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Poles are not only used for skiing, but also for a wide variety of sports, such as cross-country skiing, touring and snowshoeing in winter, as well as Nordic walking, trekking and trail running in summer. You might think that a pole is a pole, there can't be that much of a difference, but you'd be wrong. Poles are highly technical pieces of sporting equipment these days.
The professional Austrian mountaineer and Komperdell athlete Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is the first woman to have reached all fourteen eight-thousand- meter peaks without the aid of bottled oxygen and without the assistance of high altitude porters.
The key factors are stability and weight, which means that aluminium is still the most common material for manufacturing poles. One pair of aluminium poles weighs between 400 and 600 grams, depending on the model and application. In comparison, poles made of fiber composites such as CFRP weigh between 280 and 400 grams.
The key advantage of aluminium poles over carbon poles is therefore not weight, but the fact that aluminium poles bend when subjected to excessive loads. That doesn't sound like much of an advantage? It is, though. Because if carbon is subjected to too much strain, it will break. Not only does this present a risk of injury, it can also bring the most enjoyable outdoor experience to an abrupt and uncomfortable halt. This is why aluminium poles are mainly used in sports involving particularly demanding conditions, such as alpine skiing, freeriding or touring, but even carbon poles cannot be made without aluminium. They are covered with a protective aluminium sheathing to prevent them from breaking.
AMAG aluminium in poles
AMAG has been supplying high-quality aluminium for pole production to the traditional Austrian manufacturer Komperdell, whose headquarters are located only about 50 km from the AMAG plant in Ranshofen, in nearby Mondsee, for more than 20 years. The lightest and hardest aluminium materials are used for this purpose, specifically the hi-tech material Titanal and the alloy 7075. These materials are high strength and have high lightweight construction potential. The result: thinner and therefore lighter poles with a long service life. This is just as important to AMAG as it is to Komperdell.
The two companies are connected by a long business relationship as well as by shared values. First and foremost: a deeply-held sense of responsibility for the environment. The priority here is avoiding wasting resources. For example, in accordance with our commitment to the circular economy, AMAG supplies material with a high proportion of recycled material, while Komperdell extends the service life of its poles by offering free repair services for three years.
The two companies are now closing the circle in terms of their business relationship: AMAG not only remains a supplier, as it has in the past, but is now also becoming a customer with ist own pole made of AMAG material and in an AMAG design. Ideal conditions for reaching new heights. Contour Titanal - the pole for avid summiters. Now available in the AMAG design: The ultra-light and virtually indestructible pioneer among poles has been part of the Komperdell portfolio for 20 years. Constantly improved, it is still the number one pole that provides absolute reliability and safety on the mountainside thanks to high-strength titanal and Powerlock 3.0 fasteners made of forged aluminium.