I've broken two carbon fibre poles going down hill on scrambles. But I weigh 210.

Using BD's flicklock aluminum poles have caused me nothing more than cheer.

I do take my poles in my baggage. I had to measure the suitcase to make sure these long GG poles would fit. Carry on I don't think so.

I am sure I could break any pole make with my track record ;~)

An alternative to checking your entire backpack is to get a cardboard tube for your poles and knives -- and just check those. Minimizes risk of damage or loss to your pack. The tubes are available at your local PO:

I purchased a pair of GG LT4s in April. I broke both poles coming over Muir Pass in July. GG was very reasonable with repair costs and offered great customer service. In September, I again broke both poles while in the Wind River Range(steep rocky downhills). I'm in the process of getting them repaired. I must admit, while on the trail, I was pretty frustrated with the second set of failures. However, upon reflection, I will probably continue to choose the weight of the carbon poles over the greater strength offered by other poles.

BTW-I only weigh 145 lbs. so breaking the carbon poles doesn't take a lot of weight.

Rusty,


Notice in that picture that they've got the tip wedged down between two pieces of sidewalk and are bending it, not pushing it down.

My poles have supported my entire body weight with a fraction as much bend. I'm not saying they're unbreakable, but they're extremely robust. They don't bend any observable amount in regular, even extreme use. Without harping on about what I've been doing this past year (especially last winter), you'll just have to take my word for it, they're strong.

I've heard of way more failures of the GG poles than I have the goat poles for some reason, but the GG poles are also more prolific.


I weigh around 160 also for what it's worth.

"An alternative to checking your entire backpack is to get a cardboard tube for your poles and knives -- and just check those. Minimizes risk of damage or loss to your pack."

Nice Ben - I am going to 'steal' this idea. Muhaaaahaha.

Great having so much feedback!

The Tigoat poles intrigue me but I can't envision how the locking mechanism works. Does anyone by chance have any photos of that area?

Also, could one make their own wrist straps for these poles without too much trouble?

TiGoat AGP's are excellent. They're very simple and robust for such a lightweight pair of poles. I like the rigidity of the poles but they have a certain amount of pliability that offers some forgiveness when I misplace the pole tips. I'm 6' and weigh 170lbs., on past trips I've relied rather heavily on my poles for days of endless turbulent stream crossings and steep and rocky descents with no complaints or fuss. In fact, on many occasions I've had my poles ripped out of my hands after catching them in between rocks and crannies. Would the GGLT4's stand up to the abuse? I don't know, I'm not convinced they would after hearing all the accounts of broken poles having to be sent back and repaired. But, like Dan mentioned, they are more abundant amongst us. Is Gossamer's carbon process different than Ti Goat? More brittle?

Let me start with saying that I don't believe that there is a perfect set of trekking poles and my choice of trekking poles depends on the trip.

1) I started with the REI Peak Ul Trekking Poles. I went through three sets of these and won't take them on any important trip even if they were free. One set broke on a snowshoe trip. (My fault, wrong application) and they other two screw locking system completely went out on trips. However, not all screw locking systems are as finicky as the REI poles.
2) I current take GG Lt-4's (no straps) for all on trail and most off trail trips. I love these poles and the locking system is both simple and robust. They are so lightweight that I don't even know they are there until I need them. I have also used them on trip where I run the downhills and they have been wonderful.
3) For some off trail and all snowshoe trips I use a set of AL Komperdells with twist lock. These are more robust in snow where you will often stick a pole into an air pocket next to a rock or log and go down down hard. But I also know that nothing short of a steel post will eliminate any chance of breakage. These poles are heavier than the LT-4's but I'm rarely doing over 15 miles in this type of environment.

Edited by gg-man on 10/03/2010 12:15:36 MDT.

I am always surprised at the differing opinions about the same product that can be found on the internet. One guy hates them and wouldn't use them if they were free and another loves them.

I have owned a pair of the REI (Komperdell) Peak UL Trekking Poles for about 5 years and have never had any problem with them, other than the fact that the twist locks sometimes spin and do require a little fiddling. That can be annoying at times. They often get wedged between rocks or get so much pressure put on them that they really bend but they have never broken and have always held up just fine. I have really put them through the paces in the last five years and would have to say that I am quite pleased with their performance.

I've got the Ti Goat poles. Love the weight, and they actually feel a lot better in use than my old Komperdell aluminum poles with shock absorbers did. I think this is because I value vibration dampening more than shock absorbtion. The shock absorbers would just provide a bit of give when I put weight on the poles. Don't see the point in that, because if I'm putting weight on the pole, it's because I want to use it to push off of, and not move away from me! Aluminum, however, transmits the initial vibration of hitting something hard much better than CF, and the shock absorbers did absolutely nothing to lessen that initial light hit.

It's not all rosy though. I really don't like the rubber expander locks. They're lightweight and simple, and make the units modular (you can get a Tenkara fishing pole extension that screws in using the same expander.... cool!) But I have a lot of problems locking them. They need to be pre-expanded a bit by screwing them down BEFORE entering the pole, but if you've done this enough (it needs to actually be a fair bit, because the inside diameter of the upper poles isn't exactly constant), it makes it really difficult to slide them to where you want.
And if it's wet/raining, you can forget about a 100% reliable lock. It will slowly slip down on you and you'll need to readjust every half hour or so, regardless of how much you tighten. I think this is because at a certain point the expanders will no longer grip the walls to expand as you're twisting; they just slide as you turn. Ti Goat warns against "over-tightening," but frankly I've not once been able to get them even "tight enough," much less over-tight. It's just not physically possible.

I thought this should all get better over time as the rubber softens, but it hasn't at all. I've tried using a rough sandpaper to roughen up the rubber, and even dirtying the locks with fine grit, but nothing really helps.

All that said, they're worth the weight. Flip-locks would be great but we're talking over 3 times the weight for the next lightest option.

Edited by dasbin on 10/04/2010 22:13:15 MDT.

Great. I was taking my Goat poles apart to provide a photo of the expander mechanism for this thread, and pulled the lower section out at a slight angle by accident. The expander popped out under stress and the lower pole cracked vertically in several places.
I guess the Goat god is paying me back for speaking ill of him!

D'oh!
I know how you feel. I just ruined the bottom section of my Leki's by using it under my Trailstar. I had the poles pulled out past their maximum length by accident.

Ohhhh man!! I feel some what responsible. Sorry about that. I really appreciate your effort to take photos though! Thanks too for the candidness on the downfalls of the mechanism.