Poles should be simple, not special. They help you time your turns. They give you balance and an extra push up the hill as you ascend. For resort-bound skiers plain aluminum poles may be just fine. However, backcountry skiers need a pole that can change height.
Short poles are easy to plant and great for the pow, but they are hard to use while skinning.
They don t provide as much balance or as strong a punch to get you going as do longer poles. Guaranteed, these veterans have weathered at least one black eye, loose tooth, or tweaked shoulder thanks to their poles. In addition to being used for skiing, an adjustable pole can also come in handy as a probe or as an emergency tent pole. Poles help backcountry snowboarders on the approach as well, but for the descent boarders need collapsible poles so that they can fold them into their packs. The problem is, adjustable poles have been cursed in the past.