3,398 Skiers Weighed In: Here’s How Often They Actually Use Pole Straps
It’s Sunday, and you know what that means—we’re back with the results of another POWDER Weekly Poll, thanks to the Department of Polls and Skier Opinion.
The subject of this week's debate was pole straps. How, exactly, varied are skiers’ opinions on these floppy pieces of fabric, though? We endeavored to find out, with some help from the hardworking scientists at the POWDERDepartment of Polls and Skier Opinion.
Keep reading to see what skiers had to say when asked: how often do you use pole straps?
Here’s what 3,398 readers had to say.
POWDER Weekly Poll Results
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Poll Highlights
- Total Votes: 3,398
- Most Popular Choice: Never (1,442 votes, 42% of voters)
- Least Popular Choice: Sometimes, depending on the type of terrain (381 votes, 11% of voters)
- Other results:
Always: 1,115 votes, 33% of voters Usually, depending on the type of terrain: 459 votes, 14% of voters
Poll Observations
- As we pointed out in our initial poll article, avalanche experts have recommended ditching pole straps when skiing in terrain that might slide. The sentiment proved popular in the comments section of our social post. “Always on resort, never in avalanche terrain,” wrote one skier. The argument goes that a ski pole, if it’s still attached to your wrist, can drag you beneath the snow during an avalanche. The same case can be made for deep snow and tree wells.
- Still, there was plenty of nuance. The “always” crowd was the second largest group overall, and plenty of skiers defended pole straps for an obvious reason: it makes it harder to lose your poles. One recalled the unfortunate disappearance of a ski pole into a glacial bergschrund.
- The arrival of detachable pole straps also muddies the numbers. These neat straps can release from a pole, dismissing some of the critiques levelled at standard, fixed straps.
- One anecdote: more experienced skiers, in general, tend to disfavor pole straps (this isn’t a golden rule—the author of this article, who’s reasonably handy on a pair of skis, keeps his straps on). Why? On gentler groomed runs, pole straps are unlikely to cause any issues. It’s in the realms favored by experts, namely, consequential avalanche terrain, that questions arise. With that in mind, respondents to this poll likely skewed towards the experienced end of the spectrum.
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What We Could’ve Done Better
- This was another poll that went off smoothly. Still, we had some lingering questions. Would the “never” crowd turn to the dark side if they were gifted detachable pole straps? What percent of skiers don’t use poles at all, even if it's a tiny number? How many people have wacky pole length preferences? Do people have strong opinions about pole baskets? And, perhaps most importantly, is it worth cashing out for a nice pair of poles, or should you just pick up a pair at a thrift store?
About the POWDER Weekly Poll
We launch our weekly polls at 3 p.m. Eastern Time every Monday. They remain open until 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time the following Friday, with the results dropping on Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. You can participate and see the results right here on our website or by visiting our Instagram page.
While you’re at it, drop us a line or leave an Instagram comment if there’s a poll you’d like to see next. Skiers have plenty of opinions and preferences, and we want to know which ones might land on top of the heap.