Spring, Summer and Fall Hiking Poles

I carried a hiking pole when I was a Boy Scout, but it was one of those "Wannabe a Cherokee" things with feathers and fur and was carved out of oak. It probably weighed ten pounds. When my hormones quieted down enough for me to realize how much beauty there is in the backcountry, I bought a single aluminum pole that could double as a camera monopod, but it, too, was pretty heavy. Then I got to hike with a friend's converted ski poles, and since I was then carrying fifty pounds on my back I was immediately hooked. The "Animal Farm" residents had it right - four legs are better than two legs, at least on the big ups and downs and in the middle of a swollen mountain stream.

Leki eventually remedied the weight problem, and there are a whole slew of poles now on the market that weigh not much more than a pound a pair. The problem is that nobody makes either ski or hiking poles with a camera attachment. So, I make my own.

My first ultralight, camera-ready poles were a pair of Komperdell Pure Carbons. To make theses poles camera ready I screwed and glued a half-inch-long, quarter-inch-diameter, twenty-threads-to-the-inch stainless steel set screw into the top of each pole's grip. However, these poles use metal hardware in their expander mechanisms, and mine eventually rusted beyond repair. (Beware, potential Pure Carbon owners! The metal in Pure Carbon expander mechanisms is not stainless steel, and replacement mechanisms are not available in the US.)

My current poles are a pair of Leki Makalu Ultralight Titaniums. To make them camera ready I've screwed and glued (epoxied) a one-and-a-half-inch-long, quarter-inch-diameter, twenty-threads-to-the-inch stainless steel bolt into the top of each grip, and then cut the head off the bolt. This modification required that I do away with the wrist strap adjustment device, but I only use wrist straps for river crossings, so I replaced the straps with soft, cord-lock-adjustable nylon laces. Weight: 17 ounces per pair. Source: a local hiking store, but you'll have to do the mod yourself.