What are ski poles made of?

Answer 1

The "eyes" (called "line guides") are generally made of stainless steel. It is what they are lined with that get's the fisherman's attention. Years ago, the best line guides were lined with agate, which was very hard. This was improved by harder and harder alloys of metal, and by hard-fired ceramics, both of which are the mainstream today. The reason for the hardness is modern nylon monofilament line, which over time has the ability to easily wear a groove in a soft material. It would be stretching a point to call any one material "best" nowadays. All work equally well, and are about equally resistant to wear. Plain "wire loop" line guides, however, with no inserted liner, are a hallmark of a cheap rod.

Answer 2

older aluminum poles are almost not sold anymore, the newer composite poles are the norm.