[at-l] Gluing on Pole Tips

[spiriteagle99@hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

rick boudrie wrote:
>I am not very worried about scratching rocks with a hiking pole, or 
>crampons for that matter.  Other may disagree.  Seems to me the big issue 
>has more to do with how those spear tips may disturb the soil.

Rick -
That's precisely what I'm not seeing to the degree that it was implied in 
the original post.  OK, so maybe I'm blind.  Better yet - maybe I'll look a 
little closer this summer.  Maybe I'll find my own "evidence" one way or the 
other.  Like I said - I don't have a hardened opinion about it - I'm willing 
to be convinced, but only by hard evidence.


>With my Leki (singular), the rubber tip just presses on, albeit snuggly.  I 
>can't imagine keeping one for very long without super glue.  Once a pole 
>goes down in the muck or snow, some unknown force will often just suck the 
>tip right off.

Yep - been there.  But if you're on snow, the kind of tip doesn't matter as 
long as it gives the support you need.  And if you're in mud, your boots 
will do more damage to the trail than your poles.


>Jim O. might point out no scientific studies have been done
>on this.  While he would probably be right, I do think that I read 
>somewhere on AT-L that mud sucks.

Yep - but don't get too hung up about scientific studies. I don't. I've been 
working with scientists for nearly 50 years now and on a scale of 1 to 10, 
the quality of those "studies" ranges -3 to 11.


>And the AT-L is as good as any peer review journal
>out there, isn't it?

Sometimes - when what's said is based on actual knowledge/experience.


>I have been amazed at how well the super glue does in keeping the tips in
>place.  Thanks to the person who posted that idea on the net.  I was about
>to give up on these tips after losing a pair.  For such little rubber, the
>tips seem to last surprisingly long.

Curiosity questions - how long?  How many miles? Over what kind of terrain?

Walk softly,
Jim

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