What about using ski poles instead of “hiking” (trekking) poles? The ski poles I’ve seen are usually lighter than trekking poles and cost less.
Blue Stone
Ski poles vs. trekking poles
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#3
I used ski poles for my thru-hike on the AT. They worked fine for me. They lasted the whole time. I did get some rubber tips. The clicking on the rocks drove me nuts. 
They were 10 dollars.
ZipDrive
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#4
Have a hiker friend that uses them on the street into town. CLickity-clackity-clickity-clackity. Nuts…we just stare at him. Now if we can just get him to leave off the gaiters when we go into a store, hostel, hotel, car, restuarant, pond, church. Gotta love the boy. name withheld
Bushwhack
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#5
I had a couple sets of ski poles on my thru-hike and they work fine, but the tips wear down really fast, especially when you get past the base tips to the hollow aluminum. The couple things trekking poles have going for them are the ability to collapse and stick on the side of the pack, and the cork grips you can get. They were a lot nicer than the typical rubber on most ski pole grips. If you do go for trekking poles, avoid the shock absorbing variety. It only inflates the price, they won’t break down as small, and in my opinion, is just a gimmick that doesn’t do a whole hell of a lot.
Cap’n
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#6
Trek poles are usually shorter than a ski poles which is advantagous on the up hills. However, you do want the length on the down hill sloops. I’ve had good luck with my leki’s.
Darth Pacman
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#7
Hey there’s nothing wrong with ski poles. I paid $1 for a set I found at a yard sale. I do need to buy some rubber tips for them, the clinking kind of drives me nuts.
They are lighter than the hiking poles I have. Yeah they don’t collapse but no big deal.
Buster
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#8
We used to use ski poles that we picked up at a yard sale, but found that the collapsible hiking sticks were easier to transport by plane when we hike out west. Either one works.
Spirit Walker
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#9
One more vote for ski poles. The ones I used on my last hike were the cross country type. Usually longer than down -hill poles when they’re sized for the individual who uses them to ski. They were still great even on the uphills and mine were bamboo too. Likely to be less of a threat in lightning storms too!
Sky Rider
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#10
Ski poles, bamboo, sticks found in the woods…they all work satisfactorily for some folks. However, I find the trekking poles that have shock absorbers save my wrists (they “give” ever so slightly when you put weight on them–not sure if shock absorbers is the correct term).
I started with wood sticks, graduated to bamboo, then ski poles, then some knockoff trekking poles on sale at REI. With the ski poles in particular, I found my wrists and hand would be shaking after a full day of hiking–not good. With the trek poles, no such problem.
YMMV.
Skyline