SKI POLES

There are all sorts of ski poles that you can buy. They can be for different types of skiing and made from different materials, but by far the most important aspect of a pole though is the length. The length must be matched to the person that will use them, and what they want to use them for. When in a shop trying to work out what length of pole you want, you must remember that ski boots will raise your feet off of the ground a bit more than normal shoes, and that when you put your skis on they will raise you about another 4cm further. Another thing to take into account is that generally the pole will sink into the snow until the cup at the bottom.

Differences in Poles

Poles for use in powder will have larges cups on the bottom so that they won't sink so far into the powder. Freestyle skiers will use very short poles as they don't want them to get in the way, and only really have them for show. The poles with all the weird shapes are generally meant for racing. These shapes make the poles go around the body while the skier holds them out in front in an aerodynamic stance. Generally the more the shape changes in the pole the more they are intended for super-g or downhill, where the aerodynamic positions are held more often and for longer.

Materials

There are generally two materials that ski poles are made out of, aluminium and carbon fibre. The main difference between the two is that, if you land hard on an aluminium pole it will bend and stay bent, although they can normally be bent back to near enough straight if done carefully (i.e. it's good to heat up the pole first). A carbon fibre pole though will just flex and come back to straight. However if you land really hard on a carbon fibre pole it will shatter, leaving you no choice but to throw it away. An aluminium pole on the other hand might have still been savable.

Move on the the Goggles section.