i got a pair from SAC at the beginning of the season, they are the world cup ones and i love them. I havent done much jumping lately though but they seem very strong.
I have some of the smallest poles ever that I found in my garage and they work fine. Anything will, I dont think that it really matters. You should start a new trend and start skiing with branches or sticks.
swix makes some of, if not the, best poles out there. most aluminum poles are pretty similar, but i have the carbon fibers and they are sick. everything the company makes is really good quality.
Being a noob, I beat the shit out of my cheap ass swix poles. Still going strong after being run over by a snowboarder (while I was on my ass, but whatever...). Good shit.
hehe i tried the tree branches before, you need streight petrified wood(so hrd to find), otherwise they snap tooo easily. this is followed by pain normally