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Pacerpole “Posture Poles”

Hiking in the Middlesex Fells with my Pacerpoles
Working out in the Middlesex Fells with my Pacerpoles

I use trekking poles  made by a British company called Pacerpole that have a unique hand grip which is tilted at a 45 degree angle instead of the vertical cross-country-style ski pole grip you find on other trekking poles.

Pacerpoles are very popular in the UK and Europe, particularly among long distance hikers and hill walkers, but are virtually unknown in the US because you can only buy them online from Pacerpole directly. I got exposed to them because many of my English and Scottish hiking friends use them religiously. I decided to give them a try myself and became an instant convert.

I thought I’d elaborate on the reasons why in this post because they’ve had such a monumental impact on my hiking experience.  Below, I focus on my experience using these trekking poles and some of the health and postural benefits they’ve provided me.

Pacerpoles in Scotland - 2013 (Photo: Martin Rye)
Pacerpoles in Scotland – 2013 (Photo Credit: Martin Rye)

Posture Poles

When I started testing Pacerpoles in 2011, I had no idea that they would completely transform my day hiking and backpacking experience. I jokingly call them Posture Poles because they have completely changed the mechanics of my stride and postural alignment, making it more efficient, and eliminating a chronic ailment I’d previously resigned myself to suffer from for the rest of my life.

Before I tried Pacerpoles, I suffered from severe ITB (Illiotibial Band Syndrome), that required that I wear knee braces or ITB straps for hikes and which effectively limited my backpacking trips to 75 miles in length before it was too painful to carry on any further. People with ITB have a very tight layer of tissue called fascia on the outside of their quadriceps that can misalign the knee-joint and cause excruciating pain when the inner parts rub against one another.

Since switching to Pacerpoles, I’ve backpacked distances between 100-220 miles several times with no recurrence of ITB symptoms. None ever. I’d given up hope of this ever happening and it’s a total miracle as far as I am concerned.

Pacerpoles in the 100 Mile Wilderness (Photo Credit: Martin Rye)
Pacerpoles in the 100 Mile Wilderness – 2012 (Photo Credit: Martin Rye)

The Handgrips

When I started hiking with Pacerpoles, the slanted orientation of the handgrips forced me to stand up straight. Over the years, they’ve completely changed my hiking posture, so that my head is held high,  my chest and lungs are open, my shoulders are back and relaxed, and skin between my shoulder blades is slightly crinkled. My arms hang loosely by my sides and my pole tips almost never touch the ground in front of my feet. I’ve internalized these postural changes so much, that this is my normal walking around town posture now, even when I’m not hiking with Pacerpoles.

People who use trekking poles with vertical handgrips, with or without hand straps to hold their weight, tend to hold their poles so that their pole tips always hit the ground in front of their feet. This causes you to slouch forward when you hike, it shifts the weight of your backpack forward onto the your quad muscles instead of your stronger and larger gluts/butt muscles, and requires more energy to hike because your poles act as brakes that you need to push over to move forward.

This is all caused by the fact that the hand grips on regular trekking poles are vertically aligned, requiring that you lean forward and cock your wrist to hold onto them. Pushing your bodyweight down on trekking pole handstraps is even less efficient.

Carbon Fiber Pacerpoles
Carbon Fiber Pacerpoles with elastic keeper straps

Unlike regular ski-grip trekking poles, Pacerpoles don’t have straps, although there’s an optional keeper cord (a simple non-weight bearing string or bungie cord) that you can loop through the handle and wrap over your wrist to keep the poles from falling if you need to use your hands for something else. I don’t use the keeper straps because I find they catch on passing shrubs which is an annoyance.

Pacerpoles on Mt Crawford, White Mountains - 2012
Pacerpoles on Mt Crawford, White Mountains – 2012

Power Transfer

In addition to their postural benefits, it’s possible to get a lot more power out of your arms with Pacerpoles than normal trekking poles which is why they are so popular with mountaineers and hill walkers.

The secret is in the handgrip, which has a lip around the bottom of the handle that the heel of your palm rests on. When you need to power up a slope, you extend your triceps muscles driving your arm strength through the heel of your hands and into the pole while keeping your elbows close to your ribs and inline with the rest of your torso.

This provides a very efficient lifting action which offloads stress on your legs and is most effective when the opposite leg and arm are  synchronized: for example, the right hand swings forward when you take a step with your left leg, and vice versa.

Pacerpoles at Thunderstorm Junction, White Mountains
Pacerpoles at Thunderstorm Junction, White Mountains

Pole Tip Position

When walking with Pacerpoles, the tips of the poles are planted besides you feet rather than in front of them. When coupled with forward momentum, this results in a lifting action that propels your body forward while keeping your torso erect. It almost looks like you’re planting your pole tips behind your body with your hands slightly in front of your waist and the pole shaft angled back to the ground at a 45 degree angle. Though counterintuitive, the pole tip position and pole shaft angle are the reason why Pacerpoles generate so much lift when you walk.

Hiking with Alan and Heather Rhodes in the Yorkshire Dales
Hiking with Alan and Heather Rhodes of Pacerpole.com in the Yorkshire Dales

The People Behind Pacerpoles

Pacerpoles were developed by Heather and Alan Rhodes in the UK. Heather is a trained physiotherapist (sort off the British equivalent of a physical therapist) who has spent the past 40 years helping people learn to walk after injury and disease, while Alan is a retired architect who oversees pole design and manufacturing.

I spent a week with Heather and Alan at their home in the UK this spring, and they are the kindest, most generous people you could ever expect to meet. I got to know them quite well on my visit and discovered that they are a much more interested in helping people discover the benefits of walking with Pacerpoles – everyone from elderly pensioners and polio survivors to backpackers and mountaineers – a bit more than they are in running a business and making a huge profit. So not to different from other US-based cottage manufacturers who run lifestyle businesses because they love what they do even though they know they’ll never get rich from it.

During my visit, Heather analyzed my Pacerpole technique and gave me quite a few tips on how to improve my hiking efficiency as I struggled to keep pace with her on the hills and mountains of England’s Lake District (she is a very fit and fast walker.) While using Pacerpoles had already cured my chronic ITB, these efficiency tips have really helped optimize my use of Pacerpoles since then.

My Miracle ITB Cure

How exactly did Pacerpoles help cure my Illiotibial Band Syndrome?

I think the answer is primarily postural. Pacerpoles make me stand up straighter and taller when I hike which keeps the  fascia on the outside of my quadriceps muscles longer and more stretched out. The fact that I stand up straighter and taller all the time as a consequence of hiking A LOT with Pacerpoles is just icing on the cake.

Fast forward to 2018 (3 years later). Pacerpole has a carbon fiber dual lock pole that closes with a lever grip and pin, unlike the twist locks discussed in this review. They have the same unique handgrips. If you’re thinking about trying Pacerpoles, I’d get the Dual Locks. The segments never slip or wear out like a twist lock. Read my 2017 gear review of the Pacerpole Dual Locks or check them out at the Pacerpole online store.

In Closing

Pacerpoles are my hiking miracle and probably added another 30 years of hiking and backpacking to my life. But, my experience with Pacerpoles is not that unique. I know many people who have benefited in other ways by using them to hike.

If you’re even remotely intrigued, I encourage you to order a pair of Pacerpoles today try them out. Pacerpoles come with a 4 week money-back guarantee, so they’re a low risk product to try out. They’ve helped me tremendously and the might do the same for you.

Disclosure: Pacerpole supplied Philip Werner (SectionHiker.com) with several pairs of free and loaner Pacerpole trekking poles, but Philip has not been under any obligation to write about them or review them. 

Written 2015. Updated 2018.

SectionHiker is reader-supported. We only make money if you purchase a product through our affiliate links. Help us continue to test and write unsponsored and independent gear reviews, beginner FAQs, and free hiking guides.

37 comments

  1. Hi Philip
    I read your piece here with great interest -willing you to convince of PP magic as everyone I know raves about them – I may be stupid but I do not get it. Perhaps I should give them a try but at 100$ it is too major a commitment if they do not prove better than the carbon fibre poles I have used for the past 5 years.
    Perhaps they are appropriate if you suffer from ITB or bad posture but I mostly hold/steer mine loosely with the inner surface of my fingers and apply force on the straps with the lower edge of my palms. They only point forwards when I want them to eg when going downhill and on the level vector force pushing me forward and slightly upwards. The open chest, shoulders back head erect posture you describe is I find the default when using my poles. mmmm….. I just don’t get it. I’ll go across to Nielson’s site to see if he can convince me. I think the only way to decide on this would be to give them a try – I wonder if Heather and Alan would lend me a pair over a couple of days in the Lakes? Thanks for th review tho….Fred

    • Fred, this is one of those products that you almost have to try before you buy because they are so different from ski style poles. I went through that same process myself. I was very skeptical at the outset, even looking for fault, and was astounded by the results. If these poles have a commercial failing its that you need to learn how to use them properly which can take a while because you need to deprogram your old pole use habits. For example, there are a lot of subtle torso rotation and arm cadence nuances that can take a bit f time to take advantage off as you retrain your body to walk with the poles. Heather and Alan give out loaners to many people so if you are near Windemere I would phone them up for a visit. Heather is amazing to talk to and always eager to provide 1-1 training.

    • I bought a pair based on Phillip’s earlier review and love them. There is no question the biomechanics of their design is a significant improvement over traditional poles. I am sure if you bought them and did not like them you could easily sell them on BPL’s Gear Swap. I have no affiliation with the company – just a happy customer.

  2. Pacer poles do work. But, most of the trails I hike are two narrow for two poles. Many don’t even let me use the one I normally carry. I would guess than 50% of time, two poles cause more problems than they solve. I am not really convinced than using one pacer pole would help all that much. Nor do I want to spend a lot of cash on something I am not convinced of.

    Yes, planting a pole ahead of your feet does no good. I usually plant it slightly ahead or even with my foot, allowing my weight to roll over it on levels, or, drag it behind me on upgrades, allowing it to help push up bit.

  3. Hi, As an owner of two pairs of PPs I can echo exactly what you say in your piece. They are fabulous and for anyone with physical ailment I would say that they are worth the money – and certainly worth a try. I have hike 100s of miles with them, including some very technical Alpine and Scottish mountain terrain. They are in my opinion perfect and their ability to improve posture and even at the end of a long mountain day, you feel capable of carrying on and your levels of physical fatigue are much less than with other pole design-types. Perhaps their greatest strength is in helping you maintain balance and poise on descents. The nature of the grips allows very precise placement and doesn’t put strain on the hand or wrist. I can’t recommend them enough.

  4. Last year I suffered from several leg injuries including an ITB when I was hiking out West. I also took a nasty fall while running and had two fractures in my ankle and all sorts of stretched out ligaments. Since these injuries, I have taken several steps to ensure this won’t happen again. Along with a series of daily stretches designed to work your IT band, the biggest change I made this year was weight training.

    When I was in high school and college I was involved in a lot of sports and did a lot of weight training. As a hiker, I think this came back to hurt me because I put on to much weight in muscles that aren’t useful for hiking.

    After my injuries last year my focus switched to dropping weight and working out my legs. I was 6’3 250lbs when I hurt my ankle last year. I could always carry that much weight well because I’m pretty broad, so it wasn’t an unhealthy 250lbs. I’m down about 20lbs this year, I stretch daily and I work out my legs twice a week at the gym.

    Knock on wood, I haven’t had any injuries this year and I really feel like the added muscle in my legs has had a lot to do with that. That being said, I haven’t done more than 50 miles on any given hike this year. Next year, I’m looking to through-hike one of America’s shorter great trails! (Either the JMT or the Long Trail).

    As I train for what will be the longest hike of my life, my IT band and ankle are at the front of my mind. The $100 price tag is steep. I have been working with a pair of Carbon Fiber poles I picked up at an REI garage sale for two years now and they have been wonderful, but they may be well worth the $100 if they can improve my chances at an injury free through hike.

    • I drove myself crazy trying to fix ITB with stretches and weight training, yoga, braces, anti-inflammatories. That’s all past me now. I think $100 is inexpensive and they are incedibly easy to keep in good condition with modular replacements (sections) available if you break or bend them. I don’t even view these as akin to poles, but as a technical tool for walking, more like an ice axe, but useful in all 4 seasons.

      • I will defiantly look into it. I’m about as cheap as they come when it comes to hiking equipment, but given the leg injuries I suffered in 2012 and my future goals it sounds like a worthwhile investment.

  5. Hi Philip

    I would endorse everything you say. I would never go back to ordinary poles. I paid for mine myself by the way and have no connections with the company.

    David (UK) http://www.fellbound.co.uk @fellbound

  6. Do you use these all the time in the White Mountains (even in the winter)? Also, I see great reviews on their web site that go back to “03. It seems like this is a much better product. Why doesn’t other manufacturers ( Leki, Black Diamond, etc who also have great reviews) redesign their poles if the PP design is that much better? It didn’t take long after the start of the Toyota Prius before other car manufactures came out with their version of the hybrid car. Just curious.

    • Heather and Alan have had many discussions with Leki and MSR about licensing the grip to, but those manufacturers decided not to go ahead, despite glowing reviews from independent testers that they hired, because introducing poles with a different handgrip system would discredit all of their existing products and because Pacerpoles do require training and behavior changes to use properly. The manufacturers figured we’re too stupid to learn anything new – which is probably a fair assessment of the American public, particularly the half obsessed with downhill skiing.

      I use my pacerpoles sometimes in winter but haven’t switched over completely. It’s complicated to explan, but my stride mechanics are completely different in winter when I wear mountaineering boots, snowshoes, and crampons instead of trail runners in 3 season. Winter walking with heavy footware looks a lot less like hiking and more like walking like a mummy – leading with a distinct hip thrust rather than a knee extension. I’m honestly still tring to figure it all out.

      • An update here. I have now used my Pacerpoles for an entire winter hiking season and absolutely love them. In addition to all of the benefits described above, they are also available with a neoprene overmit for winter use which keeps your hands warm and helps minimize thenumber of gloves you need to carry on winter hikes. These overmits have “MADE” my winter, They are simply fabulous. You can read about them here.
        https://sectionhiker.com/pacerpole-over-mitts/

  7. Very interesting discussion, Phillip. I’m a firm believer in poles, but pay little attention to technique and rarely use the straps. No particular physical problems, but like the power I get from them uphill, and the stability on downhill. Might give pacerpoles a try.

    • Ralph,

      Pacerpoles are the absolute best. they are like four wheel drive for your body, more power and grip with less effort. I have used mine since 2011 and have several thousand miles hiking throughout the Mojave Desert. Most of the paint is gone from using them to push through brush and scrub, the only repairs I have made is replacing the tips and baskets. These things are bulletproof and I would not use anything else.

  8. I got Pacerpoles two or three years ago and I’m never going back to my old ones. Ordering a pair from across the pond was actually cheaper than the Lekis I bought in the USA.

    I don’t have IBS, however, I do have severe arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and nerve damage in both my hands and wrists and am typing right now with braces on both hands. The only time my hands and wrists don’t hurt is when I’m hiking with my Pacerpoles. The grips are shaped so ergonomically and wonderfully for my hands. Last March, I fell down a mountainside while hiking with the grandkids and received multiple fractures in my right wrist. Holding the Pacerpole seemed to keep all the parts in the right position and allowed me to finish the hike with far less pain than I was experiencing without the pole.

    The only thing I’d add to Pacerpoles is an antishock mechanism, which is really a personal preference item. Heather says it’s not needed because the arm becomes that due to the position it is in when using the poles. I got used to antishock with my Lekis and prefer that extra give on bare rock because for me, it helps keep the tips planted in those circumstances.

    I don’t think anyone who makes the plunge and gets Pacerpoles will regret the decision.

    • It sounds like you fell while using pacerpoles. Was it while you were going downhill?, Also, was it a fall to the side or a fall forward? I plant my current poles fairly far forward going downhill, but have fallen sideways a few times.

      • I wasn’t using the poles when I fell. Although there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left the trailhead an hour earlier, we got caught in a sudden storm on top of the mountain with torrential rain, hail, and lightning and came upon a couple and their two young daughters that had also gotten stuck in the storm. The grandkids and I gave the other family some of our gear to help keep the shivering young girls warm and we all descended together. We lost the poorly marked trail in the storm and were having to negotiate a series of steeply angled rock ledges to get back to the trailhead.

        There was one problematical jump down about two feet. The other six in the group made it just fine and I’d passed my poles on to them and readied myself for that jump. The bare rock was very slick from the rain and also mud had been washed out in places. As I was getting set to jump, my feet started sliding and I knew I was about to take a bad fall so I jumped quickly, hoping to get my feet onto a better spot below, however, my body was torquing from the slide and I didn’t hit the intended landing zone. My feet contacted mud washed out onto the rocks and it was like I’d landed on ball bearings. They squirted out and I crashed uncontrolled forward and onto my right side into the rocks.

        I knew instantly the wrist was broken (I’ve broken it seven times since 1960). I could hear the mother of the two young girls shrieking, “Are you all right? Are you all right?” I wanted to reassure her, however, I couldn’t push off with my broken wrist to roll over. I finally got onto my back and the only way up was to extend my injured wrist to her husband. I thought, “I’m about to find out what bones are broken because this is REALLY going to hurt!” It wasn’t as bad as I expected so I figured the arm bones were intact and the fracture was confined to the smaller bones in the wrist. As it turned out, the radius was split on the end and one of the wrist bones was in three pieces.

        That was the final difficult spot on the mountain and I used the Pacerpole the rest of the way down without undue pain. The man we helped was a hand therapist and once we got to the parking lot, we made a splint with SAM splint material I had and an Ace bandage. I didn’t let the injury cancel our camping trip and we stayed another couple days. I broke the wrist on Saturday and didn’t see a doctor until Tuesday–probably not the smartest way to handle things, however, I’ve also fallen on my head a bunch of times in my life…

  9. Philip- I’m in the market for new poles and have shelters that I use my trekking poles to support as I suspect you do too. Have you had any problems with the grip angle interfering with pitching any of your shelters? And I’m all for anything that relieves ITB pain, just finished rolling mine a few minutes ago…oucheree!

    • no – no problems whatsoever – see also Nielsen’s review. He has photos of a half-dozen different shelters all pitched with pacer poles. I’ve used them with flat tarps, cat tarps, mids, and tarp tents – all no problem.

    • I have some Tarptents that pitch with hiking poles and have had no problem.

      My Tarptent Sublite pitches just fine with the Pacerpoles.

      My Tarptent Double Rainbow is free standing when pitched with hiking poles run horizontally at each end. There’s a special strap setup to grip the handle of the hiking pole to use the tent that way. I do not see it gripping a Pacerpole, however, I rarely got that thing to properly grip my Leki poles either (user error). It’s much easier to just stake out the tent and the hiking poles can then be used to stretch out the vestibules into more of an open tarp as long as it’s not raining.

      As far as the Pacers being Posture Poles, I watched the videos on their site when I got the poles and have strived to walk in the way they recommend, which is quite upright with my chest out and the poles being used at my side rather than placed ahead of me. I don’t know if the design of the poles sort of forces that or if I’ve just gotten used to hiking that way. I do know I really feel the difference between hiking with them and not having them when I’m taking a short hike and couldn’t be bothered to break out the poles.

  10. Philip, what do you use when you do your bushwacking trips where you seem to use your hands from your posts (use of gloves). I am really intrigued by the Pacers, but whether hiking the Wonderland trail or the West Coast trail I find being able to slide my hand to where I need it for big ups and downs is really important…and hence my use of a single bamboo hiking stick. What is your sense of using Pacers or any pair of hiking poles when on very uneven trail or bushwacking?

    • I use Pacerpoles on uneven trail all of the time sinces that’s all we have in New Hampshire. On bushwhacks, all poles can be a nuisance. But I still tend to prefer having them than not because I usually have to hike to the bushwhack start and they do make pretty good probes on occassion.

  11. Excellent,updated review Philip. I bought
    a set of Pacerpoles because of you and am just as happy.Heather’s customer
    service is outstanding,as you remark.

  12. I agree wholeheartedly with Ben @sustainpath. As I commented on Neilson Brown’s Blog, Pacers are an absolute joy and I’ve used them from the Tongariro Crossing to the Svartisen Glacier. Over the years I’ve had a variety of problems – mostly resulting from botched orthopaedic ops – all of which have been alleviated and even overcome completely by using Pacers. I’ve been able to walk much further and faster using them, including some interesting traverses where I found them particularly brilliant.

    Most recently they’ve kept me walking despite needing a hip replacement, and then aided my recovery from said op (April ). Am now in training in the Yorkshire Dales and looking forward to getting out to the Lakes and Carneddau.

    I didn’t have the problem of being used to conventional poles as having tried various brands before finding Pacers, I never found any of them the least help and chucked them all pretty quickly, preferring to do without. I was introduced to pacers by a customer of ours and as soon as I had them in my hands I was off like a rocket! I was utterly amazed at the difference they made.

  13. Thank you very much for this cogent analysis. I bought my Pacerpoles in 2004 after borrowing those of a Yorkshireman (John Manning) in the High Sierra.

  14. I have been using Leki poles since 1993. I actually still have the same pair and going strong. The ones I used for the AT unfortunately i ground through the tips as I did not have a spare set. Since starting so long ago I endured many comments from people as poles were not popular back then and especially for someone in their 20’s. I quickly realized the advantages for hiking and it truly struck home when I hiked the slot canyons in Utah for probing muddy water to see if you were swimming or walking!

    I hear about these Pacer poles more and more but I am not sure they wouild work for me because I have used the others for so long. I can use the tops of my poles for my hands or the vertical grip. I also use straps on my poles and I am baffled by those who dont. A strap allows you to change your hand position and or let the poles “drag” up a steep slope. The strap can allow you to retrieve a pole if it got stuck in the roots with a quick flick of the wrist without losing much momentum. I find the strap a crtical component if your hand/wrist is threaded through properly — which most people do not do. You need to snake your hand up from the bottom so the strap is against your palm.

    Any long term converts that can further this conversation?

    I am a large proponent of poles

    • I used Leki poles for several years before I got the Pacerpoles two years ago. What I liked about the Lekis was that I could rest my palm on top of the pole in downhill stretches and using the straps in the correct fashion also gave a much more ergonomic grip and allowed me to rest my hands on the strap/handle combo at other times. Also, as you say, proper strap use allows one to snap a stuck pole out of whatever it’s caught in. Poles make me much more secure on stream crossings also and probing the depth of water filled holes.

      I bought the Pacerpoles based on Philip’s review here a couple years ago and as far as I’m concerned, they are everything advertised. I had no complaint about my Leki poles, however, I can be a gear geek (or more accurately–sucker) at times and decided to try them. The experience is different, and in my mind, better with Pacerpoles.

  15. Late to the party as always, thanks Philip for linking my review in your blog. Your article on the “postural benefits” of Pacer Poles is well written and highlights the significant difference that PP give when hiking. Last year I was out with Mark at Backpackingnorth and we swapped poles for a short time, whilst his were much lighter I realised that I needed to grip them more tightly to ensure that I did not lose them, also I did not find the support that I was experiencing with the PP. The Pacer Poles with their angled handles and the “lip around the bottom” ensures that firstly your do not need to grip the poles as tight and as Philip highlights they provide more Power Transfer and as a consequence there are times I feel I walk too fast because of this power transfer.For me the poles have helped reduce the “stoop” to such an extent that I now can carry a large pack long distances without impacting on my long suffering lower back.

    As for shelters, the poles will support any shelter and can be used with connectors for the larger mids such as the BD Megalight.

    For anyone with lower back problems or dissatisfaction with their current poles, they are worth a try in my view.

  16. Do they have to be so heavy? I walk with Fizan trekking poles, which are 158 g each (5.6 oz). My old BD poles were about the same weight as the Pacerpoles, and I found after a while I’d carry them because I was tired of swinging the weight. Maybe the ergonomic grips alleviate that problem, but I for one won’t be getting a pair until they significantly drop the weight.

    Now, those hand-grips on the Fizan poles? That sounds like magic! Maybe they should talk to the Italians! Any way the grips could be grafted onto the lighter weight poles?

  17. Phil,

    Nice review of one of my favourite hiking accessories.

    Did you talk to Alan and Heather about the twist lock sticking problem you had? In my opinion, this is the only drawback of the poles. It doesn’t happen every time, but occasionally they stick and are quite hard to release. Sometimes just putting them in the sun for a few minutes is enough to make them release. I do think the problem is temperature related, perhaps something to do with the expansion and contraction of the pole.

    Cheers,

    Mike.

    • We discussed it at length. When I suggested using flick locks Heather gave me a lesson in how to care for the twist mechanism, which works perfectly if you follow it. It basically involves periodic drying, and unscrewing the plastic expander as far as it will go. These tricks do work and I haven’t had the pole seize up since. Heather says they’re all documented in the instructions.i wouldn’t know because I seldom read those. If you get or have the carbon fiber poles, the lowest piece is also roughened on the outside which makes a huge difference in being ables to unscrew it when wet. Night and day.

      • Can you comment on the durability vs weight benifits ( or lack thereof) of the CF poles?

        • I’ve been using the CF poles for a year and haven’t broken them yet, which is saying something. While lighter weight than the AL Pacer Poles, they’re not that much lighter (if I recall). Even if you do break a section (which I’ve never done with Pacer poles) they’re easy to replace. I really can’t imagine hiking without my Pacer Poles and look forward to another wonderful year with mine.

  18. I was curious if you are still using these and if you are still pleased? From the design and photos it is hard to tell…but does this pole put more weight on your shoulder /arm then a traditional model? From the angle of the grip, it looks like it might, but it is hard to tell.

    They look pretty interesting and I am itching to give them a try.

  19. That is certainly a ringing endorsement, thanks! I am a bit worried about the propelling part as my elbow and shoulder on one side aren’t great from a fall and surgery many years ago and I have used poles mostly for rhythm and tricky section balance, etc….

    Looks like these might be the ticket….thanks again!

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