I'm thinking that a whisker pole would help to keep my genoa filled while sailing off the wind. Anybody use one?

Looks like the cost of a line control whisker pole might be $ 400+ Ouch. Any other options? Is a twist-lock pole robust enough? I have about a 130 genoa.

Also, I don't have a spinnaker track on the front of my mast. Just a ring pad eye only about 3 feet up from the base of the mast.