RidgeRunner Hiking Pole Spreader Bar Choice

[Gmooo]

I am looking to replace the spreader bars on my RidgeRunner with hiking poles to shed some hiking weight. I have been looking at two of the recommended poles that I have seen on the forum which are the Mountainsmith FX and the Komperdell Carbon Camera Staff. Does anyone have any experience regarding the amount of weight either of these can handle? Including me, my bag, pad, misc stuff, the weight on the hammock would be right at around 240 lbs, so I am concerned about the support capability. Also, I keep reading about the use of a dowel to assist with the pole slipping, but I cant picture how this would work. Any other advice on making this change would be greatly appreciated.

[drsolarmolar]

I use the Mountainsmith poles. I weigh about 220. No problems. Not familiar with the Komperdell poles. The Mountainsmiths are not my favorite trekking poles. I wish the handles and straps were better. However Paul at Arrowhead Equipment has mentioned he really likes the Mountainsmiths as trekking poles. Personal preference I guess.

Also use the hiking pole tips Warbonnet sells. Some people don't use these tips. I like them because the steel tips of the trekking poles are sharp and I feel are more likely to damage my tarp than the blunter end of the Warbonnet tips. Also the holes on the end buckles of my RR are different sizes. The foot end holes are just a bit bigger and accommodate the trekking pole without any problem, but the head ends holes are slightly smaller and the trekking pole doesn't fit, but the Warbonnet tips do. So I just use the Warbonnet tips.

To use the dowel you'd take the top and middle sections apart, put the dowel into the top section, and put the pieces back together. When the poles are shortened to serve as spreader bars the dowel serves as a brace between the inside top and the spring mechanism of the middle section and keeps it from compressing. (The bottom section is fully retracted into the middle section.)

There are many threads on this topic that likely are showing at the bottom of your thread and you could also do a search using the search feature here for even more information. There's a lot on this forum about this subject.

[WV]

You ask good questions. I can't answer all of them, but I do know how the dowel is used. You take the pole apart, sliding a smaller section out of the the larger one (usually the one with the handle) and put the dowel inside the larger section. When you put the smaller section back in, it can only slide as far as the end of the dowel. This works, but you need to carry the dowel somewhere else when you're hiking. I've been working on an alternative method that uses a second locking mechanism (a Black Diamond flick lock) on the smaller section. I lock my pole at the right length for the hammock spreader using it's regular locking mechanism, and then I slide the BD flick lock up against the bottom of the larger section and lock it. I'm still experimenting with this, and I weigh less than you and your gear do, so I'm not suggesting you use this method (yet) - just mentioning that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Definitely, get some opinions about the strength of the poles to use. That's a more important consideration.

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DRSolarMolar types faster than I do. Good answers, too.

For you DIY types, I forgot to mention that the BD flick locks come in three sizes and spares cost only $2.48 apiece.

[TeetersPeeters]

I just used my trekker poles last weekend on a short trip and had no issues with the poles slipping at 240lbs. i didnt use dowels and was a little concerned so i had my stock bars as a backup however never needed them. I didnt factor in the weight of my TQ/UQ or any gear i had but id guess it to total about 245lbs. I did have to modify the tips and handle ends of the poles to fit well enough i was comfortable using them without damaging my gear(they didnt engage the brackets very well IMO). I just mentioned it in an earlier post that i had issues with the tips and threaded stud on the top of the handle fitting in the brackets. So i modified them at work on the lathe to fit perfectly. I have no experience with the tip set that warbonnet sells but they are probably the ticket if you cant modify the poles yourself.

[drsolarmolar]

You ask good questions. I can't answer all of them, but I do know how the dowel is used. You take the pole apart, sliding a smaller section out of the the larger one (usually the one with the handle) and put the dowel inside the larger section. When you put the smaller section back in, it can only slide as far as the end of the dowel. This works, but you need to carry the dowel somewhere else when you're hiking.

Just keep the dowel inside the trekking pole. No need to remove it unless you need to shorten your poles more than spreader bar width (head bar is just shy of 40" and foot bar just shy of 30"). If for example you needed to lash your trekking poles to your pack and needed them shortened all the way then you'd need to take the dowels out. I've never run into that problem though.

There is a way to lock the Mountainsmiths so they don't compress under load.

[pgibson]

There is a way to lock the Mountainsmiths so they don't compress under load.

That only locks the spring (shock) It does not prevent catastrophic failure of the length adjustment. Though I would say that the guts are the same on most trekking poles I have felt like if tightened up well then the MS Trekkers do hold pretty well under load.

I have an old video on an old youtube channel on how the shock locks work....the description and video that MS had was incorrect and misleading...not sure if they have updated it in the last few years though.

[drsolarmolar]

Ditto what Paul said.

If you have the bottom section all the way into the middle section that only leaves the middle-to-top section lock as your weak spot. The lock out will minimize the spring travel so it doesn't compress. The possibility of lock slippage still exists. That's one of the arguments for the dowel. I have no statistics to say how often slippage occurs. I'm sure somebody has had their lock slip. The problem with catastrophic failure is it's sometimes a complete surprise.

[WV]

I've had the pole locks slip a couple of times - enough to use dowels to back them up. It's not catastrophic. The hammock suddenly gets narrower and you drop a bit, but don't hit the ground. I suppose the danger is that the sudden jolt could cause the pole to break and spray carbon splinters around. There is another type of failure that's also potentially serious. Most trekking pole tip sections have the steel tip encased in a hard rubber shaft about 4" long that slides onto the aluminum or carbon pole. That hard rubber section is designed to flex a little bit to compensate for shocks and torque when hiking. It's probably the weakest (least stiff) part of a trekking pole spreader. I've had one crack when it was loaded incorrectly; someone else posted about one breaking and violently throwing the pole. I believe that kind of failure is most likely to happen if you're using a small plate with a hole to receive the steel tip. If the hole isn't somewhat bigger than the tip, the angle of the suspension imparts a bending force to the pole.

[zukiguy]

I'm considering lightening my Mountainsmith poles a bit. The straps are pretty terrible and I never use them so those will probably go. The big goofy foam padded tips that cover the threads are also kind of a waste. I don't hold the poles from the top. Lastly is the flat washer/disc that holds the strap on.

I need to take another look to verify but I plan to remove all that junk from the top and cut the threaded rod off just long enough to work as a spreader (probably 3/8").

I've never had a need to do the wooden dowel thing but I hover around 185lbs. Life Scout did clue me into a kind of weak point. There's a nylon locking nut that holds part of the locking mechanism together. If you loosen the pole sections enough you can separate the sections and take a look. Make sure that nut is tight and also look for any cracks or other damage.

I don't use the WB tips but I did add some sections of heat shrink tubing to the metal cleats. There's a hole on the side where the poles insert but they cover the small "nub" of threads that sticks through to the other side. Once I cut down the threaded section though these won't even be needed.

[DSPeabody]

I am looking to replace the spreader bars on my RidgeRunner with hiking poles to shed some hiking weight. I have been looking at two of the recommended poles that I have seen on the forum which are the Mountainsmith FX and the Komperdell Carbon Camera Staff. Does anyone have any experience regarding the amount of weight either of these can handle? Including me, my bag, pad, misc stuff, the weight on the hammock would be right at around 240 lbs, so I am concerned about the support capability. Also, I keep reading about the use of a dowel to assist with the pole slipping, but I cant picture how this would work. Any other advice on making this change would be greatly appreciated.

Can anyone recommend a few other options or is the MS FX clearly the best option in that price range?