hey Gearheads,
can anyone comment on the differences they have seen between these two poles. My wife and I have had it with our el-cheapo REI adjustables and are looking to upgrade. Any comments/thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

I haven't tried the Ti Goats but I love my LT4's. Had them on 24 miles of the AT this weekend and not one sign of slipping.

I have used my TiGoats as ski poles for XC touring. Worked fine.

Cheers

I'm the opposite of Chris. Can't speak to the LT4's but I recently used my Ti Goats over 3 days (60+ miles) and they worked great. The feature that is the best of any pole I've used is the optional camera mount. You can screw the mount in and leave it. Anytime you want a photo just press the pole into the ground, spin the pole under your camera, and set the timer. There are no "caps" to remove the mount is always available.

I have the agps and had a chance to play with the lightreks at adzpctko this year. The key differences for me are the grips which are shaped on the lightreks and more comfortable and the total lack of vibration noticeable on the agps.

For me those things alone make the lightreks superior. While I like the agps and won't replace them til they break I prefer re lightreks.

I have both. I have the first set of adjustable TiGoat poles ever sold and they have carried me for many, many hundreds of rugged miles. I recently purchased the Lightrek 4's and have only had the opportunity to use them on a couple of short hikes. Here's how I see the differences.

The TiGoats although much slimmer are actually more rigid that the GG's mainly due to the carbon fiber walls being slightly thicker, albeit a smaller diameter overall.

The GG's are slightly longer which makes them useable with my DuoMid with no extention needed.

The expanders are much larger in both length and width on the GG's and therefore I've noticed no slippage. The TiGoat's required an occasional check/tension.

The grips are entirely different and users will find that is an individual choice. I'd guess that the majority will like the Lightrek's better. Although very different I didn't find one that much better or more comfortable than the other.

They weigh exactly the same even though the GG's look heavier. This is due to the larger diameter... but the walls are thinner.

The minor repairs that I needed with the TiGoat's were done quickly and very economically by DJ. The Lightrek's haven't yet been through "the mill" that the TiGoat's went though, so customer service/repair is unknown.

Both great poles. Take your pick.

Edited by Quoddy on 06/01/2009 17:58:36 MDT.

Am I unduly worried?

I have to fly with my poles strapped vertically to the side of my pack. With metal poles, this has never been an issue but I'm concerned that carbon fiber poles may break during baggage handling (aka being thrown about by crazed gorillas). CF is vulnerable to forces at 90° to the fibers. The poles naturally extend beyond the top of the pack.

I can put them in their heavy cardboard mailing tube and check them through on the out-bound leg, but what to do with the tube when I land. I sure don't want to carry another 13 oz and mailing it to the end of the trail is not a convenient option.

What has been your experience?

Edited by wandering_bob on 06/01/2009 18:45:54 MDT.

No experience with the Ti Goats but can't say enough good things about the GG LT 4s. 3.7 oz per pole on my scale and no slippage over a recent extended multi-day trip. I highly recommend them.

As far as travel, I usually pack a gear bag and check the bigger bag with poles collapsed inside through to my destination. If you are not checking any bags, your cardboard tube idea will work, just rent one of those cheapo storage lockers at your destination airport. That might work, though I have never tried it?

I used to used both set of poles. I agree almost 100% with John Haley list of differences. Two things I would add is that the TG poles are easier to set-up as a monopod for photography and that I am in the camp that found the GG handles significantly more comfortable.

Mark, do you think it would be possible to drill a hole in the top of the GG poles and attach your own tripod mount?

Awesome feedback guys. I think my biggest concern/question is the locking mechanism. Are they similar on both? I am def developing carpal tunnel from twisting away on my el cheapo REI poles. Is the cost difference mainly b/c of the grips or are there other features? I am buying 2 sets so the $60 difference in price for the entire purchase has me looking more into the Ti Goats.

The locking mechanism of each is almost identical in design. Because the TiGoat expanders are quite a bit smaller in surface area they are prone to loosening over a period of trail time. I attribute that to a small, but constant turning of the poles during the plant. This usually is a problem on only one pole since they are naturally torquing in opposite directions. With either brand it is critical that they not be over tightened, since doing this can crack the CF from the inside pressure (ask me how I know this). TiGoat has greatly lessened this problem by adding an outside ring at the "normal" expansion point.

hey Guys,
found this great comp between the two....

http://lighthiker.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/lightrek-4-trekking-poles-vs-adjustable-goat-poles/

Hi Jon,
I've had both and much prefer the GG poles over the TIs.
I broke 2 lower sections on the TIs.
No problems at all with the GGs.
And the grips are awesome on the GGs.
I have Arthritis in the hands and the shaped grips make all the difference for me. I suspect they may be helpful for Carpal Tunnel since you can vary your grip.
Tim

It might be possible to attach a camera mount on the GG4, I haven't had time to seriously investigate such a mod. If you are serious about doing this you might drop a note to Grant at GG. I know they have been playing around with the GG4. Maybe they have already tried this and could suggest the best way to do it.

--mark

Thanks Mark, will do.

I spoke with Grant from GG at the PCT Kick-Off a couple months ago and he told me that the new straps they are planning to offer as an option with the Lightrek 4's are going to attach with an expander -- i.e., they are going to drill a hole in the top of the grip and put an expander in the top of the pole to which the strap attaches. This is also the way the Ti Goat straps attach, right? If that's the way they are doing the straps, it seems like it'd be an easy mod to add a camera mount.

Disclaimer: I am a co-founder of Titanium Goat, but left the company about a year ago to pursue other ventures.

1. Yes, both the expanders "rubber components" are virtually the same, with the exception of scale. Both work very well, as I intended when I came up with the concept.

2. Yes, the TiGoat straps attach with an expander in the handle end. I guess it would only make sense that GG would do it the same way, good idea!

3. You can NOT split the upper shafts of the new AGPs with the expander. The new tubing is much stronger, its......custom, and bomber.

Rant: And for this I apologize, but not really. Now the only reason that questions arise about the similarity of the expanders on the two poles, is because they are the same. Why are they the same? To belabor the point, because I designed it. Some time ago when TiGoat had 2 piece, non-adjustable poles, I was approached By Glen and Grant of GG, to help them achieve the same thing with their poles, along with other things. I agreed to design and build take down components for their poles, which I did, but was then told that they did not work. It does work, it was the same as the current expanders being used, but there was no adjustment of the pole. I should also note that when Glen approached me about this, I said to him that the next step in all of this is to make them adjustable, he replied "We're not that ambitious", and I took him at his word. What I'm getting at here, really goes beyond the two poles. It is not entirely bad to copy, mirror, simulate, etc. what other Co. are doing, this can in fact be a good thing, and can help to drive innovation through improvement and incremental development. While on the other hand, hiring the competition to do your engineering, under the guise of having them do sustained contract work, and not compensating them for it, is unethical, and runs counter to good business practice. Having come up through the ranks of manufacturing and engineering, and making a living at it daily, maaaayyyybe I'm reading too much into this. Maybe those in the world of retail just dont understand "manufacturing ethics". Or on another note, maybe all of this copying is just a sign that there needs to be some market consolidation? but like retail, I'm not really up on all of that.

Josh Leavitt

I own a pair of TG adjustables.

Good: I think there was only one time when I had to readjust a pole due to "self compaction". All other times, once the length is set, it's set -- even after multiple-day hikes up and down. And this makes me think that perhaps the one-time hiccup was my own failure to tighten the sections properly.

Not So Good:

1. Vibration -- when on sandy trails.

2. Sometimes, an expander won't "grip", so you have to keep trying until it does. This happens far fewer times than with the REI UL poles, but enough times to be annoying.


Josh -- Given what you wrote above, I can see why you would want to 'rant'. Perhaps Glen or Grant will post a response. But regardless, given the small size of UL gear industry, I really hope that everything will work out at the end. We hikers are beneficiaries of all your innovations! :)

Edited by ben2world on 06/07/2009 13:31:46 MDT.