Pole straps or no pole straps

I took a spill yesterday, slid 75 feet through the super light snow on the crust and came to a rest minus one pole.  I had to search the slide zone twice before I found my pole.  I am fairly new to backcountry skiing so can someone tell me why we don't strap our pole to our wrists please? 

One less thing to drag you down if you get caught in an avalanche.

Get the basket caught in some brush or a tree as you're zipping by and it can really wrench your arm. I'd rather dig for my pole than dislocate my shoulder.

I don't know details of all pole models, but my backcountry poles have release straps.  One model just pulls a plug with the strap out.  The other is made to only release the strap if the pull is in the direction opposite of what one creates when polling. 

My guess is that just about any pole could be retrofitted with release straps such that the strap releases given a hard pull, but remains intact for normal operation.

One problem with release straps is that the strap part will remain on the wrist.  If that loop of material should be what catches a tree limb while skiing or falling, then all bets are off.  Probably best to remove the straps when in a situation where a snag is likely anyway.  That flaw points to a release mechanism that I have not seen - a strap that simply separates the loop so the wrist falls out.  Maybe I should invent such a thing, but my public disclosure here would preclude a patent, eh! 

Alan

No pole strap Evhar in winter conditons IMHO for same reasons Marcus wrote.
Only time I use them is in spring when gripping my Whippet in a death grasp while skinning or skiing icy hardpack.

Very interesting discussion. My buddy and I have gone around in circles on this one a few times. I am of the school of thought that I don't want to be without my skis or poles. In other words my din is at 10 and my straps are on. I would not want to be the one without poles while trying to climb on a multiday trip. Now you could argue how about if you had a dislocated shoulder due to the pole snagging on a tree or whatever. Ummm.......in 20 plus years of skiing it has never happened. Not sure why I would prepare for it now. Bottom line. I want all my equipment with me.

Having started out skiing with Nordic touring in valley trips, I cannot imagine touring efficiently without using my poles straps. Yes, even with my downhill style poles. There is a certain efficiency of movement when straps are properly used. This is not a huge thing considering everything else that is going on during a typical touring stride, but I got used to it and I ain't giving up my straps. It is just so nice to be able to rest on the poles from time-to-time without using my hand grip in the least.

I find that many people who come from the downhill experience often do not even know the proper way to use pole straps, so they are surprised to learn that forces generated during stride polling or even downhill polling are mostly absorbed by the strap completely around the wrist, thereby negating the need to really grasp the pole at all. The straps will also almost automatically reposition the grip in the hand if the grip is lost temporarily. What a drag to get a pole knocked out of your hand in the middle of a great descent, only to have to stop to climb and retrieve it.

So if you want to use them go ahead, just get releasable straps. However, as I said previously, given the potential issue with releaseable straps, I still remove them when skiing trees. But, this is usually a small portion time-wise of any ski trip.

Alan