On User Serviceability: Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Part 2

The scope of this project was to explore modifying second hand trekking poles. The assumption is that only single owner poles are protected by the Black Diamond return/repair policy.

Trekking poles are a significant cost new, spending at least $100 is not uncommon, but used/broken poles can often be found in second hand shops or by private sales, craigslist, etc.

Even a broken pair of good quality poles can be user serviced back to a functioning state.

Part 2 is down below, this is a video I made to accompany the restoration.

PART 2
The cork grip of the Black Diamond pole was removed to reveal leftover adhesive and a pristine carbon fiber tube. The plastic cap at the top of the pole is one piece; palm grip and cap for the carbon tube. It makes sense to transfer the load evenly across the top of the tube with the cap. A rivet is used to fastened the cap to the tube.

Below the cork grip is a foam grip that I partially removed. I believe they are for steep ascents but I have never used this feature. The depth of the bore in the new grip was 5.5 inches. I cut the foam ring down to 5.5" from the end to act as a stop for inserting the pole into the grip. I did this without un-adhering the part I was keeping.  This method would ensure that no void space would be left between the cap and the top of the grip.

The new grips bore was increased at the entrance using a sanding wheel from 0.500" to about 0.625". The initial thought was to bore out across the entire depth, but both technique and tooling were lacking so this plan was scraped. Without proper clearance for even an interference fit more care was needed in the shaping of the cap to avoid shape edges. This configuration has unnecessary interference and causes unnecessary stress on both the pole and grip. I have confidence in the poles ability to resist a uniform radial force, the cork grip is far ore likely to fail by tearing cause by internal strain.

Using a small cut-off wheel, the top cap was cut down to where there is about 3/16" of plastic sitting above the top of the pole and rounded off. The bottom part has a 3/4" deep tube that slip fits inside the carbon fiber pole, this stabilizes the exposed end of the pole. The kork-o-lon grip are fully enclosed with a palm grip, so this plastic piece needed to be as un-abtrusive as possible while still serving its basic purposes:

• Distributing the axial load evenly across the top rim of the carbon fiber tube. 
• Protecting the end of the tube from crush. The new grip does not provide protection from steeping on the end accidentally. 
• Protecting the inside of the kork-o-lon grip from tear while inserting, 

The modified plastic butt cap was riveted back into place. As much of the adhesive film was removed from the carbon tube as possible with a sponge and isopropyl alcohol. The grips could then be fitted onto the ends and the pole sections put together finishing the project successfully.

On User Serviceability: Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Part 1

     This story begins in Gorham, New Hampshire. A pair of slightly damaged Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles fall down the hiker grapevine into my possession. After they were damaged the owner trade got a new pair warranted from BD, and these got hiker boxed. I taped up the damaged cork handle and used them for the remainder of my thru and beat the mess out of them. When I finally reached Katahdin, one tip had been ground off completely and the other was bent and nearing dis-functionality. 

    A few months pass and its summer 2015. I decide I'd like to bring the poles back into service. The poles disassemble into three shaft sections and the metal flick-locks come off. I cleaned and wiped everything down and removed one handle to assess the situation. The cork handles had dried out completely underneath the athletic tape. The bottom sections were both pretty far beyond repair.

    Fortunately, Black Diamond supplies replacement bottom sections with tips at $14.95 a hit, so a pair was an easy get for $36.85 shipped. big ups to user serviceability. 

    Many products these day are designed and built with a fixed product lifetime. To be broken and replaced. Complex molded plastic parts and micro components make the products of today better. These components also make it nearly impossible for the user to service and repair them.  Trekking poles are fairly simple by nature, but are being slightly corrupted by non-removable tips, bonded grips, and integrated locking mechanisms.  

    Gossamer Gear is a cottage industry lightweight backpacking manufacturer. They produce their own trekking poles, but they also supply aftermarket replacement cork grips (kork-o-lon?).  $31. This was the only replacement grip I found. The alternative for me was to buy cork fishing pole grip blanks and machine a more hiking pole shape into them. This could've been cheaper, but would have upped the time and tooling costs. 

    The other half of the restoration, crosses over from user serviceability into DIY/fabrication a bit. 

Jan 6th, 2016 Vermont