ALLOY SHAFTS  v CARBON FIBRE SHAFTS ?
High quality materials are used in the construction of Pacerpoles.
Look after your kit - and it will look after you.

1. Moisture in the air can cause aluminium alloy to oxidise - usually noticed as white rough markings. To minimise the extent of this, especially on the inside of the shaft walls (so that each shaft section continues to slide in-and-out smoothly) then after use each time, dismantle the shafts into their sections and place in the mesh storage bag .... before hanging them in a dry place until required.
Carbon fibre doesn't have this problem but it is always good practice to store in the mesh bag after use - to keep the poles together so you know where they are! Threaded snow baskets and spares can also be kept in the storage bag for the same reason.

2. For any make of Carbon fibre pole - when they fail they snap/shatter whereas under the same conditions, alloy poles usually just buckle ..... and can generally be re-bent to be at least usable again to finish the trek. Common sense will tell you that when fibres of carbon are cut, especially very deep cuts caused e.g by bashing against sharp rocks, the shaft will be weakened.

3. The 18/16/14mm diameter Alloy shafts are approx 8+cm longer than the 16/14/12mm diameter Carbon fibre ones - and would suit a taller/bigger person (you need the extra shaft length on steep descents to avoid stooping). If you have a medium frame choose either the alloys or the carbons; and if a smaller frame consider the carbons.

The carbon fibre shafts pack shorter for stowing and lighter to carry - but in use the difference in weight is not so noticeable (see Weight v Effort) because of the 'weighting' of the pole.

Whatever the material used for the shaft, Pacerpoles are fundamentally different to conventional poles as they are designed to integrate with the body both anatomically and biomechanically.
Anatomically:  the hand/handle union requires minimal grip for load transmission, and for precision shaft control (a safety issue as well as a performance one).
Biomechanically: to exploit maximum upper body power from controlling effective arm leverage without wasting effort.