The Brave Ski Mom

Because the Family that Skis Together, Enjoys Life Together.

Can Your Poles Really Carry Your Skis? Quickpoles Review and Giveaway

by

Photo Courtesy Quickpoles.

Of all the equipment skiers use, ski poles may be the most unchanging. Poles are usually straight, thin, lightweight pieces of metal with a basket on one end and a grip on the other. Changes over time have been incremental and for the general skiing public, it has been safe to mostly assume that a pole, is a pole, is a pole.

At least it’s just a pole, until it carries your skis. Then a pole is a convenience, and for families lugging lots of gear, it just might be a life-saver.

Quickpoles

This season, Quickpoles introduced a ski pole that does double-duty and can carry your skis. A specially designed grip fits into the heel piece of most bindings, while an adjustable clamp on the pole fits into the toe piece. Click the pole into place, where your boot would usually be, and your pole has just become a sturdy handle.

Quickpoles are the brainchild of Stuart Starry, a skier who in 2008 realized there had to be a better way to carry skis and poles. Starry, and his business partner Blake Pratz, spent three years developing the patent-pending Quickpoles mechanism.

I recently received a set of Quickpoles to review. Here’s my take on what Quickpoles calls their “rEvolution” ski poles.

The Good Stuff

1. No straps, no gadgets, nothing to lose or forget. To snap your Quickpoles onto your skis, all you need are your poles and your skis. Nothing else.

2. Easy to adjust. Quickpoles require 10 minutes of first-time set up using their easy to follow, illustrated instructions, skis, poles and a screwdriver. That’s all. Nothing else.

 

3. Easy to use. Once the poles are fit聽to the bindings, the poles snap in easily and securely. Here’s how to do it. A) Remove boots from skis. B) Unsnap the clip on the pole. C) Place the handle tightly against the heel piece. D) Click the clip into the toe piece. E) Stand up, pick up the skis and walk away.

To release the poles from the skis is even easier. A) Place the thumb on the clip. B) Pull the release trigger. C) Snap the clip back onto the pole. One minute, or less, and you’re ready to click in your boots and ski.

The Tricky Stuff

Photo Courtesy Quickpoles.

1. Carrying everything with one hand can be tricky. Quickpoles recommends that users carry one pole/ski per hand. To carry both skis and poles in one hand, Quickpoles suggests聽staggering the skis to keep the toe pieces from bumping each other and tilting the outside ski up as you grip the two handles. If you don’t like the idea of banging your edges, don’t try this. But if you have to carry a lot of gear, or hold a small child’s hand, you can do it.

2. Too long for tight spaces?聽No matter how you carry your skis, you have to be careful carrying your equipment horizontally. Walking with the tips forward and pointed down (as suggested by Quickpoles) allowed me to keep an eye on the entire assembly and avoid bumping into people. But if you’re in a busy, crowded place, you’ll need to be careful.

My Quickpoles extend well beyond the tips of my skis.

The Upshot: Great Idea, Great Design, Solid Pole

Checking out my new Quickpoles, my usually skeptical husband was impressed. “Someone really put a lot of thought into this design. It’s good,” he told me. I have to agree. The pole mechanism is easy to use. Moving parts are kept to a minimum, and constructed of industrial nylon, so there isn’t much chance of breakage or failure.

In addition, the standard ski pole features on Quickpoles are solid. The lightweight shafts are available in graphite or aircraft grade aluminum. The handle strap is padded and has a velcro adjustment, while the pole is tipped with a stainless steel concave ice tip and a 6 cm all-mountain basket. While the graphite poles cost $139.95, the aluminum poles have a mid-range price of $89.95. Not bad for a well-made pole that can do double-duty and carry your skis.

Coming Soon: Poles for the Entire Family

Of course, as a ski mom, I am intrigued by anything that will make it easier for kids to carry their gear. I’ve seen too many frustrated children (including my own) dropping skis, tripping on poles and ending up in tears trying to walk just a short distance on short legs. Quickpoles is currently designing children’s poles and updating their aluminum poles — all with an eye toward helping the entire family carry their ski gear safely and comfortably. The updated adult and new children’s poles will be available for next season.

Giveaway

Ready to try Quickpoles? Win a pair of aluminum Quickpoles in either black or white, by leaving a comment here. For an extra entry show Quickpoles some love on Facebook or Twitter (and let me know that you did).聽One winner will be chosen in a random drawing on March 27th.

Good luck!

To facilitate this review, I received a pair of white aluminum Quickpoles. As always, my opinions are my own and are exactly what I would tell my family and friends.

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Sondra!

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Comments

  3. I love the double-duty function. It’s cool when you can call it a gadget even tho it has no extra gadget

  6. As a lifelong skiier who has fumbled and stumbled (and fallen more than once!) trying to carry everything and more to make it to the hill on time, I can appreciate these. As a ski mom with little growing skiiers, these are a MUST! 馃檪 Thank you Brave Ski Mom, for all you’ve done to develop this blog and bring amazing people – and things to make their skiing lives easier and more fun – together. You’re an inspiration!!

      • Thank you Brave Ski Mom … And, I know for a fact that there are incredible gourmet burgers and great bar drinks (even for the kiddies too!) & snacks at ski resorts across the nation and all over the globe. Let’s discover them together and get the word out there so everyone can enjoy them while flying down the mountain!! … PS: I “liked” Quickpoles on Facebook too 馃檪

  7. Finally! I can’t wait for the kids version to come out… I have always struggled with the trek from the car to the lodge with kids and ski’s in tow.

  13. Already like their FB page, they were at our expos last fall, definitely hoping they come out with kids’ poles, mine are getting big enough that they’ll be using poles soon, would love to get them these.

    • I hear the poles were super popular at the Expos and SIA! Kids’ poles should be out in the fall. Thanks!

      And thanks for the like on FB. You’re in twice!

  16. Is it really that hard to carry skis? Throw them over your shoulder. If you can balance them right you dont even need hands.

    • Alright Kyle! I do the shoulder carry too, but I use my hands. And sometimes I need three or four hands. I understand and appreciate your sentiment! Thanks for commenting.

  17. If you give me a pair for my girlfriend then I can use my hands for more important things like holding beer…the opportunities are endless, I need a pair now!! 馃榾

    • Funny! I thought of the walking and drinking angle too. Ski gear in one hand, cold one in the other. But will you also carry a beer for your girlfriend? Good luck!

  18. Those would totally help me with schlepping my 2 li’l girls ski junk all over.

  20. Great idea! Could have done with these for my son when we were skiing in France a couple of weeks ago. Are they available in the UK? And if so, where?

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