Hiking poles and water filter advice

“Pink, I have the ones your talking about from Target. They are made by Stansport. Mine have the cork handles and I have had zero problems with them. They have been worth it to me.”

“I've got a pair of REI Summits. In one of them, the lower section's locking mechanism has come loose from the end of the pole. I tried to fix it with some JB Weld, but it didn't hold. I might try one more time. For the time being, I have just left that section extended and locked (it failed in the locked position) and just used it as is.”

“I'll say it again (I'm sure I said it before and on this thread), I only use the First Need. It is the only dependable water purifier - the others keep getting put on then taken off the market. A purifier is what it says, it gives you pure water. That means no viruses; I contracted hepatitis A twice when I was a kid, almost certainly from tainted water.

Of course, in thje winter a filter is not practical, but melted snow and boiled water are safe.”

“wooden stick is great and if it breaks you can always replace it on the way.”

“I got my trekking poles at Target - 40 bucks for a pair. They've held up really well thru a fair amount of mileage and abuse, the locks work well and they aren't all that much heavier than the expensive ones.
last edited: 3/10/05 7:23:14 PM”

“Depends on how much you weigh...
I had a pair of those and I snapped one in half in a stumble after 4 trail days. Then again, I'm 6' tall and weigh 200. If you're a bit more...petite? They probably will be a good value”

“well, 5'10" and about 180, maybe it depends on just how the pressure hits the pole - probably regardless of the manufacturer.”

“That doesn't work so well if you're above timber line.”

“Again, Black Diamond. =)

”

“POLAR PURE or AQUA MIRA?

Polar seems to be much economic.”

“What is "Polar Pure"? I've never heard of it before...”

“A special water filter made out of the liver of a polar bear.”

“I'm kidding, of course. Here it is at Campmor. It's iodine crystals.”

“Iodine crystals are pure? Gak!”

“I'm not sure about the knock on iodine, yeah, you don't want to be drinkin' every day for years on end. But we used it at NOLS and I didn't really have a problem with it, never really made the water taste terrible like so many people say. Of course waiting for it to work sucks.
last edited: 3/16/05 1:34:28 PM”

“Ya know, if lizs really wanted to break a story, she might do some research on why Iowa is the only state in the union that doesn't allow the sale of water purification systems. Is it some kind of protectionist thing?”

“AM seems to be the treatment of choice by the UL gang...
PP is easier to find though... AM is not available at REI and from what I understand they will not carry it? If anyone from REI can explain why, that would be nice:)
I have to mention that even with chlorine, Iodine or any other chemical treatment, I still filter my water. I don't like things floating in my water:) I have used the no-see-um mesh on my tent on occasion to filter out the big floaties;)

Trekking poles... I actually use Leki Pathfinder Junior Poles. 14oz per pair, but max I can extend them to is 45"...
My EuropaII requires a 48" pole, but theses work well... My next set will be Leki Ultralite Ti Air Ergo(I love Leki!!)
REI is having some problems with thier carbon fiber poles at low temps.. It seems that the locking mech. does not tighten correctly and has collapsed on Hikers:(


Thanks
Ken
http://bpmaniacs.com/phpbb2/”

“Polar pure is cheap and easy. The downfall is if you dislike the taste of Iodine and have really cold water. If neither of those apply it is as simple as it gets. The bottle has a thermometer built in to tell you how much to use. I carry it as back-up for my filter. My filters stuff sack is stained with iodine because the bottle leaked going from sea level to above timberline without venting the bottle.”