I'm bidding on these ski poles...

I will not mind to try one too,

Okay. I get home from uni 14th December, I think. The guy I can get the tubing from is near home, so theres not really any point asking him to post it to me now if I could go and collect it from him in a couple of weeks.
I'll work on one or two prototypes over christmas and if they look like they might work, I'll post them out as soon as possible for testing and some feedback.

Cheers

I've just had a really neat Idea regarding the face of the mallet... more information to follow ;)

Okay. I get home from uni 14th December, I think. The guy I can get the tubing from is near home, so theres not really any point asking him to post it to me now if I could go and collect it from him in a couple of weeks.
I'll work on one or two prototypes over christmas and if they look like they might work, I'll post them out as soon as possible for testing and some feedback.

Cheers

I've just had a really neat Idea regarding the face of the mallet... more information to follow ;)

Good stuff SD,

I think you'll find a few of us have tried profiled carbon ski poles... due to the nature of the game the carbon has to deal with... being ridden over and mid point shaft contact (ooer misses) with other mallets with a lot of force the carbon doesnt seem to have a long life.

Im not really technically minded but the flexible properties of alu ski poles seem to work pretty well and once the head of the mallet has been drilled/cut (gabes pic please) the weight on the mallet comes down considerably.

Have you played polo before? If not come by and try out one of the mallets (gabes, Mikes, Hassans (with red tubing, from the states) and even vidals) as you will get a feel for what these things have to go through and what kinda works.

Cheers, I havent played before, but it definitely looks like a laugh. I'll try and get along to have a look at some point.
Carbon ski poles aren't that beefy, but this marine grade carbon tubing is rolled and should take a reall hammering (mallet...geddit?!). It's used on boats under a huge load, and it also seems to stand up pretty well against impacts and shock forces.
I guess there's nothing to lose from trying it. Might be an utter failure, or it might be amazing... We'll soon see!

ooo! this is sounding good! nice work sam.

Cheers, I havent played before, but it definitely looks like a laugh. I'll try and get along to have a look at some point.
Carbon ski poles aren't that beefy, but this marine grade carbon tubing is rolled and should take a reall hammering (mallet...geddit?!). It's used on boats under a huge load, and it also seems to stand up pretty well against impacts and shock forces.
I guess there's nothing to lose from trying it. Might be an utter failure, or it might be amazing... We'll soon see!

out of all the boys and girls who play polo i can think of 2 players that would be worth trying these out... object he goes through mallets and probably thisisrob as hes a bit of a dribbler/wacker to see how these puppies handle.

"... thisisrob ... hes a bit of a dribbler"

i'm telling. :D

right, well I'll get a couple of different ideas made up over christmas, and I'll come down to one fo your meets when theyre done.
Would it be good to have one concaved face for dribbling and one flat face for smacking the ball?
Any features you'd like to see incorporated?

bit of reading sam...

http://bikepolo.ca/forum/stuff-that-breaks/2008/11/18/this-is-the-mallet-i-use-now-post-yours-just-the-facts

matt (vidal) mallet...
http://bikepolo.ca/forum/stuff-that-breaks/2008/09/11/autocad-mallet-head

mallet head sizes...
http://bikepolo.ca/forum/2008/06/25/mallet-head-sizes

prototype mallet heads (we are getting a few of these)
http://bikepolo.ca/forum/stuff-that-breaks/2008/08/09/prototype-mallet-head

have a read see what you think.

Yeah, I'm down for being a test bunny.
Mallets last for minutes. Sometimes even hours. Never weeks.

Thanks, that's really useful.
What I think I'm getting from that is:
flat face = good for shooting
concave face = good for 'ball jointing' / dribbling
light = good
strong = good
mallet head around 2" to 2.5" diameter
smallish handle diameter (less than 20mm)
38" shaft length (?)

Don't reckon it will be too hard to make something taking all these factors into account.

Tell me if I'm getting it completely wrong. What features would you like to see?

Thanks, that's really useful.
What I think I'm getting from that is:
flat face = good for shooting
concave face = good for 'ball jointing' / dribbling
light = good
strong = good
mallet head around 2" to 2.5" diameter
smallish handle diameter (less than 20mm)
38" shaft length (?)

Don't reckon it will be too hard to make something taking all these factors into account.

Tell me if I'm getting it completely wrong. What features would you like to see?

I want it to pass and score for me ;)

Personally i really like how my DIY mallet handles, ie no complaints. but the above sounds about right...

i'd like to see something pretty simple. Flat face on each end (not interesting in bj'ing) - think ends should be reinforced as they take a lot of wear from scrapping on ground when shooting. Maybe have sides of head slightly concave (but not as much as matts). Handle diameter should be 3/4" or a bit less. that's about it...

Ignore DT. One end definitely needs to be able to ball joint.

You may also need to take into account that us fickle bunch like different length heads too. Some people play with this akin to clown shoes, whereas I prefer the head to be less than 6" in length.

Shaft length is also a gratly disputed thing. I like really short mallets 900-950mm
Some people play with much longer hitting the 1150mm mark.

Ignore DT. One end definitely needs to be able to ball joint

ignore Object, he's a fool

Bitch. x

Anyone know how much the ski poles are in TK Maxxxxx?

I saw a pair in there for £8 ages ago - looked really strong, yet light. Wish i'd got them as I haven't seen any since.

There is a dry ski slope in the town where one of my brothers lives. I'm going to get him to go there and ask to purchase any odd ones.

you defo want weight in the middle of the head, vidals is pants, sorry matt, cause the weight and plumline is at the ends of the mallet head, when if it was in the middle it would swing more true. Think of a pendulum / bell etc.

I am bidding on these, let's not battle.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-ROSSIGNOL-SKI-POLES-120CM-47_W0QQitemZ180305075236QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Skiing_Snowboarding_Ski_Poles_CV?hash=item180305075236&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1431%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

There's a sports shop on Kingsland Road / Stoke Newington Road (Sports Direct?) selling 2 golf clubs for £15. They're 1 wood, so are longer than a standard iron. I'm planning on buying them - does anyone want to go halves?

This shop in north london sells really cheap golf clubs.. Bill got some a few months ago, i think they were 2 or 3 quid each.

There's a sports shop on Kingsland Road / Stoke Newington Road (Sports Direct?) selling 2 golf clubs for £15. They're 1 wood, so are longer than a standard iron. I'm planning on buying them - does anyone want to go halves?

I'll go halves.