I think poles are way more important than people make them out to be. I personally don't like Scott that much, I've broken two pairs, and they were way too expensive for the quality. Plus I just break aluminum poles like nobodies business... I'd look for a pair of Composite poles, they're definitely the best, you can bend the shit out of them and they always pop back. Go online, grab a pair of older, less stylish composite poles, and u'll get em' cheap, like $30 maybe, maybe less. Check out evo's outlet.
http://www.evogear.com/outlet-shop/ski/poles.aspx
But definitely go composite.