Trekking Pole Cork Handle Repair

[Matt Cashell]

So on a horseback elk hunt this fall, I had my trusty Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles strapped to the side of my pack, which was stuffed in a pannier on a packhorse.

Well, The handles were poking out of the pannier, and they caught a tree branch. The horse kept going and the backpack strap dug into cork handles before the buckle finally broke, releasing the tension.

It did not look good.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I contacted Black Diamond, who stated they could not fix the handles on my trekking poles, and they were years past warranty. Still, Black Diamond offered a discount on a new pair, which I took advantage of.

In the meantime, I thought maybe I could fix it myself, and I researched repairing fishing rod handles. It seems fisherman do this often, using a mixture of quality wood glue and a filler.

I decided to give it a whirl with sawdust as a filler.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I made a thick paste and just started to build volume in the missing areas.

 

[Matt Cashell]

After a couple days to dry and cure, it was time to get the shape right with a small rasp and sanding supplies.

Which I thought was pretty successful.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Finally I decided to use a commercial cork sealer to protect the repaired handles.

And after curing, my old/new poles are ready as ever!

 

[AGPank]

Great idea. I wonder if you could take wine cork on a cheese grater for the filler? Might need to check out eBay for some discounted poles.





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[Matt Cashell]

Great idea. I wonder if you could take wine cork on a cheese grater for the filler? Might need to check out eBay for some discounted poles.





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A wine cork might work well as a filler, but the grinding/grating process might be pretty rough.

The sawdust/wood glue material feels similar in density to the original cork when fully cured.

 

[realunlucky]

Thanks for posting up Matt wouldn't have even thought a repair was possible. How do the handles feel compared to the original cork?

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[Matt Cashell]

Thanks for posting up Matt wouldn't have even thought a repair was possible. How do the handles feel compared to the original cork?

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It feels really similar actually, and not even noticeable if you are wearing gloves.

 

[Blacktail_Packer]

You’ll have to keep us posted on how this does over time with use. Not a problem I need to solve yet but...

 

[Mt Al]

Very cool! A company I once worked with bought cork "dust", must have fallen out of the cork making process, 1/32" to 3/16" sized-ish. Mixed it with urethane glue and the material was very strong, depending on the mix of cork vs. glue. I bet it would be more hassle than what you did for little or no benefit, but would maybe be a cool way to use old wine corks. Plus you could get all elitist: "I very much prefer to pair my alpine trekking poles with a dry Malbec cork, my desert poles with corks from an organic Chardonnay"

 

[Ohio Darin]

Nice work. I've used AquaSeal to repair a tear in a cork handle but it was nothing like yours. Thinking you could grind up some cork in aquaseal or silicone and maintain a softer grip closer to the original cork feel. Hopefully I don't have to ever try it. Thanks for the info.

 

[Dirtydan]

Grab a set of these and be done with it. They are more comfortable than the originals anyway.

Trekking Pole Grips

Please refer to our retail website for the latest product information.

www.gossamergear.com

 

[Matt Cashell]

Grab a set of these and be done with it. They are more comfortable than the originals anyway.

Trekking Pole Grips

Please refer to our retail website for the latest product information.

www.gossamergear.com

Those look cool, but I wonder how much more work it would be to remove the rest of the existing grip from the BD poles and modify the new GG grips to fit the BD poles.

Plus, My total cost for this project is $4 for wood glue. The rest was existing supplies.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Not BD's, but I have a pair of Locus Gear poles that had foam grips and I switched them out with the GG corks. It was very straight forward and easy to do, at least it was with the LG poles anyway. Nice job with your fix by the way!

 

[Dirtydan]

When I modified my BD Ergo Cork poles I just sliced off the existing cork with a razor blade then hit them with some sandpaper to remove anything left over. Then took some of the wife's hair spray and sprayed the ends so that the new grips could slide over. When it dries it acts like a glue. I never liked the originals because they got slick when my hands started sweating. I don't have the same problems with the GG's.

 

[zuren]

Interesting! I've built fishing rods and would have suggested removing the grips to be replaced with a standard cork handle (then shaped), but your approach looks slick. I would be curious to know how they hold up.

 

[Ryan Avery]

That picture in the snow is sweet!

The trekking pole fix was ok too... I guess

 

[cmp224]

That's pretty slick right there

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