u/Madcapping

I'm currently making a pair of sticks out of silver maple that will work functionally as trekking poles for a friend's birthday. I've got the sticks down to about the right height and taper now (1 1/2" down to about 1") but now need to make sure I get a good grip so it's comfortable for her long term as well as a tip to make sure wood ends don't split on rocks and such.

For the grip, I've seen on here a lot of people use leather or paracord. I'm not opposed to this but I want to try and make sure the sticks could be gripped like a trekking pole. Would leather still be a good choice?

For the tip I was thinking a carbide tip like on most trekking poles. Has anyone else put a tip like that on their walking sticks?