I need a new pair of lightweight trekking poles I can't find much info. I need them to be adjustable for my tarp tents. Does anybody use fixed length poles for tarp tents?

Im looking for something arround 10 oz. for the pair. Any suggestions?

http://gossamergear.com/trekking/trekking/lt4-trekking-poles.html

8.2 oz for pair. They receive good feedback (see reviews on BPL).

I use Fizan Compact poles, aluminum, 158g each, adjustable with twist locks. I've had them for about 2 years now and love them. No issues with the locks. Purchased them from outdoorgb.com -- they're currently on sale for US$64 for the pair.

Lt4 poles are out of stock. A bit pricey at $175. They look nice tho.

Helinox makes a pair of adjustable poles for ~ 10 oz:

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Helinox/PassportTwistLock

I have a pair of the fixed length Helinox Passport Tension Lock, and have rather mixed feelings. I got them for a song on SAC last spring. There is some wobble where the outer shaft joins with the inner shaft at the top of one of the poles, and both poles bow quite a bit. Drives me nuts. The latter is probably what you'll find with any UL pole, but for $30 I figured they were worth a try.

This is probably complicated by my hiking style (I tend to do a fair amount of work with my arms+poles) and my weight. If I slip or start to twist my ankle, I depend on the pole being able to take enough weight that I can right myself.

Contacted gg. The lt4 poles will be in stock mid feb.

Although pricey, you won't be disappointed with the LT4's...I'm 260 pounds and I've found the poles to be rock solid to the point that I've been surprised a couple of times when I've stumbled and accidentally put way more weight on them than I would ever do intentionally.

I have the LT4's without the straps and am unlikely to ever own a different trekking pole.

Also have fizan compact 4 (same as mentioned above but 4 parts instead of 3 - folds more compact and weighs 20g more

No frills - just works.

I don't know whether you can get the Helinox LB130 walking poles in the states, but if so, they're good poles and sturdy.
They weigh in at 8 ounces each, so heavier than some,and compact down to 23 inches.
They have a lever mechanism rather than screw.

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Helinox/PassportTwistLock

I've been using these exact Helinox ones for quite a while. They work great, and came in right at 10.1oz. Almost as stable as the old BD 18oz ones I used to have.

Edited by lindahlb on 01/25/2013 13:12:12 MST.

Fizan compact ultralites here too.
After several hundred miles on the AT with them, no issues.
Actually weigh closer to 12oz for pair when including straps and small baskets

Cant beat the price. Durable and dependable so far.

Not easily adjustable but fairly light, quite strong, and quite cheap (you could probably somewhat easily design something to make them semi-adjustable), are pre dried/treated bamboo poles. After reading some posts here and seeing some youtube videos, i was inspired to make some. They are not finished, but it looks promising since two 6 foot poles together weigh in at 16 oz. Obviously i will make them much shorter (i expect the finished pair to be somewhere inbetween 9 to 12 or so oz). So far, cost of materials is 6 dollars (bought at Lowes for 2.98 per pole). I plan to add some foam grips, and some rubber stops or pegs on the bottom.

I'm guessing though, you might want or need more fully adjustable poles for your tarp-tent setup. For semi adjustable poles: If you cut one of the poles into two pieces (not cleanly in half though) and add a female to male screw or coupling, or peg in for that one, and a connector on the non cut pole and made the non cut pole slightly longer to compensate for the slight weight difference between the two, it might give you just enough flexibility for use with the tarp tent, but i'm completely speculating and i would probably first ask more experienced people than myself about the feasibility of that. It might be that this could ruin the structural integrity or strength of the one bamboo pole though.

Either way, best of luck.

Edited by ArcturusBear on 01/28/2013 22:26:46 MST.