Snow baskets on trekking poles.

[123 4/8 P&Y]

Do you guys leave them on for September hunts? I got sick of them catching the brush after every step when I pulled them forward. So I took them off when I got home and then lock-tighted the rubber feet on. Now I'm wondering if the lock tight was a mistake and I'm going to miss those snow baskets. The only time I felt like they helped me was in some mud a couple of times. Other than that they were a hindrance.

 

[elkmtngear]

I never use the snow basket, unless I'm in mucky mud (like hauling decoys out into a duck blind), or deep snow.

It stays at home 99 percent of the time!

I just give the pole an occasional clockwise twist into the ground when walking, and it keeps the rubber foot tight!

 

[2rocky]

I had to laugh. Mine came without the baskets attached. Fine for this summer. This September, I took the poles and left the baskets in my top dresser drawer. Then it snowed 18 inches and I wondered if they would have been beneficial!

I concluded that the baskets should be on only with snowshoes or skis where you are on top the snow.

Do I have it right?

Did you use the Blue loctite? It will come loose with a tool like a wrench or socket. The black stuff is tougher.

 

[elkmtngear]

I concluded that the baskets should be on only with snowshoes or skis where you are on top the snow.

Do I have it right?

That's my take on it as well. The rubber foot does just fine everywhere else.

I need the rubber foot to be removable, so I can spike the pole into the ground for different applications.

 

[123 4/8 P&Y]

Blue. But there's nothing to get a wrench on. The rubber feet will probably tear before I get them broke loose by hand. I should have used plumbers tape on the threads to keep them tight. The good idea fairy may have pulled a good one on me. What a bitch.

 

[Becca]

We have taken to leaving the snow baskets on, mostly because we are lazy about taking them off they are pretty essential for snow, and handy in deep tundra too in that they keep the poles from post holing if the grounds surface is soft. For the terrain we hike and hunt in I can't see using the rubber tips...the pointed parts are too handy for getting purchase on slick surfaces, and on hard rock the rubber doesn't make much difference at least IME. We also frequently use our trekking poles as the center pole in our shelters, and they don't go together with the tips on.

Just what has worked for us, where we go. If you don't usually need snow baskets And do usually use rubber tips than I am sure you will do fine with the setup you described.

 

[Yellowknife]

If you are hunting areas with lots of scree slide, you should have at least the small basket on the bottom of the pole. Learned that the hard way... twice. If you don't have them, they will sink into the loose rock, and then you will snap the pole off as you slide downslope. You can do the same if you stumble under load on the tundra.

Yk

 

[focker34]

If you don't have them, they will sink into the loose rock, and then you will snap the pole off as you slide downslope.

Yk

This was the first year I used trekking poles and loved them. After the above happened to me I don't leave home without baskets on them.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Mine seem to live in the pack, there if and when...

 

[HellsCanyon]

I hate the rubber feet I prefer the hard points, I usually leave the baskets in my pack but I just checked and now I'm missing one... :-/ oh well if that's all I forget for Colorado I'm doing good!

As far as snapping poles I've only ever bent one, just try to go slow and be conscious of the poles and I've been good over the last few hundred miles without bending or breaking one...

Mike

 

[TimberDoodle]

It depends on the terrain & conditions for me. I leave them off most of the time & just use the rubber bumper. In snow or boulder fields the baskets can be beneficial. FWIW, they can be a big PITA if you are in areas with a lot of undergrowth for them to get caught on. In those cases I think a person is much better off without the basket on.