Life is hard when you're a hiking pole tip
I've had my Black Diamond hiking poles for a year. I only use one pole while hiking as i find two poles just get in the way and trip me up. The pole on the left shows a year of wear doing mostly desert hiking. The aluminum ferrule and plastic sheave have been worn to a point and the hardened carbide tip has lost its edge and is now a rounded stump. The pole on the right has only been on a few short hikes. It's interesting to think that on all my hikes every time the pole hits a rock or is pushed into the ground i leave a few molecules of aluminum and carbide behind.
Hiking pole tips by °Florian, on Flickr
Hiking pole tips by °Florian, on Flickr