>"Also, it seems to me that the broader footprint of the rubber tips would be less damaging to the trail than the pointy carbide tips."
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Interesting observation about carbide tips and a possible alternative. I have a couple pairs of LuxuryLite's CF poles. (Made by Valcour on this board). He no longer makes the trekking poles but just his hiking staff. Anyway the tips on his poles are a softer material than carbide and actually grip rock where carbide just skates off. I believe also that the tip material (which is like a piece of metal piping whose O.D. fits the I.D. of the CF pole) extends some distance up inside to protect it from the kind of fracturing that can happen to CF if it gets stuck between a crack in rocks and pried out. Anyway, I had several head-to-head comparisons with carbide-tipped pole users as I was hiking across the Grand Canyon. Everyone agreed the LL poles had better grip.

Another feature I like is the adjustable height grip that the poles have. It's a completely different approach, but it really works.
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