Poles have failed - help!

[Sijmon]

Hi everyone I have just arrived to Leon to start my walk tomorrow morning. Checked into accom and have found that one of my poles won't tighten when I extend it They are very basic telescopic ones you twist to open and close when extending or shortening.
It's Sunday and shops are closed....
Does anyone have any advice on a repair solution?
Otherwise will have to wait until shops open at 10 tomorrow meaning I miss my planned early start.
The first challenge greets me already!!
Any suggestions or ideas most appreciated

 

[SabsP]

City centre of Leon has lots of Bazars Chinos that are open today. You might find some cheap poles there.
I just did a google search and at least two are open. Less than one km walk from the cathedral.

Good luck.

 

[Anhalter]

Unless you can fix it somehow, one option would be to walk the two days to Astorga without poles (or just one) and buy some there. Not very hard terrain until there.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I only ever walk with one hiking pole, I find the additional utility of a second pole to be if less value to me than the additional hassle of wrangling a second thing to remember to take with me and to juggle with in city situations when I am simply carrying the poles around with me.

If you are not used to walking with hiking poles then perhaps try walking with one pole before you buy another or another two.

 

[Sijmon]

City centre of Leon has lots of Bazars Chinos that are open today. You might find some cheap poles there.
I just did a google search and at least two are open. Less than one km walk from the cathedral.

Good luck.

Thankyou so much!! Will check it out

 

[Sijmon]

Unless you can fix it somehow, one option would be to walk the two days to Astorga without poles (or just one) and buy some there. Not very hard terrain until there.

Yes I did think about this as an option. Thanks so much for replying. Helps to feel less alone!

 

[gerardcarey]

my poles won't tighten when I extend it They are very basic telescopic ones you twist to open and close when extending or shortening.
Suggest you approach a pilgrim with poles who presumeably will have more experience and ask for their assistance.
Alternatively, if you have internet access, search for help in utube videos.
Regards
Gerard

 

[JustOneGuy]

Hi everyone I have just arrived to Leon to start my walk tomorrow morning. Checked into accom and have found that one of my poles won't tighten when I extend it They are very basic telescopic ones you twist to open and close when extending or shortening.
It's Sunday and shops are closed....
Does anyone have any advice on a repair solution?
Otherwise will have to wait until shops open at 10 tomorrow meaning I miss my planned early start.
The first challenge greets me already!!
Any suggestions or ideas most appreciated

I do not know your physical condition, but I found it much better to walk without poles on flat or slightly sloping terrain.

Don't worry, you can do it for a day (and it's less tiring - see below)! Actually, trekking poles are useful devices for distributing leg effort up or downhill at the expense of the arms, or for improving balance on difficult terrain. My point is that each arm still has to lift a few dozen grams with each step, which makes the overall effort and fatigue on flat terrain higher than it would be without them.

I add the conclusions of a review paper on the use of trekking poles. Bear in mind that 1) I am a nerdy scientist and 2) this includes in one paragraph the results of several studies on trekking poles used by different people in different conditions:

Are Trekking Poles Helping or Hindering Your Hiking Experience? A Review​

Conclusions​

Previous literature has illustrated that using trekking poles increases physiologic responses (O2, HR, ventilation, EE) while decreasing biomechanical responses (GRF, joint loading, joint moments) and subjective responses (RPE, DOMS). During free, unloaded walking, users should compare the cost versus benefit of using trekking poles. Although using poles decreases lower extremity loading and forces, cardiovascular demand is increased; thus, a decision should be made based on the individual’s current fitness level and whether any lower extremity conditions or pain are present. When carrying a large external load, the use of trekking poles may be beneficial, resulting in decreased lower extremity muscle activity and increased balance and stability, with no meaningful differences in metabolic expenditure. Future research should consider investigating the effect of trekking poles on lower extremity EE, as well as the effect of single versus double pole use on RPE and EE.

from Hawke AL et al., 2020

As I wrote, and as it is quite logical, the effort seems to be higher than without them, although there are several benefits to be considered.

 

[Sijmon]

I only ever walk with one hiking pole, I find the additional utility of a second pole to be if less value to me than the additional hassle of wrangling a second thing to remember to take with me and to juggle with in city situations when I am simply carrying the poles around with me.

If you are not used to walking with hiking poles then perhaps try walking with one pole before you buy another or another two.

Thanks! Sadly I am (my knees are) very used to/reliant on two poles .
But perhaps this is my chance to try something new!

 

[Sijmon]

my poles won't tighten when I extend it They are very basic telescopic ones you twist to open and close when extending or shortening.
Suggest you approach a pilgrim with poles who presumeably will have more experience and ask for their assistance.
Alternatively, if you have internet access, search for help in utube videos.
Regards
Gerard

Also good advice, thanks Gerard!

 

[Sijmon]

Also good advice, thanks Gerard!

Gerard - YouTube of course!! Simple fix now done
Thanks everyone for your replies
So grateful

 

[dougfitz]

have found that one of my poles won't tighten when I extend it

I have seen this happen with telescoping poles. If you are lucky, you have loosened the expanding collar at the top of the lower tube so much that it can no longer grip the inside of the upper tube. That is because it will then keep spinning, rather than binding against the walls of the upper tube, and the part that expands the collar won't be drawn down into the collar.

You can check whether this is happening by taking the two sections apart. Once apart, you can try winding the collar up and down the screw thread, and see whether it starts to expand. If it does, wind it back until the collar just fits into upper tube, and try tightening it again. You need some friction between the outside of the collar and the inside of the upper tube to make these work.

edit: it is possible, but rare in my experience, to strip the internal thread in the expanding collar by overtightening the pole. You only need to tighten it enough so that the sections don't slip when you are putting all your weight on the pole. More than that is unnecessary.

 

[Sijmon]

I have seen this happen with telescoping poles. If you are lucky, you have loosened the expanding collar at the top of the lower tube so much that it can no longer grip the inside of the upper tube. That is because ti will then keep spinning, rather than binding against the walls of the upper tube, and the part that expands the collar won't be drawn down into the collar.

You can check whether this is happening by taking the two sections apart. Once apart, you can try winding the collar up and down the screw thread, and see whether it starts to expand. If it does, wind it back until the collar just fits into upper tube, and try tightening it again. You need some friction between the outside of the collar and the inside of the upper tube to make these work.

Yes I think this is exactly what happened. Found super simple fix here:

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[Majella O'Neill]

For the future- the advice I’ve always been given by the very experienced people in my hiking club is that using one pole isn’t good for you. (Maybe skews your gait or something).
Two poles or none is recommended.

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

This happened to me during one of my Camino Frances'. One essential item I always carry in my hiking "kit" is grey masking / furnace tape. Can use for many purposes. For the pole that was not sticking / remaining in place, I simply cut a piece of the furnace tape and wrapped around the faulty joint. Even a short piece of tape can wrap around the joint several times. This worked great and I was able to use both poles again. Interesting that later on, I decided to replace the tape, and tried out the poles and they were working well again! Bob

 

[Johnnyjenga]

The locking mechanism inside the pole has gotten smooth from use. Take the pole apart and use a knife or sandpaper to roughen the surface of the plastic piece that expands in the barrel. You should be good to go. Buen Camino.

 

[Varekai]

Ask around at the albergues and hostals if anyone has left behind or donated any walking poles.

 

[JerryStroebele]

I se

For the future- the advice I’ve always been given by the very experienced people in my hiking club is that using one pole isn’t good for you. (Maybe skews your gait or something).
Two poles or none is recommended.

I see lots of images of St James using just one staff. Just one has worked well for me as a third leg on steep, rocky, muddy, slippery terrain and crossing streams for over 50 years. Maybe that has skewed my mind and made me a Camino addict. Buen Camino

 

[TallSimon]

If you do decide to try something different to your normal walking style, do take care to listen to your body and not overdo it, especially early in the trip.