Thought I’d write an update on hiking poles.
Use
When I’m hiking/walking without weight or on flat double track (double track = roadway, usually dirt and usually now only carrying foot traffic) poles often don’t add much.
Many find that with a light pack or little irregularities they need just one. For example,“Darwin on the Trail” shifted to a single pole for that, and got the Zpacks Altaplex (a tent that needs only one pole) back into production single-handedly, so to speak.
But once your pack gets around 15-20 pounds (or more) or the route gets more texture, two poles really help.
Uphill they make it easier and more stable. Downhill they make it much easier on your knees.
For most trails, and for most people, two poles is the way to go.
Materials
Poles can be made of wood, aluminum, fiberglass or carbon. The traditional hiking staff was oak.
For a variety of reasons, modern poles are made of aluminum or carbon with carbide tips.
The handles can be made of many things, but cork, plastic and foam are the three most common. Handles have different shapes.
The tips can either be carbide or they can have rubberized caps.
My preferences
I started out firmly in favor of aluminum. The weight difference between the materials was insignificant due to a number of factors and aluminum bends while carbon breaks.
I bent poles several times on the Appalachian Trail (the AT). Other trails don’t have the same characteristics as the AT.
I used aluminum until I sheared the bottom six inches off a pole while crossing a snow field on the PCT. The outfitter had only carbon poles so that is what I replaced my poles with.
::As an aside, the old poles went in the hiker box. Before we left town someone I knew had taken the good one for their mother and I ran into a guy at the dollar store who had taken the other. The mother who got the pole later gave us a ride back to trail.
Carbon seems to absorb shock a little better. I just kind of prefer it though I don’t have a firm reason, but that may be it.
Hard plastic handles show up a lot and are ok. They usually cost less and may weigh a hair less than cork. The foam handles don’t feel comfortable for my use. I use cork handles.
I’m now just careful to keep the wildlife from nibbling my cork pole handles. So far I’ve only lost two pole handles to wildlife.
The best handle shape for a handle depends a lot on how you use your poles. I used to like “ergo” handles. The grips on those are tilted. They fit one type of grip much better than the standard straight handle.
I also used to prefer smooth to contoured handles. Smooth works better with some grips. Since the AT I’ve also had times I’ve used the foam extensions further down the pole below the cork. My Leki doesn’t have those.
Over time my grip has changed. I also now rotate how I grip a lot and often palm the tops of my poles.
Contouring (ridges on the grip) has gone from an impediment to useful for me and smooth handle tops from irrelevant to preferred as textures on the top of a pole handle are inconvenient to palming.
Brands
These are the brands I’m familiar with.
- REI. The store brand is solid.
- Black Diamond. The Cadillac of pole brands (using the old metaphor).
- Leki. Solid. Great warranty.
- Foxelli—great poles. Can be used to repair CMT poles since the shafts are the same diameter (everything else is different).
- Cascade Mountain Tech. The Costco brand. Skurka had nice things to say.
- Misc. (Zpacks, Durston, etc).
I’ve owned and own REI poles due to garage sales and such. Great to loan out. Solid.
Black Diamond. I’ve owned and used BD in aluminum and cork. https://andrewskurka.com/black-diamond-alpine-carbon-cork-poles-long-term-review/
At $180 MSRP (edit by d20. They now cost $230), the Alpine Carbon Corks are among the most expensive poles in the market, and they will not be a trivial expense for most backpackers. But I still recommend them if you:
- Can afford the best,
- Will justify the expense with extended use,
- Hike on extremely rugged trails, or off-trail and on early-season snow,
- Are generally hard on your gear, or
- Will stress these poles with a heavy body and/or pack.
Personally, these poles have won me over with their:
- Comfortable cork grips and functional foam extension grips;
- Shafts that are very steady under load, with minimal vibration or bending; and,
- Locks that do not slip, wiggle, or corrode, and that can be easily operated and adjusted.
If you’re on a budget, don’t backpack often, stay on easy trails, and/or have a petite build and tiny pack, look elsewhere. For most backpackers, I typically recommend the Cascade Mountain Tech Quick Lock Poles (my review), which offer 75 percent of the performance for one-sixth the price; or the niche Ultimate Direction FKT Poles (my review), which are the lightest and stiffest poles I’ve ever used.
That is a quote from Skurka on poles.
Leki. The poles were fine. I got them because that was all the outfitter had when I needed a pole (I fell during a water crossing and lost a pole over some rapids). They use a contour grip. When we continued hiking and I could get a non-contour grip they went in the gear closet.
The warranty used to be lifetime and all repairs. It is still more than reasonable. https://lekiusa.com/pages/warranty
Foxelli. Gazelle (I’m still calling Happy6 “Gazelle” especially after our recent trails. She continues to be impressive) got a pair from a hiker box. She liked them. Bought a new pair to take on the trail in the place of the Black Diamond Aluminum Cork she was hiking with.
I’d probably have gone with them if CMT wasn’t so much cheaper.
Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Cork. Can be repaired with parts from a Foxelli pole. BD poles are not size compatible. I admit. My first pair being under $28 dollars was part of what I like about them.
BD is much harder to adjust than CMT. The flip locks on the CMT adjust easily. When a deer ate the handle off one of my BDs, I was able to replace it with the handle from a set in a hiker box that had flip locks that had slipped a little and the owner could not adjust them.
On the other hand you end up adjusting them often. BD users never adjust.
I’ve liked the way the CMT feel in use. Hard to quantify but I prefer carbon to the other poles we have.
Misc. lots of companies now make hiking poles. Some are fixed length, some only have one adjustment point (to save weight). There are lots of variations. Some are strapless to save weight. Prices are all over the map.
From $19 aluminum poles at Sierra (an outdoor store that is the TJ Max of outdoor stores) to pricier poles from specialty shops, there is a huge variety.
Hiker Hunger I dislike their advertising enough to say never buy from them under any circumstances. That is not an opinion on their poles. Pricewise their poles cost more than Cascade Mountain Tech, more than Foxelli and slightly more than Zpacks as of this date.
Prices always change though. Especially with the tariffs and trade wars.
Weights of poles
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/s/2XtdVUZU1h
Measured today:
Leki 8.7 ounces per pole.
BD Carbon Cork 8.5 ounces per pole.
CMT 7.4 ounces per pole.
Foxelli with tape. 8.2 ounces per pole. (My wife wraps some duct tape around her poles for emergencies)
Old BD Aluminum with rubber tips and plastic handle. 11.1 ounces per heavy duty pole.
Newer BD cork handled aluminum poles weigh 8.7 ounces each (including duct tape). The Black Diamond (BD) Carbon Cork had no duct tape so the weight is even closer than it appears.
Note on tips
On the AT I found the rubber tip covers very useful. They grip granite better than carbide and they don’t dig into soft or wet ground as much.
Rubber tip covers are also called end caps and rubber boots as well as pole feet.
They are valuable for using poles in buildings or cities if you have a need for poles in day to day life as a neighbor of mine does.
However, the AT is littered with pole tips. They come off much too easily and quickly. I avoided losing them by using epoxy to hold the poles on tightly.
Once I got away from the AT I quit using the tips. The harder ground is perfect for the carbide tips.
It has been years since I used pole tip covers.
Useful link
https://andrewskurka.com/trekking-pole-replacement-tips-buyers-guide-instructions/
Everything you need to know about replacing pole tips.