[pct-l] ski poles as trekking poles?

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

josh brown wrote:

> i've never hiked with poles before, but from what i'm reading they 
> seem to be something i'd find beneficial. i have enough things to 
> spend big money on, with gear and food and stuff, and i'm wondering if 
> anyone has used ski poles (modified or not) as hiking poles. a local 
> thrift store has some for a dollar per pair, and it's totally worth it 
> for me to try this out.
>
> as i've never been skiing either, i have no idea what the differences 
> are between hiking and skiing poles.
>
> anyone? i would think that for the cost of the used thrift store poles 
> and any mods i made to them, i'd still come under the cost of a new or 
> used pair or specifically hiking poles.
>
> thanks in advance.
>
> josh.
>
>
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We have been hiking with thrift store ski poles as trekking poles since 
1993.  Ski poles have hollow tips that wear thru with continued 
battering on hard surfaces, so we put Leki replacement tips on them.  We 
have replaced these tips a couple times over the years, as they 
eventually wear out.  The tips cost about 12.50. 
We are using old ski poles for two reasons:
1.  We are too cheap to buy trekking poles when the thrift store poles 
are so cheap.
A lot of our clothing and other gear comes from thrift stores--silk 
shirts, hiking pants, goretex and down outerwear, etc.
2.  We hike with llamas, and occasionally a llama will step on a hiking 
stick and bend it or break it.  If it was a hundred dollar pole, we 
would be really mad, but since it's just a dollar thrift store pole, we 
just replace it.  We can move the Leki tip to the new pole.
llamalady