Ski poles are an essential piece of a downhill skiing gear package. On the mountain skiers plant their poles and angle their turns around them. In this application, poles are used to help determine the spacing between a skier's turn as well as the skier's turning radius. Ski poles are also instrumental in keeping your balance on skis, as they extend your center of gravity over two additional points on the ground. There are four parts to a ski pole: the grip, the shaft, the basket and the tip.
What to Look for
Typically the shaft of a ski pole is made out of either graphite or aluminum. Graphite shafts tend to be very lightweight, strong and much more expensive than their aluminum counterparts. Aluminum ski poles are reasonably lightweight and reasonably strong; they do tend to bend and/or break more easily than graphite ski poles. The difference in price is truly substantial though, with aluminum poles costing about half that of graphite poles. This convinces most beginner and intermediate level skiers to stick with aluminum poles. If you need your poles for racing or elite level skiing, consider graphite pole shafts.
The baskets will vary in size and you should pick your size depending on the snow pack you will be skiing. For deep powder skiing you will want bigger baskets, as they provide a "float" over the snow. For hard pack snow, smaller baskets are OK. The grip of the pole is where you hold on. This should feel comfortable in your hand, with a cozy fit to your fist and a little bit of cushion. Look for poles with a nylon web strap as well, to loop around your wrist. This strap helps keep your hands in the right position and in the event you fall it will keep your poles from sliding away from you.
The height of the pole is obviously an important factor. Look for poles that allow your forearm to be parallel to the ground when sunk in snow up to the baskets. Measure the distance from your hand to the floor when your elbow is at a right angle. This is how long you want the distance from the top of your handgrip to the basket of your pole.
Common Pitfalls
Don't buy poles that are too short. This will cause you to lean forward too much while skiing. Alternatively, don't buy poles that are too long, as this will not let you lean forward enough. There are many ski poles on the market and if you shop around you should be able to find poles that are just the right height. Prioritize height and grip comfort as the two most important factors when pole shopping.
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