I would skip the walmart hiking poles for the bridge and get some of the cheaper Leki poles.
I tried some Komperdell hiking poles with the wire nut trick and had the tipped pole end fold over blow out and shot through my hammock about like a crossbow. Luckily nobody was standing on the other side.
I think there is a safe way to do it though. The Leki bottom end has a shelf on the tip in the fat area and I think that is where it should be loaded not on the very tip.
Also the plastic expander nut inside the Lekis are more substantial and one piece and that is what the wood dowel will rest on.
I was going to have a structural engineer run loads on the critical areas just out of curiosity, but I would guess the axial load on the sides at the pole ends are close to your body weight.
I bought some Leki Eagles to try out but never figured out how to deal with the handle end. I cant remove it and not sure about drilling through it.
Poles from Quest weigh about 10 oz.
See above for the blowout.
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