I hike with my dog about 5 miles every day. I recently started to use poles, which have been great for clearing debris from the trail, and fighting off unwanted attention from unruly dogs on the trail.
I have a pair of lightweight aluminum twist to lock collapsible poles, but after 12 days of use the twist lock mechanism failed on one.
I am looking for something that is going to be more sturdy. I do not need ultra light weight, as the initial thought behind using them was for an upper body workout while hiking. AMA having a little more weight to them should I need to use them as a club would be welcome.
If a little more heft is okay, and you want to be able to use it as a club, perhaps a staff/large stick would be an answer? Cheap/free, just find one and make sure the ends dont have splinters. Will be sturdy, as long as you keep it dry, will last ages.
Downside is that it won’t be collapsible.
I do have a stick I use from time to time. I use it mostly when walking in town. But for the length of our daily hikes, it is too heavy, and it is only one and I would like a pair, and that would end up being way too heavy.
While we wait for actual valid suggestions (I’m also in the market for some good hiking poles), in keeping with the low budget options, you could try a hollow metal curtain rod from a hardware store. You can put a rubber foot on it, and it might be a bit lighter than a stick, but still fairly strong.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/pillar-25mm-x-2-0m-black-curtain-rod_p1284013 < that one is 2m long, weighing 600g. Not sure where that fits in relative to your stick. Maybe its still too heavy :/
Hopefully someone has some better suggestions soon.