Wading staffs

[rannoch raider]

Looking for a new wading staff. Needs to be telescopic or folding type and must have a decent bit of weight in the bottom section.
I'm using a full length solid one at the moment which is great when in the water and in use but a bit of s nuisance when not in use.
Any reasonably priced sticks out that fit the bill ? All suggestions welcomed . 👍🏻

[nacnud]

I'm using a Simms folding stick, not that heavy, quite pricy but works great, the lack of weight doesn't seem to bother me as it doesn't float away. It's one of the stainless steel ones.
If you buy a folding one make sure it has a steel wire down the centre to lock the sections, saw a guy with one that had elastic shock cord down the middle, great until he got it stuck between some rocks and it pulled apart when he was trying to free it - not good!

[Wildfisher]

I use a Snowbee folding model. Packs away neatly when not in use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trs501mjXA0

[rannoch raider]

Thanks gents, I must be honest, while I believe in buying decent quality tackle I don't think I could bring myself to buying a Simms staff at the prices they sell for. Good advice on the elastic cord. I think I'll have to go 'shake' a few to find something I like. The Snowbee could be a contender as long as the bottom section is heavy enough to hold the bottom in a decent current.

[rannoch raider]

Well, went to the angling centre today to pick up a few bits and pieces. Had a look at the wading staffs and was not very impressed by the cheaper stuff. They didn't have a Snowbee model but they had a number of others. I've got to say I wasn't that impressed with the cheapest models on display and some of the more expensive ones weren't much better. The elastic holding them together was hardly tight enough to do the job in the shopnever mins in the water.
By far the best built and to my mind the safest were the two Simms models. I chose the less expensive of the two. Fantastic bit of kit :, shite price :shock:.

[scoobyscott]

I just bought the snowbee telescopic one at the weekend. The salesman advised me to go for a solid staff as opposed to telescopic for a couple of reasons such as if I was to lose my footing it's far easier for someone to pull me out if they can grab my solid stick unlike the fold up ones. Also you can use it to thrash through nettles etc to get to the river.

[rannoch raider]

Yeah Scott, Solid is better but a pain to carry around. I've been using a home made solid one recently. It works great when you're in the water using it however it becomes a nuisance when you aren't. 
Another benefit the Simms models have is that they are machined to pretty tight tolerances at the joints and are pulled together with a plastic coated wire which is then locked in place under tension so there's no way it can come apart until you unlock it. It actually feels like its one piece when assembled.

[nacnud]

That's exactly why I decided to spend the money on the Simms staff, it's solid once locked in place. Looking at the video the Snowbee staff seems to have an elastic shock cord holding it together, as I said earlier I saw someone getting into problems using a similarly built staff.