Buy it for Life

4251 readers

2 users here now

A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!

Guidelines:

Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!

Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.

Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.

A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:

The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
You cannot be a large corporation.
The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net

SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net

Looking for durable hiking poles and microspikes (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 9 months ago by Goodman@discuss.tchncs.de to c/buyitforlife@slrpnk.net

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Dear all, as the title says I am looking for some advice on durable hiking poles and microspikes/crampons.

I frequently hike in the alps and people have told me that there really are no durable microspikes and that the best you can do are repairable metal links. I was wondering if any of you have advice and or experience with these items.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] jadero@slrpnk.net 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I can't help you with the poles, but I swear by these.

I know that's a Canadian site, but I've seen them in other stores, so I'd think they'd be available someplace closer to home.

I've had mine for nearly 20 years. Once winter hits, I wear them daily for my 5km walk and use them to hike out for ice-fishing, sometimes 10 km round trip.

I recently retired from the local volunteer fire and rescue. When they were looking for something for the members, I showed them mine. They brought in a few sets along with a variety of other options and these easily won the day.

Replacement studs are available, but I just use ordinary sheet metal screws. I'm sure that the official replacements must be hardened, but I just replace worn studs as necessary.

The only real downside is that they add a fair bit of weight. I just pretended that it was part of my fitness routine and now I hardly notice them. And they're still lighter than my snowshoes.

[–] Goodman@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Wow that's great. Hope they sell in EU as well. Those straps really make the difference compared to those rubber ones that go around your foot, as well as the repairability. Thanks!

[–] toaster@slrpnk.net 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Edit: oopsies, I meant to comment under the top-level comment.