lightweight collapsible hiking poles

I find hiking canes too inconvenient. My hands need to be free to take a photo … or blow my nose.

But if I had poles that retracted mechanically whenever I wished, … I’d consider them.

Technology is getting closer. Shannon Davis reporting from the Outdoor Retailer show 2010:

Black Diamond’s Ultra Distance Z-pole. These things are unreal–eight-ounce carbon-fiber poles. They will be pricey ($149), and they will come in four fixed-length sizes. The poles fold like a tent pole with a protected inner bungie cord, and they snap to rigidity like an avalanche probe. The Distance model will be $20 cheaper, adjustable, and about and ounce heavier. …