Collapsing Trekking Poles

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jbrown

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Hey all,

I just got back from an aborted attempt on the Macintyre Range.
Without doing a trip report here, I'll just say we ended up doing Wright from Marcy Dam via Whale's Tail ski trail, and that's it.

The problem I encountered was that, especially on the descent, but not exclusively, I needed to stop every few minutes and re-lengthen my poles. They are EMS 2 piece, twist-lock type. I have had this problem before, and am seriously considering trading them in (especially after the rotten day I had...)

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Thanks
 
Cant give you any suggestions but I can tell you that I feel your pain. My poles have been collapsing on me recently as well. It usually seems to happen at the most inoportune times. EMS has a great return policy so bring them back and get a different pair.
 
Are they old poles? You can replace the little plastic dingus inside the poles that expands to tighten the pole up. I have heard of this problem before, and I have this problem with a pair of Leki Ultralights that I have. That is why I switched to Cascade Design poles - they have buttons.
 
They're nearly new poles. Got them for my birthday last year, only used on a handful of hikes. (I can't go hiking once a month or more like some of you...very jealous.)

I think I'll look into the locking button type, or maybe just get a fixed length pole. Either way, thanks for the help!

Josh
 
Josh,
You may need to do some simple maintainance on your poles. First, take them apart and clean the inside of the tubes with a light soapy solution. Dry them well in the sun. Next, take a look at the expanders. Are they dirty? Are they glazed (shiney)? clean these also then rub the outsides with a fine grade sandpaper to take the sheen off and raise the coefficient of friction.
This should fix your problems as it did mine.
Happy Hiking,
Tom
 
Tom:
I didn't realize the poles could be taken apart. this sounds like my problem. thanks for the tip.
 
josh,

i mainly use telescopics for bc snowboarding. i bought a pair of komperdell titanals and experienced this problem as well. a few things on the subject:

as tom mentioned, begin by taking them apart and relubing them, perhaps even replacing the parts...i think you said they are ems...the parts should be easily available. see if this remedies your problem.

if this does not work, a question: how hard are you weighting down on your poles? (not a judgment, just a question) this is important because there are a few possibilities with the telescoping devices:

1. undertwist/turning the pole - in this case, simply twist them a bit firmer, perhaps a 1/4, 1/2 or full turn. this should keep them from collapsing when they should be in "fixed" mode. (i know this is pretty obvious, but worth mentioning anyway-no disrespect intended).

2. overtwist/turning the pole - effectively, the opposite problem, where you are overloading the mechanism which is usually plastic and will strip and collapse if overturned. simply don't twist them as firmly. if you are having much difficulty untwisting them when trying to collapse the poles this may be your problem. perhaps a 1/4, 1/2 or full turn less. this should keep them from stripping and collapsing when they should be in "fixed" mode.

3. overweighting - if you are really levering considerable body weight on your poles this will again, overload the plastic threading system to failure and they will strip and collapse. at this point, if this is your problem, and you think you need to use the poles in this manner, i would suggest a different type of pole such as the black diamond flick-locks.

i switched to these from the komperdells because i experienced continued failure. as it turns out, i simply overweighted the k-dell system which isn't designed to do what i was doing. wrong tool for the job. the bd expeditions are beefy, cost around $80 and should stand up to all abuse without the telescopic failure. they have an external locking device which cams the two pole halves much more securely and will generally not fail, at least i haven't had them do so yet. however, they do not have a shock-absorber, being that they are usually used for ski/snowboard mountaineering, not really hiking/trekking poles.

there are other brands which use other locking systems, life-link comes to mind. they are pricey but do have shock absorbers and the lekis are supposedly good, though they do use a similar plastic threading mechanism to the ems poles you currently have.

good luck, hope this helps.
 
I'm not familiar with the Cascade Design poles with the buttons, but the ones that EMS sells (made by Leki I believe) are crap in my opinion. Don't get me wrong. I like EMS, and they have a lot of good products, but these poles are not among them. Sorry to use such strong language, as I don't mean to offend Rico, but perhaps his pair is different from the pair that I have seen. The problem with the push button Lekis/EMS pole I've seen is that you have to make sure the button that pops out is alligned exactly with the hole it's supposed to pop out through. This might not sound like too much of an inconvenience, but in the winter it can be a real pain. You may likely find that you need to take off your gloves/mitts every time you want to adjust your pole. After a while, they tend to "crud" up easily as well, so that the pole doesn't slide easily during adjustment.

The Leki twist lock mechanism is far superior to the EMS/Komperdell twist lock mechanism. The Leki mechanism is much more durable. The EMS/Komperdell mechanism does seem to wear out and fail. I think the mechanism uses a softer plastic expander than the Leki, and the plastic slowly wears away from abrasion. I have also seen the plastic on the male end of the EMS/Komperdell twist lock mechanism crack and break from overtightenting. Masters poles also use a very durable and hardy twist lock mechanism, similar to the Leki mechanism. If you take your poles back to EMS, they will likely have the plastic expanders available in the back room, and will try that as a repair. You'll know right away if it does the trick or not.

With regards to taking your poles apart after each use, this is definitely a good idea. Just letting them air dry is usually good enough. It may also help, as suggested, to wipe down the inside, but I would strongly discourage lubricating the inside of the pole or any part of the twist lock mechanism. If you reduce the friction inside the pole, they will be difficult to lock down and more likely to fail.

John
 
Last edited:
jbrown said:
The problem I encountered was that, especially on the descent, but not exclusively, I needed to stop every few minutes and re-lengthen my poles. They are EMS 2 piece, twist-lock type.
I like EMS and have bought many of their products over the years. But as far as the poles, I'm partial to Lekis, only because of the great luck I've had with them (knocking on wood). I have had one of my poles collapse on the rare occasion, but I blame that on myself for not tightening them down as much as I should have on those particular times. It amazes me sometimes to think of the pounding my Lekis have taken, many times on bare rock, and yet they keep on ticking. I'm also one of those who occasionally puts full weight on them, when it comes to those situations where it's either doing that or jumping off a rock. My backbone doesn't like jumping. And do those carbide tips ever wear out?
 
TomEske said:
Josh,
You may need to do some simple maintainance on your poles. First, take them apart and clean the inside of the tubes with a light soapy solution. Dry them well in the sun. Next, take a look at the expanders. Are they dirty? Are they glazed (shiney)? clean these also then rub the outsides with a fine grade sandpaper to take the sheen off and raise the coefficient of friction.
This should fix your problems as it did mine.
Happy Hiking,
Tom

i agree with this statement...

i have had the EMS/Komperdell pair for 4 years and use them on everytrip i go on and have never had a problem... i use them hiking, and skiing no problem....

good luck
 
I have seen these http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/poles/bd-approach.html on the trail and am interested to see if others have used them before. I too have had bad luck with my EMS / Komperdell poles (to the point that I disassembled them and epoxied the plastic male shaped pieces into the poles.) This worked for a while, but when you get them apart it's easy to see why they fail, since they are so chincy. I may exchange them for Leki's since others seem to think that the twist lock mechanism is more reliable...
 
I forgot to mention above that the only times my Lekis have collasped on me has been during a major load such as a fall. Even then, they only collapse a bit, and I figure that this is preferable to the pole staying rock solid because it absorbs much of the shock without damage to either my body or the pole.
I also carry a spare expander of each size in my repair kit, as they weigh nothing.
Happy Hiking,
Tom
 
correction...tom suggested soaping the threading mechanisms and letting them air dry. i offered advice to do what tom suggested, but mistakenly mentioned "relubing" them. sorry for any confusion on that josh. thanks noticing and mentioning the inconsistency, john.

also, i have very limited field experience with lekis, but my understanding is that the mating mechanism is similar to the komperdell. if this is incorrect or if the leki system is similar but more robust, please feel free to comment.

cheers
 
keep sand out of the poles, especially when camping on a beach. Ask me how I know!

When camping on a beach in Hawaii, prepare to have sand in everything. Do not use your poles as a clothesline.

I have a pair of Komperdells and I like them and they have served me fine. One of them is suffering from terminal arthritis and is losing it's grip but I think that was because of sand so I can't blame them on that.

I also have a pair of BD flick-locks in a X-C Ski pole that I need to adjust, it's slipping on me too.

Jay
 
I had EMS/Komperdel carbon-fiber poles for 8 months. One pole loosened up and I broke it while snow shoeing. I called EMS to ask where I could get it repaired, and they said bring them in and they would replace them free of charge. (which they did- and they gave me an extra pair of baskets for non-winter use)
 
While I still have a pair of twisting poles for hiking, I switched to BD Flicklocks for skiing. They've never had a problem.

-dave-
 
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