I scored me and the kid some cheap snowshoes to try out a little bit, but locally there's nothing available as far as economical poles, they're nearly as much as the shoes were. So I thought I might just make a couple sets.

I have a few short hikes planned, around a mile each, a few shorter.  One involving a hill.  Some local geocaching.  I expect to find snow depths from 1-3 feet, from heavy to powdery.  So we should get a good taste of things this winter.

Now, these things only really need to last the season, if it's something we enjoy, I'll open a budget to buy the good stuff.  I just want something that will work well enough for now.

Thinking about 3/4" dowel rod, bicycle handgrips, paracord lanyards, and bell type apparatus from the plumbing department.....

Wondering what length I might wanna cut em, and if anyone has tried this and may have suggestions.

Find some used ski poles. Probably will be cheaper than the new dowel rods. You can cut to length with hacksaw.

Cheap telescopic poles are $15-20 on Amazon and eBay.

Time is a factor at them moment, so ordering something isn't really an option.  I need them in 3 or 4 days days.  Christmas vacation......I'm off work, and she's off school.

If ski poles will suffice, that could be an option.  We live in an outdoor recreation area, and I've seen ski's in the resale shops around here.  Just never looked for poles.

Are they something you know you need?

I can't really think of many times I've wanted poles snowshoeing. My trips so far this winter have been 3.5 to 8 miles involving 1000 - 3000 feet gained/lost.

Poles probably would have been handy twice, both times when on steep compacted snow/ice.

My last trip was an eye opener, with 25in msr snowshoes I was sinking in to my waist at times...

I don't know that they're required.  I've talked with 3 friends that have tried snowshoeing in the past, and all 3 said poles would have helped a lot, with hills especially, and with her being 5'2.  So I don't really want to head off on our first adventure without an option.

Heading out to some resale shops tomorrow before we get to the parking spot, so we'll see.  I found some ski poles at the local good will for $6.99 a set.  Loved the price, but they were in pretty really bad shape.

And after all this, the temp went up to 44 yesterday and i can see the grass in the yard.  Hard telling how it will be where we're headed though, considering lake effect, snow belts, and its 50 miles away.  My home tends to be in a different weather system than that place.

I usually use XC ski poles. get some cheap ones and cut them to the length you want.

They may be more than you're willing to spend, but I can recommend Tubbs 2-part snowshoe poles for all but the roughest terrain. For most of my snowshoeing there's no difference, performance-wise, between them and my $80 Black Diamond Synclines. The only disadvantage for me is their max length is 130cm/52", which is the length I need for level ground, so I can't lengthen them enough for downhill use.

In case anyone is interested, here's a review I wrote for them last winter.

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/tubbs/2-part-snowshoe-poles/#review35078

Ski poles on craigslist for $5 or $10.

You should be able to find ski poles for $5-15 each with large baskets. Cut to size with a pipecutter.

I hate snowshoes.