September 3, 2024
Hiking Poles
Or trekking poles, or whatever you want to call them.
The question for me used to be whether to hike with these or not.
Now (at age 72) a consider them almost indespensible.
There was a period (age 55 and up?) when I found them optional but
beneficial. I could hike an extra mile or two each day when I
was using poles.
What poles?
For at least the past 5 years I have been hiking with Leki "Micro-vario"
3 section carbon fiber poles. Just recently I lost these and am now
investigating my options to replace them. For the record these saw a lot
of use and were holding up just fine. Some people will tell you that
carbon fiber poles are fragile and won't hold up. Mine held up over many years
of hiking and backpacking with a fair bit of off trail
hiking. If you are heavy, clumsy, and do a lot of really rugged off trail
hiking, you might want some extra sturdy aluminum poles. Look at Black Diamond
for these.
My "micro-vario" were discontinued in 2022. The poles I had were carbon fiber.
Apparently the "micro-vario" name was also used on some aluminum poles,
curiously named "Leki Micro Vario Ti Cor-tec", although (thankfully) there
was no titanium in them (unless they used it in the tension screw).
A bit disingenuous I think, but that was back around 2018 when "Ti" was used
as a marketing trick to spice up the sale of almost anything.
Up front -- there are two sorts of poles. Telescoping and folding.
I mostly look at folding poles. This is because I had the Micro-vario and liked them.
Also a folding pole has only one point of adjustment, making the pole simpler and
stiffer and more reliable (in my opinion). People who like telescoping poles have
to cope with 3 different adjustment points every time they get ready to use them.
The only advantage I can see would be if you have a shelter that needs a pole shorter
than the usual 110 cm that folding poles collapse to.
I'll admit to having a strong bias towards Leki. The biggest reason is my totally
positive experience with my Micro-Vario. They probably would have lasted me my
lifetime if I had not lost them. Also Leki has a 10 year parts availability
guarantee, something I have been burned by in other situations, so while I doubt
that I will ever need it, I admire it. Finally, as far as I know Leki makes only
poles and they do it well. I read that all Leki poles are currently made in
the Czech republic, but then my Black Series showed up with a sticker saying
"made in Taiwan". Being made in Taiwan suits me fine and to my mind is fantastic
and indicative of the highest quality.
I would also look at Black diamond, especially if you want an extremely durable all aluminum pole.
Also MSR makes a nice pole (see the end of this page) that you should at least consider.
Leki Black Series FX Carbon
The current flagship of the Leki line is the "Leki Black Series FX Carbon".
These sell for $250 (full retail) and weight 15.5 ounces.
This is what I ended up selecting. They are clearly labeled "made in Taiwan".
The price is crazy perhaps, but you get what you pay for.
Or as one fellow says, "you can spend less, but you will get less."
The first review confuses things by calling these a 4 section pole.
They are a 3 section pole, but one section telscopes, just like my Micro-Vario.
They give a 110 to 130 cm range of length.
Quite honestly, with the Micro-vario I set mine up once, they never slipped, and I never fooled
with them on trail ever. Some people like a shorter pole for uphill and longer for downhill.
All I ever did was to grab the very top of the pole when I wanted extra reach on downhills.
I never had time to be fooling with length adjustments in the field.
NOTE: There is a big difference between the FX and non FX version.
The non-FX is a 3 section telescoping pole and the FX is a 3 section folding pole.
I do see better prices on the telescoping pole ($250 versus $200).
I want the FX, if for no other reason that it looks cleaner.
The Black series has the Aergon grip, but with cork. They also use both aluminum and carbon in the
upper pole section, perhaps gaining some durability. They still achieve amazing low weight.
Leki Cressida FX Carbon
The Cressida are marketed as "Women specific", which I find ludicrous.
What can possibly be gender specific about hiking poles? I have a friend (male) who
carries a "womens" pack made by Osprey because it fits his torso better than other
options. I have and use a "womens" climbing harness because it fits me and was avaiable
half price at some clearance sale. Let's have some sanity in all of this.
The "male" counterpart to the Cressida is apparently the "Makalu".
I see the Cressida FX selling for $180 ($230 retail) and weighing in at 17 ounces.
Length adjusts from 110 to 120 cm. It has long cork grips. It is also a 3 section pole
(though some reviews confusingly call it a 5 section pole.).
Leki Makalu FX Carbon
These are 3 section poles, weighing 18 ounces. The handles are foam.
I find this curious given the Cressida has cork -- buy the Cressida if you want cork.
The full retail price is $230,
but I see them for $210 on Amazon and even less elswhere. Length is 110 to 130.
The handles are the "Aergon Air Grip", which is well regarded.
Why would you get the "Black Series" instead of these? You would save 1.5 ounces and get cork handles.
I'll note that the first reviewer of these poles is a woman, properly kicking sand into the eyes of
this silly gender specific pole business.
MSR DynaLock Ascent Carbon
Lest I appear to be a Leki fanboy, I present this. GearLab raved about this pole and put it at the top of
poles they reviewed. Given good reviews, a good price, and made in Taiwan, this does sound good.
This pole has cork grips and sells for $160 on Amazon
They are 3 section poles, weighing 17 ounces.
They are made in Taiwan, which gets a thumbs up from me.
The review admires the light swing weight.
Part of the reason for this is that the carbon sections fit into each other without
aluminum parts protecting the joints as the Leki poles do.
The grip does not have the extended section running down the pole allowing a lower grip.
The aluminum adjustment lever for the locking mechansim sticks out and looks like something
ready to get snagged and snapped off.
Note that their "best poles" article puts the Cressida second (which to my mind also puts the Makalu second).
They put the Black Series FX in their list -- just behind the Black Diamond Pursuit.
Black Diamond
Black Diamond Pursuit -- $150 telescoping, "take you to the end of the earth" durability. 19 ounces, Aluminum.
Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z -- $190, folding, 10.4 ounces (!!) - the lightest
Black Diamond Distance Z -- $140, folding, 12.5 ounces -- light and well priced.
Black Diamond Alpine FLZ
I happen to have a pair here. This is a 3 section folding aluminum pole. $160 from Amazon.
They call it a dependable and versatile trekking pole. 18 ounces with "great cork handles".
105 to 125 cm length. This looks like a great choice for somebody wanting something really bombproof.
Skurka says he used a pair of these for about 450 days over 8 years and says they probably endured over 1000 miles
of talus, scree, and such. The poles I have are what he calls "Gen 2" and are mostly white. The newer "Gen 3" poles
are matte green and have redesigned locks that are "easier to operate". Honestly I kind of like locks that are not so
easy to operate, because I want to set them once, never touch them again, and have them stay put.
Skurka says that if you remove the baskets and straps (I certainly would remove the baskets) the weight drops to
just under 16 ounces.
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's backpacking pages / tom@mmto.org