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Bring extra tips for trekking poles?

Seabird

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
CF April/May (2016), starting in St. Palais, France
I became a trekking pole convert and use them for all my training hikes. I have Black Diamond Poles, and the tips are still in great shape. I am bringing a pair of rubber tip covers for use on asphalt -- should I also bring an extra set of metal tips? I emailed the company, and they provided some useful general information, and essentially recommended I carry an extra set. Of course, I would have to figure out how to install them.....

Has anyone needed to replace metal tips while on the Camino? Should I bring some? Many Thanks!

Sharon
 
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No need for extra metal tips but definitely carry at least one set of spare rubber ones. I always lose a couple to mud, metal grates, or they simply wear through.
 
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wayfarer said:
The metal tips were fine but I went through several rubber tips. I wouldnt worry about wearing the metal tips if you use the rubber ones all the time.
Click to expand...

Kanga said:
No need for extra metal tips but definitely carry at least one set of spare rubber ones. I always lose a couple to mud, metal grates, or they simply wear through.
Click to expand...

Very helpful. I hadn't thought about bringing extra rubber tips. Will do so. Thanks.
 
Especially if you have the Black Diamond poles. I remembered to check my tips just outside of Leon. Look at
the wear!
 

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cabigred said:
Especially if you have the Black Diamond poles. I remembered to check my tips just outside of Leon. Look at the wear!
Click to expand...

@cabigred -- Wow, that says it all. Did you use the rubber tips on all surfaces? Ever feel you should have brought extra metal tips?
 
Seabird said:
@cabigred -- Wow, that says it all. Did you use the rubber tips on all surfaces? Ever feel you should have brought extra metal tips?
Click to expand...
Trading back and forth would be a pain. The rubber tips worked great. I just bought two pairs for my Camino this year. I'll trade every ten days or so.
 
I used the Black Diamond Z-poles, I kept the metal tips in the storage sleeve, I slipped the trekking pole tip protector over the rubber tech tips, the pole tip protectors lasted the whole trip, but I packed a second pair just in case.
 
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I have had good success by taping the bottom of the rubber tips with doc tape and replacing it as need it does not take much and I don't carry extra tips

zzotte
 
These are the Black Diamond Trekking Pole tip protectors. http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/trekking-poles/rubber-tech-tip-BD1121180000ALL1.html#start=26
I slipped these over the Rubber Tech tips.
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/trekking-poles/rubber-tech-tip-BD1121180000ALL1.html#start=26
This combination worked well, the tip protector provided more surface area to grip than just relying on the rubber tech tips and I never felt the need to use the noisy carbide tech tips at all.
 
Sharon, in 2010 I lost the metal end to the tip of one of my poles (see photo) and have carried spare tips on all my subsequent pilgrimages. I still have the replacement pair I bought after that 2010 camino.
 
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Kanga said:
No need for extra metal tips but definitely carry at least one set of spare rubber ones. I always lose a couple to mud, metal grates, or they simply wear through.
Click to expand...
You can usually buy the rubber tips in a ferretería , or in a sports shop.
 
Thanks everyone. This has been very helpful.
 
I'll throw in my two-penneth worth as well... and recommend those fabulous replacement rubber tips.

I don't have those poles but I just wonder, am I the only one who was slightly irritated at times by the click click click of metal tips? Sorry... it's Sunday and I shouldn't be grumpy... but just thinking about that makes me cringe just a tiny bit

Happy Sunday everyone
 
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No, you're not alone ...then there was this one pilgrim who would drag her metal poles along the cobbles in the villages she passed through - and on a Sunday! Even the locals came out and told her to be quiet!

Bring spare tips. Had to laugh when we checked out the outdoor shop in Zubiri and on the counter was a large jar of replacement rubber tips. We were always finding ones that had dislodged and did a trade almost all the Way to Santiago. Gratis of course! One pilgrim that we followed just kept losing his rubber tips and we kept picking them up and returning them to him. All in the interests of peace and quiet on a Sunday
 
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I walked the Camino Frances to Finisterre last fall using carbon fiber Black Diamond trekking poles, don't know the model but they were discounted to $115 US, and both tips and rubber covers held up fine. This included 3 months walking on trails at home before starting the Camino. Buen Camino!
 
I too walked with Black Diamond Z-poles with the rubber walking toes on them. One got caught in the overpass bridge grating and fell to the highway below. Click click clicked (one sided) into Logrono. Found the Planeta Agua store and they carried none that fit BD Carbon poles. They called other shops in Logrono, same result! (Including Decathelon I think) Sooo, I'm carrying an extra this year!
 
ruber tips are much cheaper in Spain.
 
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I have black diamond z poles myself and prefer to use the rubber tip protectors over the rubber tech tips. Even the rubber tips are a little too clickety clack for me! The walk is also softer with the protectors.

Now, generic rubber protectors do not seem to fit the black diamond z poles I have... I purchased a set once ($2 cheaper) and it was a waste!

Even the BD rubber protectors tend to come off in mud or if placed in a crevice or grate... So last year I wrapped the tech tips with some black electrical tape, maybe going around 3 or 4 times... This thickened the tip and made the rubber tip protector fit more snugly... I didn't lose a protector last year, tho I did bring an extra set.

Here are the tip protectors... The bag they come in also makes a great passport holder too, stronger than normal zip locks.

 

I think bajaracer was saying the same thing but the links posted were both for the tech tips... The tip protector is different and can be found here...
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en...king-pole-tip-protector-BD1120690000ALL1.html
 
Is losing rubber caps (in reference to another discussion that's going on at the moment: should we call them rubbers to make our American friends uncomfortable?) a common problem? I've been using my Lekis with rubbers for 4 1/2 years now, and never once lost a rubber. They've caught in gratings a few times, but that just ends with my lurching to a halt as one side stops moving suddenly.
 
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I may add that one only needs to pick the poles up when walking in hard surface as in sidewalks

Zzotte
 

I used pacer poles on the Frances from SJPP to Santiago. I brought an extra pair of rubber tips but never had to use them-lost them in Pamplona. The original metal & rubber tips lasted all the way to Santiago and I usually put the rubber tips over the metal ones especially on slippery pavements & cobblestones (muffled the annoying click-clack noise of my poles)
 
Great idea! I lost only one but it took a couple days to find a replacement. I am digging out the baggie as I type.
 
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The rubber tip protectors get lost and wear out (at least mine do, even the more durable BD tips that have been recommended by @Damien Reynolds and others earlier in the thread). Storm drain grates and muddy roads were my worst enemies. On top of that, I would expect to wear out at least one set just in normal use along the camino. So I carry spares, both the rubber tip protectors and the flex tips. Just as an aside, the OP seemed to me to be asking about whether it is worthwhile taking the latter. I do (see my earlier post in this thread) but once I did start carrying them, I never needed them again!
 
zzotte said:
I may add that one only needs to pick the poles up when walking in hard surface as in sidewalks
Click to expand...

Ok, sometimes, when walking through a city, like the entrance to Burgos or Leon, I pack up the poles after doing that nifty z-pole thing... Its mostly because there are busy people about, doing their daily lives, walking towards me. The poles are not ideal for civic situations. But otherwise, on regular asphalt roads and highways, or even sidewalks through the hamlets I like to use them. Again its for the knees (and the upper body workout)... For this reason the rubber protectors are a nice compromise. I've never walked a terrain along the way, in which the more pointed "tips" were preferred to the rubber protectors IMO. (except they can be lost - hence the tape thing, which, BTW, is not my own invention but one I learned here on the forum last year..., probably from @dougfitz. )
 
zzotte said:
I may add that one only needs to pick the poles up when walking in hard surface as in sidewalks

Zzotte
Click to expand...
I'm not quite sure what you mean here. I don't drag my pole tips anyhow, but I do use my poles on sidewalks in urban environments. Given that I don't take up any more space using my poles than I would just walking with my arms swinging by my side, I don't have any difficulty using poles in most urban environments when I am walking. If it gets really crowded, I will put them away, but that is less often than one might initially expect.
 
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You certainly aren't the only one to be irritated by that clicking noise! Apart from the clickity-click, they leave scrape marks all over the place. If you are stuck which way to turn at a junction or cross road, just look at the floor and you can be guided by the scrape marks!
Not to mention all those early morning leavers who click their way out of town. Aggravating for those still in bed, who are unfortunate enough to have their houses next to the Camino!
 
@Damien Reynolds -- Thanks to you and everyone's comments, I have decided to convert my older-style BD tips to the flex tip and use the rubber tech tips with the rubber pole tips protector as well. (Whew! so many rubbers, I'm blushing, @Rob the Slob). I had put the tip protectors on my Christmas list (which was entirely Camino related, of course). So I'll just finish the project. And thanks for an idea about the bag the tip protectors came in -- It's perfect for my new small tablet I'm bringing in lieu of guidebooks, reading materials, music, etc.).
 

Now we have two ingenious forum members with the same creative solution to a problem. I never would have thought of this! https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/need-help-with-hiking-poles.37336/#post-359974

And I learned what gaffer tape was in the process.

Thanks to Damien and Doug.
 
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Doug, what I mean is that lots of people use trek poles in urban areas and I think thats what annoys most people
 
Sorry if someone mentioned it directly, but I found that replacement rubber tips for standard diameter poles are widely available in ferreterias, as AnnieSantiago points out, China Bazar shops, and sports shops all along the Camino. I have also found that they are much, MUCH less expensive in Spain that here in the US.

I have paid USD $12.00 for a replacement pair of Leki branded tips at my local REI shop. In several places in Spain, I have purchased generic replacements that sure looked and fit the same, for Euro 1-2 each. I liked to keep a spare tip or two to replace tips claimed, as DougFitz points out, by street drains, and muddy paths. I DO so hate mud!

I liked the tip about using duck tape, or Gorilla Tape to reinforce the top on a pole. That was a genuinely clever idea. Thank you.

The key feature seems to be to ensure that there is a metal "bushing" or collar inside there emplacement rubber tip
 
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I had Black Diamond poles and lost my rubber tips at various times. I bought Leki and Altus tips along the way, but both kinds were just a bit bigger and fell off within hours. I'd recommend bringing replacement tips with you.
 
I prefer the Black Diamond factory rubber tip protectors for my Z-poles, on my second day, I found another factory rubber tip protector and stashed it away, my original tip protectors are still 50% and will use them till they wear through or fall off.
 
I have Black Diamond poles but without the new built-in shock absorbing feature. I've been training with rubber tips - have been using them mostly on pavement. Pacemaker Sticks brand - Extended Life Vulcanized Rubber Replacement Tips / Asphalt Paws Ferrules. They're rubber balls with studs all over. They grab on wet slick ground, don't sink in sand or mud, and have a shock absorbing effect on hard pavement. I'm very impressed. http://www.pacemakerstix.com/products/asphalt-paws
 
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Hi, I am about to start my Camino in May 2016 and have been training for some twelve months and recording my mileage. Having complete over 800 k, I have had to obtain new rubber tips for my 'Mountain King poles'. The metal tips are as good as the day I bought them. Therefore I would bring an extra set just in case.

Buen Camino
 
Thanks, helpful to know.

I remember reading somewhere on this site regarding training to "not do a camino before the Camino." 800k???? Guess you didn't get that memo! Seriously, congratulations on your diligence.
 
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That's alot of kilometres. Be good to your body and give it time to recuperate before your Camino in May (That is when I start as well. May 2nd for Camino #3). A strong body is important but a tired one (especially when you are not sleeping in familiar surroundings every night) can lead to a unhappy Camino experience.
Buen Camino and maybe we'll see you on the way.
 
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