Carbon fiber poles vs. aluminum?

[phoenix]

Thank you for the input Rod, and that is certainly not off topic. I understand that subtle characteristic; what I find I notice with the aluminum Flicklocks is the "swing weight" feels a little off balance... heavy on the lower end. This is why I'm curious about adjustable (2 piece, not 3 thank you) with an aluminum upper and carbon lower shaft.

[fisheater]

Phoenix would please post a photo of your leuku ?
As for carbon poles they can be very durable. The most durable pole I use alpine skiing were some Scott Carbons. They were chewed from edges unbelievably, however they never broke. Well I blew the tip up, not sure if that counts? I have two pair of BD Traverse Flintlocks. One lower had a young skier run into and bend on pure ice at a ski hill. I bought a brand new pair of Black Crows carbon poles at the start of the season, but I never broke them out. They are light, and look nice. Maybe next year!

[Rodbelan]

Another consideration from my experience: strait is the new adjustable... I always had adjustable poles but I always felt annoyed by the adjustment (here for this, there for that...). Mainly, I was shortening them for the descent... till I decided to use straight poles (Swix Tradition) with neoprene extended grip (DIY), since I never used wrist strap when going downhill in the forest... No turning back. Simple, no hassle solution...

[fgd135]

In my experience, aluminum poles are easier to repair in the backcountry than glass poles. In either case, though, a ski pole repair kit is nice to have along. Mine is an old commercial kit, but all you need is a couple of screw-adjustable hose clamps and a 3"-4" section of an old alu downhill pole, split lengthwise into two sections. Works pretty well, weighs next to nothing, and at any rate sure beats trying to ski out with a single pole--it works like a pipe repair clamp;put the two half-pole sections around your butted-up broken sections, clamp together. Well, you'll need a screwdriver, but we all carry those, right? One stronger than one on a swiss army knife, so you can really tighten up the clamps. Can be a pretty bomber repair.
Those carbon and glass poles sometimes shatter longitudinally and are hard to stabilise, like a comminuted leg fx, but a "long splint" made from a thin stick, or two, along with the aforementioned clamps, and some tape, might work.

[KDog]

I have BD 2 piece Flicklocks with carbon lowers, BD one piece carbon poles and Scott Race one piece aluminums. I use the Scott's both at the ski hill and as my primary backcountry pole when out for turns. I like the heavier/slower swing weight especially in powder where you need to slow your turn cadence. I hate the one piece carbon poles, too light in my opinion. They make for twitchy pole plants. I use the flicklocks for flatter or rolling terrain where my focus isn't on turns. A more xc oriented pole design would probably work just fine here and I'm currently looking at the Asnes Nansen or maybe even the alloy Ingstad. The alloy/carbon mix poles swing feels pretty good to me during kick and glide skiing.

For deep BC tours or hut trips where repairability is important, I would only take aluminum. I've broken carbon poles before and they shatter! No way to repair them. I have never broken a Scott race pole in 30+ years of using them and each year they get a little bit lighter. The only reason to replace them was because my puppy chewed the grip off or the grip wears out.

[Telerock]

No mention of fiberglass? T few I broke could be field repaired; and they have a good “spring” for those uphill large step-ups.
I use a hockey stick homewrapped tape grip on the lower portion of the pole. If you dont have the swix type grips.