Guides

This page is constantly being updated, and the goal is to have a full, comprehensive set of guides by the time these products are being sold directly from this website (est. January 2027).

If you have any questions, be sure to check out the FAQs page, or reach out!
1. CleanTrek Overview

This video, which was made to promote our Kickstarter, gives the best overview of how to use CleanTrek's products.
2. Trekking Pole Compatibility Guide

This video walks through which kinds of poles are most compatible with CleanTrek.

Here’s the short version of what I’m getting at in the video:

1.) The Trigger and Collector will clamp to any pole (as far as I know).

2.) The Grabber has some nuances, since it connects to your pole’s basket threads. Your best bet is to check with our database to see if your pole is compatible, and if so, which threaded insert(s) fit your pole.

3.) The length adjustment method of your trekking pole also plays a role:

  1. Telescopic with Flip-Lock tends to be the best.
  2. Foldable poles also work great, but they might rotate a bit while hiking. It’s not usually a dealbreaker, but perhaps a little annoying.
  3. Twist-lock poles should generally be avoided, but it’s not impossible to make it work.

The pros and cons of each pole type are listed in the table below:

Still feeling lost? No worries—that's why I put together the pole compatibility database (see next).
2.5 Trekking Pole Compatibility Database

== Link to database ==

The pole compatibility database is essentially a list of all the trekking poles on the market, with details about how well CleanTrek’s attachments fits each pole.

All the details of each trekking pole get summed up as 1 of 4 ratings:

1. Excellent: Works perfectly.

2. Good: Works well, but there may be one or two annoyances as compared to an Excellent pole.

3. It’s complicated: It may work fine, but that depends on your preferences and your setup. You may need to look at the other pole details (in the database) to determine whether it will work for you.

4. Bad: Doesn’t work...although it’s possible that we just need to design a new threaded insert to make the Grabber fit, so it’s not necessarily hopeless forever :)

Say you’re looking to buy poles for CleanTrek. You can open up the database, sort by price and compatibility, and choose poles within your price range with an “Excellent” or "Good" rating. Click on the purchase link, and you can buy the poles knowing they'll be compatible with CleanTrek!

OR, say you already own poles. You can search them in the list and check to see if they’re compatible with CleanTrek before deciding whether to buy our attachments.

This database will be community-driven, meaning that if your pole is not yet in the database, you can try fitting CleanTrek’s attachments and submit your results for others to see! I will be releasing this capability before the first batch of products are delivered.
3. Collector Guide

I will eventually make a more comprehensive guide detailing all aspects of the Collector. For now, here are some smaller guides.

3a. Emptying the Collector bag.