I'd rather not publicize it, especially with authorities being involved.
Big city Californians heading in to remote areas of Nevada to do drugs and be idiots.
Bending loads is what will cause catastrauphic failures with either materials. CF is more elastic than Al, but will shatter and possibly be useless (depends on where, I just had to extend mine longer since they broke on end). Al will often bend and be possible to bend back. Apples to apples, CF will be stronger per unit weight than Al. I prefer CF because it isn't cold like Al. It really just comes down to preference because there's a lot of good products on the market.
My advice would be to start with something cheap but usable and figure out what your preferences/uses will be, and then shop for something more expensive if you feel it suits your needs better. I'm picky about the grip shape/configuration, and I hate twist locks, so I'd be upset if I'd gone out and bought a $150 pair of poles only to find out that they weren't my preference. I tend to collect gear and loan it to friends frequently, so that plays in to my logic here.
An REI garage sale, local ski swap, pawn shop, etc can be a good place to find some cheap ski poles if you don't need them to be adjustable. Non adjustables are going to be stronger and lighter. I use mine to pitch my tarp though, so I need adjustables.
Last edited:
