ski touring poles

since I left my beloved old BD Razor Carbon poles behind in the Sugar Bowl parking lot last week (I’m sure I know who picked them up) and had to buy new ones I thought I’d start a thread

I’ve been looking at a few, and I’ll go through some of them here but first I’ll start with these

I’ve had two previous pair of these over 20+ years and I fkn love em - the first pair I gave away to a poor lift op about 8 years ago when I bought an updated pair - the grips were fading and cracking from the sun but they are still in service

these really are the best damn touring poles out there - they’re fkn bomber - aluminum upper and carbon fiber lower means no bending the lower section like aluminum, and I’ve never had a CF lower section break, even after 10 years of hard use ski patrolling and backcountry skiing

the new ones have a metal Flick Lock that snaps open and closed with a solid satisfying click

they’re light, the swing weight is great, and the basic ski pole grip is what I like

I’m not a big fan of the extra long dong single piece Euro poles - I like to be able to adjust the length for up and down, and for the luge run / skate out - I don’t like choking up on those things with a whole bunch sticking up

I’m a fan of straps for the uphill and skating the flats, but I do not ski down using straps because of reasons - BD has added a breakaway strap to the new version so you can use them for the down but I probably won’t change my habit

they ain’t fkn cheap - at $180 a pair these things better be good and they are

since I work at a bike shop I realized that there was one way I could improve my new ones, so Brother Leopold the bicycle polo monk gave me a sweet wrap

these come in two sizes - 100-125cm and 115-140cm


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...069b6dfbe3.jpg

the Dynafit poles are nice

they make a lot of poles but I only know 3 of them - they are super similar and only vary in construction / weight - all of them adjust from 105cm to 145cm and have very nice grips and clips

these are the ones I like after the BD - they have a nice grip with a hook for grabbing heel risers - the upper section is a bigger diameter than the BD - good colours

Speed Vario - carbon upper and lower

Tour Vario - aluminum upper and carbon lower

Free Vario - aluminum upper and lower - I have a pair of these for sale in Gear Swap

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f68732db03.jpg

sorry for your loss ^^the first pict looks like you wrapped the top aluminum piece with road bike tape which is a good hack IME



I have often thot about why the BD carbo razor poles don't break and I think its becuz the aluminium upper part is so short it doesnt break


and the carbon part doesn't mind flexing when I was the expediter guy I loaded many of these into the helo basket

I broke a carbon lower trying to manage a sketchy exit last summer on some 10yr old Komperdells. Ordered Moment Voyagers on sale thinking they were rebranded Dynafit Varios, turned out to be rebranded Komperdell Dscent Carbon Varios. Not much to say other than the click lock seems up to task, the handle tab is good for flipping risers, and the push button removable straps are pretty handy. All in all a good upgrade for me.

and actually these things are pretty damn nice

Armada Carbon Adjustable - also retail for $180 but they seem pretty sweet

aluminum upper and carbon lower - cork grips with nice straps, and a ribbed rubber grip below that - these are a bigger diameter than both the BD and Dynafit

I got a pair of these for my kid because he’s way cooler than I am and he wants something that doesn’t look like the same old poles Dad’s been dragging around all his life

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...dd52ce9ad8.jpg

the BCA poles are worth looking at, as are the Voile

I’ll post up some more when I’m back at work at the shop this weekend

Not super tall at 6ft 2in, but recently made the switch to skinning with poles at 145cm (after decades at 135-140 max length poles), and really like that the longer pole gives a bit more push on the flats, and they asssit in keeping the torso more upright and less hunched over on steeps (opens the lungs and helps with skin purchase).

taller-ish people, if you are not alreadty using 145cm poles and you are in the market for new ones, worth a look!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ~mikey b

the BCA poles are worth looking at, as are the Voile

I’ll post up some more when I’m back at work at the shop this weekend

---

https://backcountryaccess.com/en-us/...num-poles-2025

I like my BCA Scepter poles a lot with one exception: The strap design doesn't really sit well under a glove if you aren't wearing it. It kind of sticks out/doesn't lay flat so it pushes into your hand. It has some rigidity, so you can't really let it fly loose over your hand either.

I always use straps on the up (so I can push against the strap and do almost no actual gripping with my fingers) so I'm not going to cut them off, but it is annoying.

Not really a huge deal for one single descent, but I wouldn't use them for riding chairs.

Sometimes you get a skin track that is all packed in while the snow on the sides has shrunk to 1 ft lower so poles you can extend are a good idea so how many of you are can chew gum while changing pole length ?







but Lou Dawson told us we didnt need 2 piece poles becuz he never changed pole length never mind all the spancers on his page were trying to sell them and they are a good price point for a presy

For the weight weenies (myself included):

BD Vapor Carbon fixed length: 175g for a 135cm pole. The stock baskets are too small, just use the normal BD powder baskets.

Nordic carbon poles: I am using some Atomic 145cm poles with road bike tape to extend the grip. These are also 175-180g. Similar to Marshall, I’ve been on 135cm for decades and this season have enjoyed 145cm.

Compared to a Carbon whippet, I think it’s weight neutral or savings to use one of the above with a light skimo type ax or Camp Corsa Nanotech


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XXX-er

Sometimes you get a skin track that is all packed in while the snow on the sides has shrunk to 1 ft lower so poles you can extend are a good idea so how many of you are can chew gum while changing pole length ?







but Lou Dawson told us we didnt need 2 piece poles becuz he never changed pole length never mind all the spancers on his page were trying to sell them and they are a good price point for a presy

---

Speak Engrish

fuck you ?





and I mean that in the nicest way

More meaningful posts from triple x guy. Does anyone care what Lou Dawson said 20 years ago? I would guess that most people that encounter conditions like your first paragraph have powder baskets.

Lou actually changed my thinking with his blog posts on 1 vs 2 piece poles. Although I have a set of BD Carbon Adjustable poles from ~2010 that have been great, the reality is that I very rarely adjust them and it's unnecessary weight. Now I just use them when touring with a slow group or as loaners. The difference between a 235g carbon 2 piece pole and a 175g 1 piece pole is very noticeable and it's such easy weight to drop with zero decrease in performance. I recognize these light weight poles are probably not as durable, so I don't use them for mechanized skiing (and where weight doesn't matter).

I think we have some of those BD carbon poles on sale at work

These new one piece touring poles are so much cheaper than the fliklock style.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0eff9e15e4.jpg

Woah, Marshal. We agree big time. (I’m 6’3”)
I’m pretty sure I’m the only person on TGR that uses these poles for backcountry skiing, but they have every single feature I like, including, 105-150, carbon low/Al high, nice round top for pushing, and my favorite; the rear facing, non-rotating basket. I used to like the BD 1/2 basket, but it spun even after “fixing”.
Oh yeah, Plake uses them, (as a Leki guy).
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ec9d0658f4.jpg

The scraper on the handle of the BCA poles is really nice. Helps with all the snow/ice buildup on your topsheets while skinning or if you happen to have one of those days with no wax and buildup on bases.

I first bought adjustable poles for touring because everybody said you needed them. I very rarely adjusted the length during a tour, and the two piece poles seemed a little fragile.

I picked up some Black Diamond Expedition fixed length poles at an STP clearance, and have been using them for awhile. Extended foam grip so I can choke up if needed.

These - I don't know if they're still available, but they were really cheap when clearanced out.

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.co...n-1-ski-poles/

I would include G3 Via poles into the mix. I have the carbon version and they've held up well over the last 4 seasons. Some plastic on the top of the handle peeled off, but a non-funcitonal loss. Other than that, they've been totally bomber.

I asked if you all can chew gum and adj poles cuz other wise I cana think why you do not adj them ? but or course you do not really need them, I got to the touring area to find I had forgot my poles so grab a couple random pieces of boo from a snow fence with which I was able to tour up and drop the hardest coulior at the area, not much left of the boo after that tour

The sizing on those BD Razors is weird. Why make 2 sizes of an adjustable pole, and then have that much overlap in the 2? If the short poles go up to 125 cm, why not make the normal ones go from 120-145cm? That way the slightly taller people could use them too.
At 6’5” my 145 cm Komperdells are just barely long enough, so if they break, I might have to look at those Leki’s at 150cm. Or just go fixed length. I’m getting over my aversion to skiing with poles sticking above my hand.
Really, there needs to be a broader size range of poles across all brands. Humans come in a lot of different heights.