Ive been looking at some of KTeks boom poles and they have just the poles, coil cabled bottem exit, and coil cabled side exit poles. Can someone tell me the advantages or disadvantages of these different setups asside from the obvious cost differences?

If you want the best bang for the buck pole then get the K-Tek Avalon (ALUMINUM)... and get the one with internal coiled cable. Everybody's got an opinion on this, so take it for what it's worth, but I used an uncabled pole for a year or so before getting one with internal cabling... I LOVE the internal CC. I went with the graphite Avalon and the weight savings isn't worth the extra cost. You WILL want a boom stand or cradle of some sort... it's not like you can boom a scene for 10 minutes with just your arms... at least not if the boom is extended very far. When I first got my super-light pole I was all excited that I "could do anything"... well just stand there with your arms over your head and NOTHING in them... it STILL gets heavy... so don't waste a couple hundred extra bucks to save four or so ounces. The K-Tek Avalon in Aluminum is as light as the previous model Gitzo's were in carbon fiber... and it's like 10 ounces lighter then the LightWave pole which sells for EVEN MORE. I've been very happy with K-Tek gear... and an aluminum pole is even more durable then a graphite pole.

If I could get a full refund and start over I'd go with the aluminum version of this pole... but at this point if I sold my graphite pole for the aluminum I'd probably only net around $75... so I'll just keep it... but since you can get an aluminum version for $220-$230 then I'd say it's a NO BRAINER.

If you need more then 9' then I guess you're still shopping... but I expected this to be a compromise until I could get a longer pole... so far it's always been enough.

I agree with Matt. He recommended me the aluminium version of the K-Tek boom pole, and it's great. Granted, it's gonna get heavy no matter which one you have after a while, the main thing is how well made these things are. And the K-Tek ones are really good, I'm happy with my one.

As for internally cabled, I'd say, YES, they are worth the money - really convenient and saves the wire from dangling around. However, if you go to the fabric store and get some hook-and-loop velcro tape you can probably make your own 'cable holders' around the pole. I made a few to tape to my microphone stands, and they've proved to be really useful (and they're reusable).

Dennis