You actually buy your poles? While I have a pair of adjustable Lekis, I also have my very first - a $2 replacement tool handle, drilled for a strap, and my very favorite - a branch with a naturally ergonomic handle, discarded by another hiker. I also prefer the sound of natural wood on rock, compared to that of a carbide tip. My most useful was a mop handle I found on a beach when I desperately needed one to deal with wet, slippery trails, having found out the hard way that my wrist had not recovered from a bicycle spill a week earlier.

I really appreciate hiking poles during stream crossings, and that is an occasion where the commercial products shine - their thinner shafts offer less resistance to fast water. So you really need several poles, but they don't have to be expensive.