Pole straps or no pole straps

^^^^ I'm with Alan on this one.
Using pole straps is such a personal feel. I'm sure we can drag this thread out for weeks when the safety regulators come out of hiding and try to convince me that I'm lucky that I haven't been killed by using ski straps.  :

Personally I am on the side of using the straps in nearly all skiing, but maybe potential avy slopes.
Climbing they are off since I grip many variations of the pole.
On a fast Traverse, I got my basket hooked the other day and as Marcus mentioned earlier it gave my shoulder a good stinger and tug, surprised that I did not lose a basket. Maybe I like more risk, like the pro football players who won't use a mouthpiece or wear kneepads. After 37 years it still works for me, and it is way more efficient like Allan says for propelling oneself forward. I just can't get used to using a tighter grip to hold a pole, when I grasp them rather loosely while skiing. FWIW-I think that releasable straps that I have used were worthless. I put a lot of force on the straps at times to push forward on slight uphill traverses and the releasable ones I had always came undone and were a PIA to put back together only to have them pop out again.
To each their own.

I don't use my straps in the back country because of this story:

www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/jour...olorado-backcountry/

I'm sure some of you have seen this one. The short of it is that three dudes were buried in a soft slab. Hands that were in pole straps were immobilized. Hands that were not (due to broken poles) were able to be used to self rescue in one guys case, and to enlarge an air pocket in one of the others. The guy that could move rescued the other two. Good enough for me.

Oh, one guy lost his sunglasses though.

Cheers

Thanks for the advice and experience. In 20+ years of skiing I haven’t experienced any shoulder injuries from pole snags but then I don’t tend to snag trees either. I don’t expect that to change. I have considered the buried with straps scenario’s and how frustrating it would be have your hands disabled by your poles and will always feel more comfortable in prone areas without straps. My take away from this discussion is that straps are situational. Not being used to skiing without straps likely lead me to release my grip in the fall. With 8 inches of snow and a solid crust layer I should have had my straps on. On subsequent runs that day strong pole plants from the crust were much more functional with straps on. Thanks everyone.

Pole straps are all well and good for pushing across the flats, but I vowed 15 years ago never again to wear pole straps while skiing down the steeps, due to a nefarious injury I suffered at Whistler which the doctor said is well known as "skiers thumb". Think of your thumb being wrenched back 180 degrees and get ready for 2 months of real pain. For those who love medico-speak an internet blurb on the injury is pasted below. I for one would much rather lose a pole than ever suffer that injury again.

How is the ulnar collateral ligament injured?
Two common descriptive terms for injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament are:

"skier's thumb" and
"gamekeeper's thumb"
These eponyms are often used interchangeably, although they describe slightly different injury patterns.
The skier's thumb injury was described as an acute injury to the ulnar collateral ligament. When a skier falls with his or her hand caught in a ski pole, the thumb can be pulled away from the hand. Because of the shape of the ski pole, the thumb tends to get caught and significant stresses are placed on the ulnar collateral ligament. If the ulnar collateral ligament is pulled far enough, it will tear. While there are many ways to injure the ulnar collateral ligament, a skier's thumb is the proper eponym for an acute injury to the ligament.

The other injury is called a gamekeeper's thumb; this refers to a more chronic pattern of injury that leads to loosening of the ulnar ligament over time. The name comes from the European gamekeepers who would kill their game by grasping the head of the animal between their thumb and index finger to break its neck. Over time, the ulnar collateral ligament is stretched and would eventually cause problems. Again, gamekeeper's thumb is the proper eponym to describe chronic injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament.

An ulnar collateral ligament injury most often occurs as a result of sports injuries. Athletes who are skiers and soccer players often sustain this injury. An ulnar collateral ligament injury can also occur as the result of a fall or other trauma.

I've actually had pole straps contribute to pulling me into a moving slab. No one was hurt. It was a very small slide on a small terrain feature. But I felt pretty stupid for having my hands in the straps since I was already sold on the idea of not using straps for just that reason (that and tree wells - makes it a lot tougher to climb out if you land on your back). We were booting up a small gully at the time so maybe I thought that using the straps would help with the climbing. Perhaps that was my rationale. But as soon as things stated to move it was clear to me that I'd be happier without the straps.

FWIW, the dynafiddles released nicely in that incident and my feet got on top and ahead of the moving snow, but the poles were an issue. So no pole straps for me. Not unless I'm skating for miles down a forest service road or something like that.

Right on DJS I forgot about that injury, nice reference too.
They used to make pole grips to minimize that potential injury, but I think those moved on when people figured out it was ineffective.
I still use the straps in spite of potential of this injury.
I think the way people use the straps also make difference. I put my hand through the strap and hold/fold the strap on my pole in between my thumb and pointing finger (not the middle one  ). Really after about 2500 days of skiing the only time I injure my hand or thumb is from the impact of my outstretched hand to prevent a fall from being a bigger impact, NOT the strap or grip. Pretty natural reaction for most is to extend an arm when falling. But if I can engage the tuck and roll technique I can absorb the blow with my body better than an outstretched arm and hand. Plus the incline of the hill naturally helps to lessen the blow in most cases.
I may be more aware of going strapless when skiing downhill (hiking straps are off) in avy terrain based on this thread, but all other phases strap it on for rigorous skiing. A lot of my touring pals don't even have straps on their poles, but not the majority.