So the other day I decided to make my own poles because: 1. I needed new poles 2. I'm lacking money at the moment and 3. It sounded fun
Materials:
Two branches
Two baskets
Hockey Tape
Miniwax - Polyurethane
It ended up being a fairly easy task. First I just cut down two branches from a tree to serve as my poles. Next, I used a non-serrated knife to whittle them down. They are wider than normal poles in order to maintain durability. This makes them a bit heavy but I honestly didn't notice much of a difference when skiing with them.
For the grips I used hockey tape because it keeps them as slim as possible and quite grippy.
I fashioned the tips into a point and managed to squeeze the baskets on. To make sure they wouldn't fall off I duct taped the tips, but they seem pretty snug.
Lastly I added a layer of Miniwax Polyurethane in order to waterproof said poles. Cause nobody likes heavy waterlogged poles.
And boom the poles are complete:
I've managed to get a few days of skiing in with the poles and so far they've worked great. The poles seem super durable. Except for the baskets and tips which seem prone to breaking off but so far they've held up just fine.
Hopefully this will be helpful to those of you considering making your own poles. I certainly recommend giving it a try.
