Slimmest alpine ski poles?

[skipotato]

Are there poles that come in diameters smaller than Komperdell's NationalTeam that are 12.3mm?

 

[Philpug]

Goode has a 10.4 mm

 

[pchewn]

Just curious: Why would the diameter of the pole be such an important selection criteria?

 

[skipotato]

Just curious: Why would the diameter of the pole be such an important selection criteria?

Personal preference. I just found slimmer/lighter poles easier to flick my wrist for a pole plant.

 

[Philpug]

Just curious: Why would the diameter of the pole be such an important selection criteria?

When Marc Giardelli was racing he wind tunnel tested poles. I am going to take some liberty with these numbers but he found that the Goode 10.4 poles were up to .25 seconds faster that a traditional aluminum pole and that could be the difference between first and not winning.

 

[Philpug]

I do have some Goode 10.4 downhill poles if anyone is interested.

 

[scott43]

I do have some Goode 10.4 downhill poles if anyone is interested.

I see what you did there!!

 

[Philpug]

I see what you did there!!

?, no these are serious downhill poles with the bends and all.

 

[scott43]

?, no these are serious downhill poles with the bends and all.

The double down!!

 

[graham418]

Exel has carbon tapered pencil poles. They are quite thin. I have had a hard time to find baskets for them, so I got some Goodes. I like the flex of slim poles, I think it gives some shock absorbtion

 

[scott43]

?, no these are serious downhill poles with the bends and all.

I mean these are only for the advanced skier. Not for plugs like me.

 

[Philpug]

Exel has carbon tapered pencil poles. They are quite thin. I have had a hard time to find baskets for them, so I got some Goodes. I like the flex of slim poles, I think it gives some shock absorbtion

Especially on "firm" snow.

 

[pchewn]

Personal preference. I just found slimmer/lighter poles easier to flick my wrist for a pole plant.

Ahhh-Haaa! So you are really looking for lowest swing weight, rather than smallest diameter. So you want lightweight poles with lightweight baskets to give you the quickest wrist-flip pole plants. That might actually be achieved with larger diameter carbon fiber poles with very small baskets -- rather than a smaller diameter aluminum pole with standard baskets.

 

[Philpug]

Ahhh-Haaa! So you are really looking for lowest swing weight, rather than smallest diameter. So you want lightweight poles with lightweight baskets to give you the quickest wrist-flip pole plants. That might actually be achieved with larger diameter carbon fiber poles with very small baskets -- rather than a smaller diameter aluminum pole with standard baskets.

And at speed, there is a noticable difference in swinging a pencil thin pole and a traditional aluminum pole.

 

[skipotato]

Ahhh-Haaa! So you are really looking for lowest swing weight, rather than smallest diameter. So you want lightweight poles with lightweight baskets to give you the quickest wrist-flip pole plants. That might actually be achieved with larger diameter carbon fiber poles with very small baskets -- rather than a smaller diameter aluminum pole with standard baskets.

Ohhh??? I had no idea slimness and lightness were not mutually exclusive! Thank you for this insight--all I knew was that the ultra-thin LEKI poles I demo-ed some years back felt super nice (especially for quieting my upper body while making quick-tempo short turns) and I've been drooling for it since but I didn't know the model so I thought someone might mention them in this thread (sorry for fishing) or at least suggest some similar alternatives.

 

[skipotato]

And at speed, there is a noticable difference in swinging a pencil thin pole and a traditional aluminum pole.

Are we triple downing? lol

 

[Tony Storaro]

And at speed, there is a noticable difference in swinging a pencil thin pole and a traditional aluminum pole.

At real speed there isn’t much swinging involved tho…
It is more about tucking, praying and hanging for dear life.

 

[James]

I had the Goode pencil poles for several years. Long enough to break them twice.
Frankly, the swing weight wasn’t impressive.
I wanted them because they were flexible, and maybe I could avoid dislocating my shoulder more. When that didn’t work, I moved on. I will say those things could bend and not break. On the Cirque at Snowmass once I lost a ski and somehow one pole was all that was holding me from sliding to the bottom. It was bent like a fishing pole. It also wasn’t mine…and the guy who had loaned them was watching the whole thing.

Some of the LEKI tapered poles have excellent swing weight. My carbon Scotts are pretty nice. I usually use aluminum for wacking kids boots.

I would never buy a pencil pole again, honestly. Esp for swing weight.

One thing to be wary of is flexible poles getting a standing wave in them after touching snow. I don’t remember the Goode doing that, but I’ve rented poles that were intolerable because of that. You’d touch the snow, even on a cat track, and the pole would be boinging. Incredibly annoying. The pole had one job…

 

[Philpug]

Ohhh??? I had no idea slimness and lightness were not mutually exclusive! Thank you for this insight--all I knew was that the ultra-thin LEKI poles I demo-ed some years back felt super nice (especially for quieting my upper body while making quick-tempo short turns) and I've been drooling for it since but I didn't know the model so I thought someone might mention them in this thread (sorry for fishing) or at least suggest some similar alternatives.

He is absolutely correct, swing weight has much to do to with it. In some applications its referred to as unsprung weight.

Carbon bike wheels
Aluminum spoke nipples
Forged wheels
all add lightness at right area which enhances efficiency

One of the reasons Volant skis got a bad rap for being heavy, it wasn't because they were much heavier but because their mass went from tip to tail where most other skis the mass was underfoot and not at the extremities.

 

[skipotato]

I must say, this thread is becoming much more interesting with every post! So now that we've clarified what I'm looking for are poles with the lowest swing weight, which ones are on the list? Is @Philpug going for the quadruple down?