A ski pole strap for transfer of power from a skier's hand to a ski pole when a pole stroke is performed in cross-country skiing, the ski pole strap comprising an attachment portion configured to attach the ski pole strap to the ski pole; and a hand support portion for supporting the hand of the skier, the hand support portion comprising at least 0.03 g/cm.sup.2 of a thermoplastic material arranged at least in a region of the hand support portion configured to surround an ulnar border of the skier's hand, when the ski pole strap is in use, the thermoplastic material being plastically shapeable at a temperature below 100 C. and having a flexural modulus of at least 50 MPa at 20 C.

A ski pole assembly that includes: a ski pole, which defines a cavity; an extension, which is at least partially received by the cavity and is configured to traverse the cavity along a longitudinal axis of the ski pole; and a mounting mechanism that is configured to removably couple an attachment to the extension.

The invention relates to a ski pole where at least a part of the pole is in titanium and is formed as a lattice.

A variety of ski and hiking poles are described. In one aspect, magnets are provided on the pole handles and baskets to facilitate magnetic coupling a pair of poles together in a state suitable for carrying. In some embodiments, a pair of magnets are provided on each side of the handle. In some embodiments, a basket alignment piece is attached to the pole shaft. The alignment piece helps facilitate attachment of the basket to the pole shaft in an orientation that aligns the basket magnets relative to the handle magnets. In another aspect novel wrist straps are described.