I've been checking my email, and the product page on the shop tab, daily in hopes that the BPL Stix that I ordered might soon appear. When I ordered them, it looked like an ordinary pre-purchase, and it said that they would ship in early April.

Now when I go to the product page it says, "Prepurchase Closed - Stix Trekking Poles are no longer available for pre-purchase! Sorry, we only opened this up for 2008 thru-hikers. Delivery of the main batch will be in late spring."

Only for thru-hikers? I don't recall it saying anything about that!? And how will you know if I am a thru-hiker or not? Should I assume that since my order was accepted, that I qualified as a thru-hiker? Or will I have to wait for "late spring"? By the way, when is late spring - anytime before summer solstice? As in early June?

I don't have any set timeframe by which I need to have the new poles, but I am curious if the early April date will hold. Maybe you can add a note that says..."2008 thru-hiker pre-purchase poles will ship April XX."

I saw that as well after I prepurchased mine. I am guessing they are considering the people that jumped on them first to mean thru hikers. But yes, I agree, I have already paid for the poles so having them rather soon would be nice.

Edited by Jkrew81 on 04/07/2008 09:15:36 MDT.

I ordered 3/9. I specifically wanted them for a trip the first week of May. I would be very disappointed if a thru-hiker that ordered later got poles and I did not.

First come first served. Bad planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Sent out in order of orders received. What happens to the through hikers that don't complete? Send their poles to those next on the list! Madness!

Hi all -

We will provide an update tomorrow on the status of pre-orders.

There will not be any "test" for thru hiker status - that was just our way of saying that one of our goals was to give thru hikers a chance to pre-order.

You will not have to ship your poles to other hikers if you leave the trail :-)

More tomorrow.

Don

Thanks Don!

Personally, I kind of like the idea of shipping your poles to other hikers if you leave the trail!

No hikey, no poley!

Edited by jbrinkmanboi on 04/08/2008 03:19:33 MDT.

Here's today's update for anyone who did a pre-order on Stix.

It's a good news/bad news story.

Obviously our delivery was delayed from our plan. We're doing everything possible to get pre-orders here ASAP. The good news is that the pre-orders will have expedited delivery and will arrive in our warehouse significantly earlier than the main shipment.

The bad news is that we can't give you a specific date yet. Rather than speculate, I'll wait till we have a solid date and post here again.

I will post again as soon as we know - probably in a few days if not sooner.

Don

Any word on the Stix delivery time?

On the 8th of April,
"I will post again as soon as we know-probably in a few days if not sooner".

Its been 17 days....thats 2 weeks and a little later.

I have a question about these poles that may effect my going ahead with purchase of the 2 sets I ordered.
When the discription says the tips are integrated with the shaft does this mean there is no seperate tip like you would find on a Leki or BD or LightTrek?
If I break a tip....have I actually broke a pole?
Because breaking a replacable tip is no big deal. On a long hike far from the beaten path you can carry an extra tip and not slip a disc.
But breaking a tip that is part of the pole and having to replace the WHOLE pole....
Is this the case?
Greg

Edited by Gregory on 04/25/2008 21:13:37 MDT.

Hi all -

I haven't posted because we have not had a solid date - and I'm just as tired as you are of saying "any day now...".

I will post here immediately when the date for pre-orders and the full shipment is clear. We really do expect that to be very soon, as the logjam was broken a couple of days and ago and our shipment is moving forward.

Greg - let me verify re your pole tip question to be sure before I answer.

Don

Tough to tell in the photo, but they appear to be different than the standard Komperdell tips.

Edited by jbrinkmanboi on 04/29/2008 19:43:19 MDT.

All -

Stix are on the way to the warehouse. Only remaining hurdle is getting through US Customs. Will post here when we are through the last hurdle.

Don

I'm betting that the Stix are modeled somewhat after a pole Komperdell calls the Carbon Featherlight. Its a ski pole.
According to Komperdell "Perfect for spectacular moves in deep powder". They didn't mention anything like "Great for jabbing into sand, mud,dirt and rocks".
Unlike most of their poles which have a carbide flextip ( or steel poles that the tip is simply a continuation of the pole)
The Carbon Featherlight has just a "carbide tip".
From the looks of the photos and the comments on the Stix purchase page about the tip being "integrated" and needing to be wrapped with ductape to prevent nicks, I'm thinking you break your tip ,you've broke your pole.
The photos look like the pole tapers all the way to the end where there is just a small "carbide tip".
The part that holds the basket looks like it just slides over the end of the pole till it reaches a point where it stops due to the increse in diameter of the poles taper.
I've never broke a flex tip in 11 years of trekking pole use and maybe thats due to the "flex" in flextip. I've most certainly had times when the tip got wedged momentarily and and could have broken.
I think a tip that flexes to resist breakage and breaks when stressed too much so the pole itself doesn't break and then can be quickly and easily replaced just makes good sense.....like a breakaway derailluer hanger on a bike so you just screw up the hanger and maybe your derailluer, not your bike frame.
I've cancelled my 2 orders for stix poles.
This is an item I'm going to wait and see what others experience is before I lay down greenbacks.
Meantime, I'll stix with my Lighttreks and the very cheap and easy to replace Leki Flextips.
Anyone there at BPL want to speak up in defense of the Stix tip or lack thereof?
I'm open minded.
Greg

Greg -

I do know that Stix tips are replaceable, though I haven't yet used them myself, so I can't comment on how the tip flex or lack thereof might impact the risk of breaking a pole.

I've had good luck myself with CF poles, and I think having some awareness of getting poles or tips jammed into slots is important, so you can react quickly when this happens.

Regardless, I'll do a little more digging to give you more feedback in the specifics.

Don

Edited by don on 05/01/2008 00:04:31 MDT.

Thanks Don,
I use CF too.
Lightrek gen two and Komperdell C-3 Compacts.
Love 'em.No durability issues.
Need replaceable tips though.
I hope this is the case with Stix.
Greg

I have a pair of the one piece lightweight pole sold at Gossamer Gear. If you look at Jason's picture above, the "tips" start at the stopper-like unit, the pole fits into the hollow "tip" which is about 4" long. Extra tips that fit these poles can be purchased at stores that carry the Leki tips. Leki tips are compatible. This means if you break a tip, you will not be breaking the pole. The tips can be pulled off, or put on by hand. The rubber units at the top of the tip allow you to attach a basket. For shipping, you can find mailing tubes at Post Offiices. Usually you need to but two and tape them together. Shipping tape is also found at POs.

these are impossible to just pull off by hand, I tried. Is there a method using a hair dryer or something to aid in removal? I'd love to hear how ya do it...

Hmmm... for you to know they are impossible to pull off by hand would mean that you already have yours? Must be a thru hiker!?!

All -

I'm waiting to have a pair in hand before describing tip removal, etc.

Don

Hi all you patient pre-order people -

The pre-order STIX arrived in our warehouse today and will ship tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

The main shipment will not arrive for about a month, so other customers will have to wait till mid-June to get a pair.

Cheers,
Don