On 11/26/10 8:40 AM, AES wrote:


The fiber poles didn't get "cut" -- they just gradually (but fairly
rapidly) disintegrated into a lot of parallel fibers, with no remaining
function as a tubular pole, for the first three or four inches above the
basket.

The local ski shop just advised me, "Yup ... don't do that".

Related - my kid destroyed fiber poles in the same manner (except up
near the grip) hitting slalom gates with the poles.

For backcountry use I'd think the possibility of field repair of
aluminum poles using a whittled wood dowel insert and duct tape would be
a consideration.

There's also the interesting matter of the "better" aluminum alloys
breaking rather than bending, where the dirt cheap alloys bend
substantially and can be bent back.