Alpine Ski Pole Guard / Slalom Ski Pole Guard

thingiverse

This is a ski pole guard designed specifically for Alpine Ski Racing and Slalom Ski Racing. I created this custom piece for my son's ski poles, and it has been put through its paces in the most demanding conditions. To assemble the guard, use M5 screws with threadlock nuts - 25 mm should be sufficient for a secure fit. The holes are precisely drilled at 3 mm to ensure a snug connection. I intentionally designed this guard to accommodate ski poles of 18mm diameter, but it can easily be scaled or adjusted to fit smaller or larger diameter poles. With a clearance of 150 mm and a length of 200 mm, the guard provides ample protection for your son's valuable equipment. For optimal print quality, I recommend printing with support at desired angles. My own printer required some creative angling to accommodate its unique capabilities, but the end result was well worth it. I designed this ski pole guard using FreeCAD and made necessary adjustments in Sketchup to ensure that it is a seamless, manifold design. UPDATE: After my initial print in PETG, I discovered that the walls of the guard were not melting together as expected. This resulted in a brittle build that didn't quite meet my standards. However, since then, I have made significant adjustments to rectify this issue, and I'm eager to retest the design with new prints. If you're planning to print your own ski pole guard, I highly recommend using ABS as your material of choice - especially if you have a well-established setup for printing with this material. My son's experience on slalom poles in 30-degree F weather was a sobering reminder that even the most robust designs can be pushed to their limits in extreme conditions.