Not the joining the Red Sock brigade, but I have been advised to get a pair of trekking poles for assistance running the Fellsman later in the year. I want to get used to using the over longer distances.

Not sure whether to go for Carbon or light weight Aluminium. Twist lock or QR clasps. Sprung or unsprung. Since I’ve got them, they will probably get used for supports for tarps etc too.

Any advice please….

I’ve got some Leki Aluminium ones with a twist lock. Do the job fine. I don’t see the point in spending £80 or more on a set

Bought mine for 8 quid a pair in Lidl Aluminium, twist lock ,spring loaded they have been fine for 7 years( even when pushed through cyclists spokes on footpaths)

I’d recommend a QR thingy – to get the most out of them you’ll want to adjust the lengths for up / flat / down inclines and the twist locks can become a PITA if you’re changing them regularly.

Over on UK Climbing / Hillwalking there are loads of threads about options and opinions which are probably worth a look.

Leki alu ones will be fine, I’ve sold hundreds in a past life.
Twist lock will be fine too, you wont be adjusting the height that often to be honest and they will most likely be used for stability if you are running with them. Correct length is personal preference (ahem….) but you’ll soon find what works for your stride aptter on ascents/descents. you will get some sneers and sarcastic comments but I found they really are handy over long distances and there is the reduced slip potential too.

Alpkit carbon jobs for me. Think they cost about £45 but that was a couple of years ago..
Whatever you go for make sure theyre un-sprung. With the extra weight of the spring and the give they just didnt feel right, Leki too so supposedly as good as they get but not my tass-de-teh ..

A proud member of the red sock brigade …. 😆

Black Diamond Flicklock here. Suggest buying the tip protectors if you don’t fancy listening to the ‘tap tap’ of steel on rock all day. Mine came with removable ski baskets for deep snow.

Poles for the Fellsman will be very different to normal trekking poles. For events such as lakeland 100, I have the Mountain King Trail Blaze. They are very light, and fold up easily for outside pockets in most running sacs. Very easy to use and great on the odd climb and descents.

Just noticed how expensive they have become though!!!

http://www.likeys.com/acatalog/AR_Trekking_Poles.html

Seems crazy prices on such simple things. But climbing out of Hartsop and down to Haweswater during L100 and the later stages they became a god-send! Would not have liked to lug normal poles around though – that would have outweighed the positives IMO.

Enjoy the Fellsman

I’ve some sprung Leki Aluminium poles and don’t rate them:
Too flexible, have broken one section (easily replaced, but still not impressed) .
Grips are good though.

Partner has some Brashers which are getting on a bit but far stiffer and just as light.

I’ve just found the Likeys site. Having done some reading a little more, I think I’ll get a pair of cheap scaffold poles to find out what length I get on with best. Then splash out on some AR type poles. Raidlight, Black Diamond or Mountain Kings seem to get the best write ups.

teamhurtmore, thanks for the advice. I failed at my first Fellsman attempt a couple of years ago. I never got fit properly from an injury and had to knock it on the head. Unfinished business!

Thanks for your advice everyone.

One more suggestion – for cheap & cheerful you could do worse than the Trekrite 4-section ones off Amazon.

Perfectly functional, only a few grams heavier than my old Leki Makalus, and they pack down short for strapping onto the side of your sack.

Oh, and hope you get better weather than last years Fellsman!

Best of luck Jerry – Martin who runs Likeys is very, very helpful and always worth giving him a call. Prices are ok but worth supporting for his advice alone (check out his kit lists on the site).

Ignore the flak when training with poles – oy, mate, you’ve lost your skiis etc!! You do feel a bit of a prat at first!!

I’ve got normal twistlock Lekis that I get on well with but a bit of a wild card are the “trail blaze” from http://www.mountainking.co.uk/ very light weight and packable but a very basic grip

I would not be without poles when backpacking or even winter hillwalking with a larger sack. They keep you upright which is superior for balance and reduces fatigue.

I have been advised to get a pair of trekking poles for assistance running the Fellsman later in the year

I never fancied poles, then when I had to do some moderate walking with an enormous pack containing my 24kg daughter, lunch, lots of water and spare clothes, I got some cheap ones. I found myself moving really quickly with them.

I considered them for last Saturday’s Fan Dance race, but I thought since I was doing it unladen as a fell runner I’d leave them behind, cos fell runners don’t use poles… do they?

Well going back over Pen y Fan I would have murdered someone for a pair if I’d thought I had enough energy to do a proper job. I bitterly regretted that decision.. it’d saved me loads of time. My legs were totally shot, but my arms were fine of course.

I used some black diamond carbon ultra poles on the UTMB TDS last year. Not cheap but very good. Would recommend, they are the avalanche probe style

I considered them for last Saturday’s Fan Dance race, but I thought since I was doing it unladen as a fell runner I’d leave them behind, cos fell runners don’t use poles… do they?

Well going back over Pen y Fan I would have murdered someone for a pair if I’d thought I had enough energy to do a proper job. I bitterly regretted that decision.. it’d saved me loads of time. My legs were totally shot, but my arms were fine of course.

My mate Stu did that in quite a sharp time apparently (3h ish i think). He is a world champion adventure racer right enough but this was a bit different for him !

I used a mates snow pole for the first time the other day, like a really light third leg. I’m not a natural tripod 😉 but it made me feel more confident on certain snowy bits. Don’t think I’ll use 2 cos I want a hand free.