shipping my poles

[Eve Alexandra]

If I purchase Pacer Poles online and have them sent directly to my hotel, do I have to worry they might get hung up in Spanish customs at all? The h0tel assures me they will hold the package and Pacer Poles says they only take 5-7 days to ship to Spain from the UK.

Is this risky with Spanish customs? I've got 15 days till I fly out.

 

[nidarosa]

I have sent my Pacers to and from Spain many times and never had a problem. Just give it at least a week in case there are weekends, bank holidays etc. You'll be fine!

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Oh Good! Thank you.

 

[Telelama]

We shipped from the States and they sat in customs in Madrid for months. They eventually were returned to us after we got home.

 

[C clearly]

These are very different situations:

• @nidarosa has sent poles from an EU country to Spain (also an EU country), as personal property
• @Telelama has sent poles from a non-EU country to Spain, as personal property
• You are thinking of purchasing new poles from an EU country and having them delivered as new poles to Spain.

I would think that the Pacer Pole people might have experience with this, but then again maybe not exactly, and dealing with customs can require precision!

If you decide to go ahead with the arrangement for the poles to be delivered to the hotel in Spain, just be prepared for Plan B - which would be to give up on the poles as not worth additional effort, and buy some cheaper ones in Spain. Not the end of the world.

P.S. Many of us are happy with regular poles. Maybe it is complicating your life unnecessarily to seek out the "best" poles.

 

[Telelama]

These are very different situations:

• @nidarosa has sent poles from an EU country to Spain (also an EU country), as personal property
• @Telelama has sent poles from a non-EU country to Spain, as personal property

Obviously, but not off topic.

 

[Mark Lee]

P.S. Many of us are happy with regular poles. Maybe it is complicating your life unnecessarily to seek out the "best" poles.

ditto.....

 

[fenix]

Have you ever used pacer poles before? Have you been training with regular poles?

Most people use regular poles, not pacer poles, and are quite happy with them. I've never used pacer poles, but I can't understand the fuss about them, honestly. They are expensive and not in stores (no try before buying). Regular poles really aren't that difficult to use, and they really do provide excellent benefits, as is.

Don't over-complicate, would be my vote. Why add more potential stress? Get to SJPdP, check in at the Pilgrim's Office, walk across the street and buy some poles. Go to sleep. Get up. Start walking. You'll be fine, promise!

 

[nidarosa]

I ordered a pair of Pacerpoles for my mother too and had them sent to Norway - they arrived quickly and with no hassle or delay whatsoever. If in doubt, ask Heather at Pacerpole.com about it, but they do worldwide shipping all the time so I don't foresee a problem.

 

[fenix]

I have also never used Pacer poles, so that makes two of us . I have, however, purchased a pole in said shop in SJPdP. I wanted it just for crossing the pass, in case I needed some additional support, so I wasn't fussed about it. They had two kinds of poles to select from, very cheap (20 EUR), it was good enough for my purposes but if I were to use poles all the time while walking I would probably want to have more choice.

I agree about the choice. And I prefer to have trained with the exact gear I'm going to use, after having researched and purchased it with care. And then I want to take them home with me. (One, because I hate to unnecessarily waste/discard, and two, because I name my poles and love them. )

For that reason, I do not fuss about carry-on/bag-checking. I just check my backpack, which can include my poles, knife, etc. So far, in years of flying multiple airlines, I've never had a problem. There's always a first time, sure, but the odds are good enough that I don't stress about it.

But for a 2 week camino, Eve, carrying-on your pack and buying 20 euro poles in SJPdP is more than adequate. Buying & shipping expensive poles, and stressing about shipping time and customs delays, will not increase the pleasure of, or the likelihood of "success", of your camino one bit.

 

[C clearly]

These are very different situations:

Obviously, but not off topic.

I agree.

The EU is a customs union - an apparently little known fact inside and outside of the EU . It means, among other things, that there are no dealings in customs for purchases between the UK and Spain.

I understand this, but I was pointing out that sometimes complications can arise, depending on the specific situation, and one needs to compare apples to apples. Often a person will take a piece of information, apply it to a different situation without examining the differences, and wonder what went wrong.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

I'm fine with buying poles in Astorga if I need to. I already confirmed with Pacer Poles that they can ship no problem to Spain. I use regular poles in all of my walking. I don't hate them, but I tend to use them at an angle already, because my wrist likes that better. So I'm not worried about the learning curve on Pacer Poles. In this case, I'm not looking for the best gear for a 2 week camino. I'm avoiding having to buy poles in Astorga when my evening is short by the time our train gets there, and Pacer Poles have been on my list for a long time for something I see getting many many years of use out of. Thanks everyone.

 

[C clearly]

Sounds like a plan!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Eve, on my last camino one of my Pacerpoles broke. (it feels heretical to even say that!) I contacted Heather and she had a replacement part sent to the next main town - I picked it up from the Post Office without any trouble.
If you think you'll use them in your non-camino life, they are well worth having. We love them!

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Well that is pretty amazing service! Very impressive. And yeah, the hubs and I are planning a primitive hiking trip this summer, and I'm dreaming of section hiking the AT in the next several years. I see a lot of pole use in my future. The straight poles the hubs can keep. I want the wrist comfort of the pacers.

 

[Satírico]

I have sent my Pacers to and from Spain many times and never had a problem. Just give it at least a week in case there are weekends, bank holidays etc. You'll be fine!

Hi, I'd like to ask, how did they parcel your poles? In a tube or something? I feel like an idiot, I abandoned my poles in SdC last year?

 

[nidarosa]

@Philip347 - hi, not sure what you mean now. If you mean how do Pacerpoles ship them, they come in a sturdy and slim plastic bag. I have used that same bag every time I have shipped them back and forth. I take the poles apart and tie them together so they don't rattle around and get damaged, then tape my home adress label on the inside and the Spanish address on the outside. When I arrive and pick them up, I just put the lightweight bag in the bottom of my pack and take it with me. When I go to send them back home again I just turn the bag inside out and borrow some tape to close the bag. For straight poles I suppose a tube would work but it's not as easy to cart around. Hope some of that helps?

 

[GPeachy]

I took my poles apart, put them in a tube that I got from mailboxes etc, and the airlines had me check them in at the off-size luggage desk. I carried my pack on the plane, so when I got to Paris, and then to Biarritz, they were there waiting for me at the off-size luggage spot. No need to wait at the luggage carousel.

 

[FamPed]

I took my poles apart, put them in a tube that I got from mailboxes etc, and the airlines had me check them in at the off-size luggage desk. I carried my pack on the plane, so when I got to Paris, and then to Biarritz, they were there waiting for me at the off-size luggage spot. No need to wait at the luggage carousel.

Smart Thanks for the tip.

 

[Holly Mitchem]

Hi Eve it sounds as if you are set on Pacer Poles. I do not mean to dissuade you but I bought them and tried them for two months before leaving on my Camino and found that they were not for me. Why?
#1. The handles are a great concept, I admit. I have arthritis in both thumbs so was attracted to the ergonomic grip. However, most good quality "normal" hiking poles now have hand grips that allows you to slide your hands down the poles when you are going uphill so that your poles are effectively shorter, which is very helpful on the uphills. I use this feature a lot in my hikes and it was immensely valuable on those up and down days on the Camino. Pacer Poles suggests stopping and manually shortening their poles for uphill stretches. This means stopping, unscrewing, pushing in, screwing in x2 each time you want to most efficiently use their poles for going uphill, then repeating the process when you are going down. An inefficient hassle in my book.
#2. The poles I took (REI) had quick release locks rather than a screw mechanism for collapsing poles. This meant I could quickly pull out or put away the poles while walking. The whole screwing thing just takes longer.
#3. I found the hard compression plastic handles on the Pacer Poles made my palms very sweaty and so my grip was slippery. I was constantly stopping and wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts to dry them off. Not a problem for March in northern Spain but a problem for me in the summer. To me this was a deal breaker.
I am very glad that I tried the Pacer Poles before I left. I ended up sending them back and they were very nice about it.
As noted by others in this thread and on other threads, many people swear by them. Just a caveat that they do take getting used to and your mileage may vary!

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll keep it in mind.

 

[C clearly]

they were not for me. Why?

Thanks for this post. It is one of the few (the only?) posts I've seen from someone who tried the Pacer Poles and then decided against them. It does not detract at all from my impression that they are an excellent product that everyone should consider. Rather, it gives some balance. It was hard to believe (too good to be true) that no one was ever dissatisfied with them!

 

[nidarosa]

Also Pacerpoles have only just come out with a model which has just that system of a flick-lock/lever lock for quick height adjustment ... (I'm looking at you, Santa)

 

[trecile]

I used Pacer Poles, and though they recommend shortening/lengthening them when going up and down hills, I didn't bother, and didn't find it detrimental. I also kept the rubber tips on all the time.

 

[Holly Mitchem]

Also Pacerpoles have only just come out with a model which has just that system of a flick-lock/lever lock for quick height adjustment ... (I'm looking at you, Santa)

Good to hear!