I just bought these Easton Trail AL3 hiking poles from Out n' Back in Provo. Jason Hills forwarded me an email advertisement he got from them. I looked up the specs to see if they met my all criteria. (I would have liked them to be ultra light and have a compass and a screw for a monopod and some bear spray and an internal mp3 player with speakers embedded in the shaft, but I'll have to take what I can get for now.) Next, I checked around the internet to make sure it was a good deal—and it was: $42 for poles and winter baskets (incl. tax)! My knees are pretty excited about this. I'll probably be doing about 3-5 more hikes before driving down to California to submit Mt. Whitney in June!
Self growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no higher investment.