I use the alp kit poles as they can be easily stashed in the rucksack out of harms way, plus they are very light. Down side is that I have broken the tip section twice but spares are availble.

The z poles look great for climbing due to the low pack size but not tried any my self, the alpkit ones look like a bargain.

HTH Davey

In reply to zarathustra:

Got karrimor carbon fibre poles from sport direct. In there third year of heavy use and still going strong. £25 and weigh as much as a weasels fart.

In reply to zarathustra:

We've just done 50km over two days with the kids (!) which has reminded me how good my better half's BD z poles are... Personally I use BD carbon fibre flick locks which are adjustable but a little heavier. Strongly advise against twist locks and recommend CF poles (no degradation when inevitably left wet for a day or two).

B

In reply to zarathustra:

I also have the Karrimor carbon fibre poles and they are very good

In reply to zarathustra:

I have just fitted flick locks to my Pacer poles..........................drill hole, mill slot, attach flick lock mechanism and then cut off the twist lock mech, but keep the bung part of this in the middle and lower section: it seals it and gives strength.

I've retro fitted BD Flick lock to 4 sets of poles now. Works great.