I hate when that happens!
Put some wood in it.
photos of good ski poles
I am very tired of spending time building a mallet to only have the shaft bend in the first game so i thought it would be a good idea to post a photos of the best ski poles you ever had or even a just description so if you see it later on in a thrift store or are searching on ebay you know to scoop it up so please post a photo of your ski poles. might not be a bad idea to post the shitty ones either
Sniff. My favorite colored coordinated mallet ever.
When I was building my very first set of mallets, so I could play games with my friends, I had two shiny silver poles that I could not even dent with a drill. My guess is they were titanium. I was young and stupid then, and didn't realize their potential...so I threw them out. Now I regret it.
Slightly older and (hopefully) slightly less stupid,
Jesse
Collar City Bike Polo
Troy, NY
are you sure they weren't old school stainless steel poles? had a few of those, and they are sonnabitches to drill through.
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victoria bike polo
Pretty sure they weren't - they were ultra light and I couldn't seem to cut, drill, or bend them.
Jesse
Collar City Bike Polo
Troy, NY
Hey, i have a couple of ski poles which haven't broken yet after a year's use. Some are a little bent and damaged but none have snapped.
Gipron. It's Red/Black and made from Aluminium Alloy 7020
Another Ski pole from Rossignol is okay which doesn't say what kind of aluminium.
I don't think taking photos will help much because all ski poles are painted different colours. I think the most important is what type of alloy they're made from and it seems to be Aluminium Alloy 7020 or 7025 in my experience. It should be printed on the pole somewhere.
If you're running low on Ski poles, why not try Bamboo or Golf clubs?
P.S. i did mean to say Aluminium and not Aluminum :-)
bamboo? golf clubs? you cant be serious
i tried a golf club last week and i liked the swing. but i think it's not so hot for dribbling or lasting very long....
bamboo is suspect, but being from victoria this is my obligatory sticking-up-for-golf-clubs response. some people in the club swear by them, and can keep their mallet in one piece for six months plus. not bad.
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victoria bike polo
bamboo sux bigtime, breaks faster than the crappiest skipole
sometimes though the alloy is not listed on the poles and the design or style can tell you what to look for...like the scott ones that are yellw and blue or white and black are good ones but dont list alloy number on them
www.mkebikepolo.com
i haven't found a better pole than a 7075-T6 aluminum ski pole, or the rare 7075-T651. if it doesn't say it on the pole it's probably not. rossignol, scott, and K2 are a few of the manufacturers.
alot of companies list the aluminum as there own brand ex. the scott serries 1 2 3 and 4. ive only seen a few ploles list the actuall aluminum. i totally agree 7075 is the best. and most ski poles that are painted different are different brands or models this post is for photos of poles that dont have the aluminum labeled. you can never be safe with just relaying on the name scott i have to scotts right now that are the shit but the last 2 i had were ablsulte garbage
Anything from Scott has held up pretty damn well.
PETE_of_C0M0P0L0
www.comopolo.com
We did a group buy of aluminum poles here sometime this year. I got three cause I kept messing up ski poles within a very short period of time plus I wasn't having much luck finding any around here, but all three of the poles I bought have held up pretty well. I think some have said they're a little heavier than ski poles, but I haven't compared them.
ive got 2 scott poles and they rock, theyve taken a whole lot of hacking and have held up strong.
thats great take a photo and post it or a very detailed description
How did this pole work out for you Kremin? I just found a set of them and have converted one into a mallet. I fucking love it so far. I bent in on my frame yesterday but it seems to have bent back rather nicely.
all it says is scott profesional world cup racing, i prolly covered up the type of metal with my tape :(
edit: meant to quote kremin not you.
fuck yeah these yellow scotts and the white/black ones in the same style are the best one sive played with
www.mkebikepolo.com
Regarding Scott brand: Does anyone know the differences between Series 1, 2, 3 & 4? I have some 1's & 2's, but have not, as yet, determined one to be stronger than the other.
Recently discovered higher the series number means higher quality aluminum.
not really, just different mixtures and methods, for different uses and tensile strengths.
better for polo does not mean higher quality; 1000 series aluminum is the most pure wrought alloy, whereas 7075 is only around ~90% aluminum. 7178 has a higher number but has a weaker tensile strength for different uses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_alloy
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
where did you get your tensile strength for 7178 aluminum? all the places i've looked it looks like 7175 or 7178 both have higher yield and ultimate stresses then 7075 as well as a slightly higher youngs modulus meaning stiffer and stronger mallets(depending on the temper i was looking at 7175-T66 and 7178-T6 on Matweb, here are the links):
http://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=606e61c4801648c59d6d...
http://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=6985d7b839b64b3a87f6...
only reason i can think of that those aren't used yet is cost/rarity.
fuck yeah bike polo geeking!
My source (ASM Metals Handbook) cites 7178-T6 having the highest ultimate yield at 605 MPa, and 7075-T6 at 570 MPa. I think this is a case of not enough strength added to justify cost of production for the general masses, and that's probably why we don't see many if any 7178 poles. Chemically speaking, there are only small weight percent differences in zinc and magnesium that make the difference between the two alloys. It also states identical Young's Modulus values for both 7178 and 7075.
The Metals Handbook also lists Fatigue Endurance Limits for 7075, but none for 7178, which i think would also be worthy to note. Realistically, i think 7075 is the way to go.
that yellow pole was dope i found another one last week and am currently using it. i also found a set of really old anadiozed gold scotts that are doing really well
www.mkebikepolo.com
i have no clue what brand ski pole i have but it has proved indestructible. it's red anodized and has thicker walls than most other poles i've seen. little on the bulky side but well worth it in the sense that its been one of two that i've had since i started playing. i actually run a longer mallet than most and this thing has stood up to plenty of hacks/slashes/run overs with nary so much as bend
I made a comment about it at Fall Break. That thing is ridiculous. On a side note Joe came across some walking poles that seem to work well. They dont taper like ski poles.
scott "synergy" kinda suck, i broke all 3 of mine within a few months. i used to have a red pole like yours cris, my favorite, it lasted forever til some fat fuck in austin ran over it
haha... i recall you smashing it against your bike when we won our first match against squid ink.
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carve. smash. eat shit.
Scott Cascade ovalized poles are the best poles I have used. I've broken one out of the two that I've had this year, which entails three nights of pick up a week followed by every tournament after Boston.
BOOM!
the best poles i've ever found have been the steel rental poles that ski mtns use. maybe a little heavier than alu, but i like how it balances the weight of the head. and when they bend, you can bend them back and they're still pretty strong. i'm way happier with those than any of the alu poles i've used.
the titaniun we hanve in London is holding really well, a bit heavy, but very strong.
Only one broken and not for polo, if not for a silly game out court.
shut up you cunt, you broke it yourself.
i bought a set of these poles almost 9 months ago at a thrift store on the west bank of new orleans (quite a rare find considering there isn't much skiing happening in the deep south). the brand is leki and i believe it's a trekking pole. it has yellow splatter type paint that covers the top half (near the handle) and the bottom half looks like bare aluminum. the length of the pole is written on it: 135cm - 54". the diameter of the pole is about 2mm smaller than regular ski poles. like i said i've had this pole for almost 9 months of playing twice a week here in nola and three tournaments. it's NEVER been bent out of shape, but it has one ding near the mallet head where i knocked it against my chainring. i have the other pole in the set, but i'm starting to think that i'll never need it!
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carve. smash. eat shit.
i have the other pole in the set, but i'm starting to think that i'll never need it!
quoting this just to keep it on the record.
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victoria bike polo
The pole you are speaking of in the picture is a leki, "LEAKY" They are all at least 6000 series alum, and heat treated. If you can find any pole made by leki BUY IT. Lots of resorts use them for rentals. This thing will last.
per your advice i am hopefully in the process of working out a deal on craigslist to get a set. i found that they guarantee all of their hts 5.5 and higher (alum alloy type) poles for two years so it must be sweettt. "airfoil" is nice too as it indicates a teardrop shape.
i remember reading this thread and subsequently doing some research on leki poles a while back. a few days ago i stumbled upon this beautiful pair or hot pink beauties at my local thrift shop and bought them for a smile. that lil bend at the top near the handles should make things interesting.
those are dope! maybe you could cut them at the bend there at the top?
don't cut off the bend, just do it count dooku style
that's just distortion from the lens.
jackal and kremin are right, 7075 *should* be the best; high grade aluminum that is light but strong.
I've also had good luck with Scott rental poles. The ones I've had have all been silver with goldish-yellow writing on them - no indication of aluminum grade. Near the grips they say something to the effect that they are rental grade poles. I've had one for nearly two years, used it in two tournaments, and countless pick-up games. Still straight as it was the day I built it up.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Just built a mallet this evening with 7331 aluminum tagging. If you aren't familiar with this blend it's top shelf. Can't wait to put it through the rigorous test at Qaud-City Friendlies League in six days. Will give a review of this stuff after this weekend for all to use when buying shafts.
I have a Scott series 3 ovalized pole that is also marked 'aluminum' and '7331' but further research indicates that the pole is heat treated 7075 alloy. The '7331' is likely a reference to the poles' compliance with ISO(International Organization for Standardization)Standard 7331:2005 which covers requirements for manufacturing and testing of alpine ski poles.
Got to say DAMN! These scott team issue shafts are pretty near bulletproof. Tons of hard hits with them and not one dent so far. Lots of scratching and paint chipping off but otherwise no worse for wear.
As long as we're on the topic. What does everything think of using a high quality stainless?
Personally, I don't think the highest quality stainless could win the weight weenie catagory compared to a High quality alloy blend.
we have some army-issue steel poles in columbia, and they are almost unplayably heavy; also, i'm sure you could find lighter steel poles out there.
Columbia, MO
even if you wanna strong shot, a heavy shot is not a good way to go, so lighter and stiffer are better. reasons for this have to do with energy absorbtion in flexible mallet and maximum rotational inertia/weight from having weight concentrated at mallet end as much as possible.
"it seems that the older ones have a slightly thicker wall thickness, thus owing to their strength?" -
Common sense would make you think so right?
But, this day in age wall thickness doesn't always reflect Tensile strength.
I scored a bunch of Rossignol rental poles a while back, made a full batch of mallets, all of which are still in service. They're definitely thicker than most racing poles, designed to take a beating and a bit heavier and thicker. Aside from that, I scored one pair of oval tapered poles that are my personal weapons. Super light, and no dents or bends. Sifted through about 100 poles from a resort lost and found and they were the pick of the bunch. Was not sure how they would work but the oval taper adds something to the structure without adding weight.
I scored a bunch of Rossignol rental poles a while back, made a full batch of mallets, all of which are still in service. They're definitely thicker than most racing poles, designed to take a beating and a bit heavier and thicker. Aside from that, I scored one pair of oval tapered poles that are my personal weapons. Super light, and no dents or bends. Sifted through about 100 poles from a resort lost and found and they were the pick of the bunch. Was not sure how they would work but the oval taper adds something to the structure without adding weight.
You sure do have a good supply up there liam. Im still rocking the Rossignol you gave me at the espis. Ive lent it out, lost it, found it and changed the head about 3 times and still it keeps coming back and lighting people up.
SCORE!!
Scott WC/SL poles 7075 T-6
envy
hook a brother up man
I'm pretty sure most of them are spoken for here in Cleveland. If I have a bunch left over in a week or so, you bet they're up for grabs.
So, y'know- teach a man to fish sort of thing here. How'd you get yer mitts on dem fine shafts?
Score! Whats the story? Were they in the basement of some old italian bicycle mechanic sitting next to a dozen boxes of unopened campy record groupsets?
WOW!
LOOK AT THE GLIMMERING GOLD!
NICE FIND!
Nice, that's a lifetime of mallets right there
World Cup Gold eh - "The mallet of choice by champions around the world"
friend of a friend from back in my ski shop days had a stack of em. It's an old graphic. Most of them are 56" which is HUGE for ski poles. I'm guessing they were stock on hand for a race team or something.
x2
Never thought this would be how it's always gonna be, but fine with me.
if scooping and wrist shots are now going to be legal, all you capped mallet people are SHIT OUT OF LUCK!
There goes my retirement plan.
Scott Evolution 7331 aluminum
Scott Sun Valley 7331
Leki mid sport 7884
Rossignol no name no info
scored 4 pair at yard sale the other 2 pair are form a thrift store.
I'm pretty sure 7331 is not the type of aluminum, I think it is a safety spec #
nop, 7075 is refer to the tye of alu, have a red
http://www.alcotec.com/us/en/solutions/-Understanding-the-Aluminum-Alloy...
Yeah, I know how the Alu scale works, but 7331 is not on the scale, it is a safety spec.
"ISO 7331:2011 defines the minimum requirements for safety in ski-poles for alpine skiing and specifies test methods to check conformity with these requirements.
Special designs may deviate from ISO 7331:2011, but shall be marked in a durable manner as special designs."
Ski poles are strange and mysterious things to Texas, so I'm shopping around online. It seems like Junior ski poles are long enough and generally cheaper, but are they weaker?
They're long enough but they seem smaller around, almost dainty. I'd avoid them.
definitely shorter, and the outer diameter is smaller as well. I'd recommend poles from any of the established sellers (MKE, fixcraft, etc, etc)
Don't waste your money they will bend in half first hack
You will not find quality ski poles for cheaper than the Fixcraft (or MKE) poles, which are guaranteed 7075-T6. Plus, you'd be supporting companies that mean good things for the sport in general. Tournament sponsorships, legitimacy within non-polo organizations, etc...
kremin i feel your pain, but that photo doesn't reveal shit. see you saturday!