Construction of trekking poles

1. Handle

The handle is usually made of EVA, rubber, cork, plastic and other materials. Each material has the following characteristics: EVA: comfortable grip, full and elastic, not affected by the season, and the material has sweat absorption function; rubber: full grip, better in winter Hard and easy to crack, does not have sweat absorption function, easy to slip in summer; cork: full grip, not affected by seasons, material has sweat absorption function, easy to wear and chip; plastic: poor grip, easy to crack in winter, easy to slip in summer, but Low cost, cheap and convenient.

2. Wristband

This is the most important part to consider when purchasing trekking poles, because the mutual transmission between the trekking poles and the user's body strength is mainly through the wrist strap, so when choosing a high-quality wrist strap, you should consider whether it has the following characteristics: Wide and narrow on both sides, which can prevent the hand from being strangled; the wrist strap adjustment buckle is set at the connection with the trekking pole, and does not touch the hand to prevent the hand from being caught; the inner side of the wrist strap is made of suede anti-friction material, which effectively protects the wrist strap from contact skin.

3. Strut

The material of the strut is usually made of aluminum alloy, carbon fiber, titanium alloy, wood, steel and other materials, among which aluminum alloy and carbon fiber are the most widely used, and several materials have the following characteristics: aluminum alloy: durable, low price, weight ratio carbon fiber and titanium Alloy is heavy and easy to corrode; carbon fiber: light, material elasticity and toughness, high strength ratio, corrosion resistance, high price; titanium alloy: light, material elasticity and strength, corrosion resistance, high price.

4. Locking system

The locking system is the core safety component of a trekking pole, and 90% of trekking pole problems are caused by the failure of the locking system. Cheap trekking poles generally use ordinary plastic parts that are easily deformed, while high-end trekking poles are made of high-hard engineering plastics (crystal plastic) and are precisely cut. Such as the industry-recognized advanced locking system, Black Diamond self-developed Flicklock joint locking system, Robinson’s patented SLS second-generation locking system, Wildview/Diwei’s 3LS safety locking system, etc.

At the same time, the aluminum alloy trekking poles will also be equipped with a shock absorber system together with the locking system. As a spring component, the shock absorber system can effectively buffer the impact force and reduce the pressure on the knee when going downhill, but because the spring will absorb the thrust when going uphill, it will consume extra energy when walking for a long time. In addition, spring parts with poor materials are prone to rust, breakage, slippage, etc., causing the locking system to buckle or fail. Trekking poles made of carbon fiber and titanium alloy, because the material itself has good elasticity and toughness, can achieve a balanced shock absorption effect without setting a shock absorber system.

5. Mud support

Mud support The mud support can prevent the trekking poles from sinking into the mud. However, there are many thorns and shrubs in the climbing environment, and the mud support will hinder the convenience of movement. Therefore, it should be noted that the mud support should be disassembled quickly so as not to cause trouble.

6. Rod tip

The material of the stick tip is rubber head, iron, carbon tungsten steel, etc. Carbon tungsten steel is the hardest and most expensive, and rubber heads are the cheapest, but they are also less able to cope with rough outdoor terrain, and their wear resistance is not as good as carbon tungsten steel heads. Common patterns on the tip of the wand include net pattern, diamond pattern, lattice pattern, etc. Among them, the diamond pattern has the best anti-slip and penetrating properties.