Saturday, November 05, 2005
The Best Type of Pole
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If you are a regular reader you may have gathered by now that as editor of this Independent publication I am not going to give my opinion on which poles are best. Apart from anything else -Which poles are best depends on your individual requirements.
You hear a lot of rubbish (in my opinion) talked about why one piece poles are better than adjustable and vice versa, when it really does come down to the requirements of the individual.
See my posting dated Friday 15th June - "What poles should I buy"? Here's the direct link:
.
http://nordicwalkingnewsblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/what-poles-should-i-buy.html
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It saddens me when I hear a story like I heard from one of my personal clients yesterday. The lady had turned up at a 2 day Nordic Walking event with adjustable poles. The event was being run by instructors who are linked in with an organisation who actively discourages people from buying adjustable poles by using scare tactics such as "you want to be careful with those, the locking mechanism is likely to fail just when you don't want it too" or "You better not do these resistance exercises using your adjustable poles because they might collapse".
The bottom line is (as I have said elsewhere in Nordic Walking News) - I own both one piece and adjustable poles and I use both types of poles at my workshops and training sessions and I sell both types of poles to my clients and I have yet to have or hear of a single problem with any of my poles.
Does this mean that there are no problems? Of course not - I have heard of incidences where adjustable poles have slipped when pressure has been applied to them just as I have heard of incidences where good quality one piece carbon poles have snapped (in one case when it was hit by a stray ball!) - But come on - The reality is, as long as you buy good quality poles from a reputable manufacturer and don't fall into the trap of buying cheap imitation imports whether you buy one piece or adjustable you are more than likely going to have positive experiences.
Note: If you use adjustables of course do make sure you have correctly adjusted and tightened your poles before each use.
So it really, really doesn't matter if you buy one piece or adjustables - Just read my article at:
http://nordicwalkingnewsblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/what-poles-should-i-buy.html
...to help you decide what option is best for you.
Photo - In case you were wondering - Yes it's me Nordic Walking along Shell Bay Beach at the entrance to Poole Harbour on the South Coast of the UK (a short walk from my home).
Note: Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia. Aparently (and I've never tried it) but if you were able to walk around the complete shoreline you would have to walk 100 miles.
If you are a regular reader you may have gathered by now that as editor of this Independent publication I am not going to give my opinion on which poles are best. Apart from anything else -Which poles are best depends on your individual requirements.
You hear a lot of rubbish (in my opinion) talked about why one piece poles are better than adjustable and vice versa, when it really does come down to the requirements of the individual.
See my posting dated Friday 15th June - "What poles should I buy"? Here's the direct link:
.
http://nordicwalkingnewsblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/what-poles-should-i-buy.html
.
It saddens me when I hear a story like I heard from one of my personal clients yesterday. The lady had turned up at a 2 day Nordic Walking event with adjustable poles. The event was being run by instructors who are linked in with an organisation who actively discourages people from buying adjustable poles by using scare tactics such as "you want to be careful with those, the locking mechanism is likely to fail just when you don't want it too" or "You better not do these resistance exercises using your adjustable poles because they might collapse".
The bottom line is (as I have said elsewhere in Nordic Walking News) - I own both one piece and adjustable poles and I use both types of poles at my workshops and training sessions and I sell both types of poles to my clients and I have yet to have or hear of a single problem with any of my poles.
Does this mean that there are no problems? Of course not - I have heard of incidences where adjustable poles have slipped when pressure has been applied to them just as I have heard of incidences where good quality one piece carbon poles have snapped (in one case when it was hit by a stray ball!) - But come on - The reality is, as long as you buy good quality poles from a reputable manufacturer and don't fall into the trap of buying cheap imitation imports whether you buy one piece or adjustable you are more than likely going to have positive experiences.
Note: If you use adjustables of course do make sure you have correctly adjusted and tightened your poles before each use.
So it really, really doesn't matter if you buy one piece or adjustables - Just read my article at:
http://nordicwalkingnewsblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/what-poles-should-i-buy.html
...to help you decide what option is best for you.
Photo - In case you were wondering - Yes it's me Nordic Walking along Shell Bay Beach at the entrance to Poole Harbour on the South Coast of the UK (a short walk from my home).
Note: Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia. Aparently (and I've never tried it) but if you were able to walk around the complete shoreline you would have to walk 100 miles.
