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May, 2023

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Fixed Length Touring Poles, Cop or Drop?

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Nate5B
Posts: 12 - Karma: 90
Wassup NS, recently I've been looking for some poles I can use for resort / touring. I originally was gonna go with some adjustable ones from Armada, Joystick, Reflex, or something else along those lines, but I got an Instagram add (I know, please forgive me for my sins of finding ski stuff on instagram) for fixed length touring poles called Folkrm's. After doing a bit of research I read somewhere that these were a "remake" of the original poles called Les Batons d'Alain which I figured I would go for instead since they're not an instagram brand and i'd rather support the original.

The basic idea of them is that it's a fixed length aluminum pole that has extended grip that covers just over half of the pole. This way instead of dealing with clamping and unclamping in order to dramatically adjust pole length you can just shift your hands up and down as you please. They are also are supposed to be a little more durable since there are no moving parts to break on them.

I guess my main purpose of writing this is to see if i'm just delusional in thinking they're kinda cool and practical when compared to the more mainstream adjustable pole for touring. Should I get 'em and try them out or would I be better off just getting adjustables?

Please feel free to bully me into snapping out of my fixed length touring pole idea if you think it's a step in the wrong direction or if they're just unbearably ugly.

tl;dr - Found these fixed length touring poles, cop or drop over some adjustables?
Jan 21 2022 1:21PM
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CatdickBojangles
Posts: 5885 - Karma: 59,315
I use the j skis wizard staff adjustable pole and love it. It has the regular grip and the touring grip. I don’t ski with longer poles normally unless it’s powder. So the adjustability is key for me. Keep them short for everyday. Extend for tours. I have had zero issues with the clamping mechanism or the poles themselves. I don’t really see a point in fixed length unless you like long poles anyways.
Jan 21 2022 1:56PM
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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
I picked up a pair on a whim this season. My G3’s continuously loosen, and my girlfriend’s have dropped screws during tours and become useless.

For simplicity, they’re great. On the uphill they’re pretty good - but they do leave something to be desired on the down. Choking up on the grip means that you leave a good bit of grip floating above your hand. It’s a weird (not bad) feeling If you’re like me and used to normal grips. Still haven’t decided what I prefer.
Jan 21 2022 2:08PM
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cydwhit
Posts: 5052 - Karma: 42,621
Legally you have to ski Black Crows skis inbounds with tech bindings if you get these.

But actually, it's a cool concept, and if you don't usually adjust your poles that much between the up and the down, then they're awesome. But if you're like me, I generally like my poles around 115 cm long on the down, and 145 cm on the up, and that 30 cm length difference is further than I really want to choke up on a pole. Especially skiing inbounds when it's really just extra length to punch myself in the face with.

A few brands do a similar thing, but in a two piece adjustable pole. I'd probably get those for my next poles.

If you want to try out the concept, some tennis tape, or road bike bar tape and an old pair of fixed length poles will get you the same thing for much cheaper.
Jan 21 2022 3:32PM
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Nate5B
Posts: 12 - Karma: 90
On the uphill they’re pretty good - but they do leave something to be desired on the down. Choking up on the grip means that you leave a good bit of grip floating above your hand. It’s a weird (not bad) feeling If you’re like me and used to normal grips. Still haven’t decided what I prefer.[/quote]
Are the negatives of the downhill enough for you to not consider buying them again given the chance?
Jan 21 2022 4:23PM
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Nate5B
Posts: 12 - Karma: 90
BamskiI picked up a pair on a whim this season. My G3’s continuously loosen, and my girlfriend’s have dropped screws during tours and become useless.

For simplicity, they’re great. On the uphill they’re pretty good - but they do leave something to be desired on the down. Choking up on the grip means that you leave a good bit of grip floating above your hand. It’s a weird (not bad) feeling If you’re like me and used to normal grips. Still haven’t decided what I prefer.


I have no idea what happened to the formatting on my last reply but it hella messed up.

Are the negatives of the downhill enough for you to not consider buying them again given the chance?
Jan 21 2022 4:46PM
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cndr
Posts: 112 - Karma: 535
The point of going uphill is so you can ski down, personally a grip sticking out way above my hand would impede that. Seems like a solution in search of a problem especially when there are so many good adjustable poles out there. Adjusting length is easy as shit and comes in handy on the up, or longer traverses in deeper snow.
Jan 21 2022 5:07PM
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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
Nate5BI have no idea what happened to the formatting on my last reply but it hella messed up.

Are the negatives of the downhill enough for you to not consider buying them again given the chance?


Too early to tell. I’m kind of in the same boat as Cy, I seek out steeps and like to keep my poles short on the descent. Jump turns with an oversized pole feel weird. On the flip side they skin well and have zero chance of breaking down mid walk.
Jan 21 2022 7:03PM
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