Cross Country Poles

Poles

The real reason for having poles is for additional propulsion, although they may on occasion need to be used for recovering one's balance. For most people, the only significant thing to figure out is how long the poles should be. Fitting poles for the proper length should be done while wearing your ski boots, if possible. Skating poles should come up to between the chin and the lower lip. Diagonal stride poles should fit comfortably underneath the armpit. Skiers that spend a lot of time in ungroomed snow will find large round baskets to be more useful than the small v-shaped baskets favored by skaters and some track skiers. Spending a lot of money (> $200) on poles will get you a pair of Kevlar / carbon fiber wonders that are very light and very stiff, but most people will do just fine with a pair of $40 poles like the Exel Maximas.