Ski Poles

By helping you with your balance, ski poles are a safety item that needs attention before you hit the slopes. In the telemark Skiing category, Ski poles are also adjustable.

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Ski Tips

Ski poles help you keep your balance on the Ski slopes and can help you get up when you fall. They are useful to get leverage on flat terrain or when you are trying to go uphill.

What you are looking for in your Ski pole purchase is a blend of functional utility, comfort, safety and price. You should look for discounts because they are out there.

Ski poles have a shaft, grip handle and basket at the snow-tip end of the equipment.

The Ski pole shaft is a tapered tube that forms a pointed tip at the non-grip end for penetrating the snow. Most shafts are made out lightweight materials like aluminum or graphite. The more expensive shafts are made out of composite materials. Some brands are extremely thin (pencil poles) while others are aerodynamically shaped for the downhill racing crowd. The Ski equipment manufacturers study things like swing weight which is the weight and balance required to use the Ski pole gear while Skiing. The Ski pole manufacturers take their research and build it into their equipment. There is equipment with shock absorber type mechanisms to help the aggressive mogul Skiers.

The grip handle located at the top end of the shaft is usually made out of hard rubber or plastic. The grip configuration should be molded to fit into your Ski gloved hands. There should be an adjustable strap that allows your glove or mittens to easily get in and out of the hand grip. You want a fairly tight strap when you are Skiing so the pole doesn't come loose and throw you off. There are one-piece grips that were designed to address thumb and wrist injuries during a fall. They have a plastic loop attached to the grip handle that creates an opening when you fall to release your hand.

The basket is attached to the shaft just above the pointed snow tip. Its purpose is to prevent the Ski pole from going too far into the snow and getting stuck. You should consider getting different size baskets. In powder, you want a larger basket. The baskets are usually made out hard plastic materials.

Telemark Skiing involves backcountry Skiing with a free heel Ski where the slopes are ungroomed and there is deep powder. The Ski equipment manufacturers recommend an adjustable pole to deal with changing backcountry conditions. The adjustable poles can be used for avalanche probes and as a way to get a grip on snow conditions and slope angle. When you are not Skiing, they can be downsized and put into your backpack.

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