[pct-l] [John Muir Trail] Hiking sticks.

[Deems]

I've used several pairs of light weight poles over the last few years. 
Komperdell carbon twist locks, Gossamer gear LT poles, and the Black Diamond 
Alpine Carbon poles with flick locks. Each has its weakness. With Gossamer, 
a carbide tip pulled out on my first hike, and they are the most fragile of 
the group.  With the Komperdells, a lock failed on the inside when the inner 
part unscrewed and was unscrewable again in the Goat Rocks. I made do with 
one pole, and my shelters need only one pole.   I found the Black Diamond 
weakness a couple weeks back. I drove to a trailhead with the poles 
retracted and the locks relaxed, and when I got there, one screw was gone, 
and the pole useless. With BD poles, keep the locks locked, and/or add some 
loctite to each screw.  I did go back the next weekend to the TH for a full 
moon campout, and with my metal detector I found the lost screw. BD is my 
first choice for most trips, they are sturdy and stout, but I also seem to 
learn each pole's inherent weakness on-trail the hard way. I now carry a 
spare 4mm screw for my BD poles...