What makes a good trekking pole

We feel confident that our extensive testing will help you find the poles that best satisfy your needs. After we completed our field tests, we rated each pole on a scale from across a range of metrics, including comfort, weight, locking and adjustability, packed size, durability, and versatility.

Keep in mind that all the poles selected for this review were already some of the best in the class, so even the poles that received lower scores are still quite good. Read on to learn the results of our tests and the performance breakdown in each metric. Related: Buying Advice for Trekking Poles. When testing gear, we do our best to compare products in an unbiased fashion without considering the price. We do this for two main reasons. First, our readers have a range of budgets, and second, you can often find screaming deals on top-of-the-line products if you're willing to look around.

Either way, price is obviously a very important factor in choosing what gear to buy, which is why we're always looking to highlight products that complement stellar performance with a great price. Sometimes you get a better product when you spend top dollar, but that's not always the case. Poles range dramatically in price, and luckily, there are some great options that won't break the bank. The Trekology Trek-Z provides many of the features of more expensive poles at a fraction of the price.

These features include comfortable foam grips, a foldable design that allows the pole to pack small, a durable aluminum construction, and plenty of tip and basket attachments. They are made from carbon fiber, so they are incredibly lightweight, and they come equipped with plenty of attachments in a telescoping design. In the lightweight category, the Black Diamond Distance Z which weighs just a tad more than folding carbon fiber poles and is much more affordable, allowing users on a budget to access the ultra-lightweight trekking pole market.

Trekking poles transfer some of your body weight from your legs to your arms. However, after hours or days of walking, the hands and wrists can take a beating from supporting this additional weight. To combat this fatigue, poles often incorporate comfortable grip and strap materials, as well as ergonomically shaped handles.

In our experience, grip shape, or how well the handle is contoured to a real hand, makes the most impact on comfort.

Other features that can increase comfort are an extended "secondary" grip for choking down on the pole in steep terrain, a thick and soft wrist strap, and carbon fiber shafts that absorb shock when the pole hits the ground. Our favorite grip is found on the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork , which is perfectly contoured to fit most users' hands, and the cork also molds over time.

We also are big fans of the understated contouring on the MSR Dynalock , which fit our testers' hands well. Both the Leki Micro Vario Carbon men's and women's versions have a unique rounded handle that is very comfortable to push down upon, but the grip feels overly contoured to some testers. Among the lightweight designs, the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z has a simple foam grip that is comfortable enough for long distances.

Poles made from carbon can absorb more shock from impact with the ground than poles made from aluminum, and this distinction is noticeable when using trekking poles on firm bedrock surfaces like the sandstone slabs in the desert and high alpine granite basins. If you'll be using your poles primarily on dirt trails, then the shaft material won't matter much for comfort, but if you are in rocky environs, carbon poles with thick shafts are the most comfortable.

The Alpine Carbon Cork and both the men's and women's Micro Vario Carbon had the best shock-absorbing performance in our testing but are relatively heavy due to the thickness of the carbon shafts.

In this case, increasing comfort means increasing weight. As mountain running and ultralight backpacking become more popular, weight is an increasingly important component of a trekking pole. Most of the time, lighter poles are less durable. But if you're only using them during runs, day hikes, or short overnight trips, durability isn't a major concern, and a lighter pole is noticeably more pleasant to use than a heavier one. If you need a pole to support heavy loads in remote areas and one that absolutely must not break, then weight should be less critical to your choice.

To achieve such a low weight, it has a streamlined foam grip, minimalist wrist strap, and most notably, features ZERO length adjustment or collapsibility. Fixed length poles save tons of weight by eliminating lever locks and overlapping shaft sections, and this pole can't fold or compress.

At just Both of these poles are available in many length options, making them suitable for both men and women. At 12 ounces, the aluminum Distance Z is only slightly heavier than the lightest carbon option, but it costs much less.

Most of the poles in our test break down to a smaller length for storage, travel, and stowage on a pack, then extend back to a usable length when needed. Most of the poles in our review also feature an adjustable length mechanism for minor adjustments during use. This metric rewards poles that have a large range of length adjustment and that securely lock into the chosen length.

We also consider how easily adjustments can be made to wrist strap lengths and locking mechanism tightness. Trekking poles with length adjustment feature a telescoping design where different sections of pole shafts slide inside each other to collapse or extend to the desired length. A small lever lock fastener clamps the outer shaft material down tight over the inner shaft, creating enough friction to secure everything in place.

We are big fans of the metal lever locks on the Alpine Carbon Cork , finding them to be the best locks in our review. The lever locks and adjustability on the women's Leki Cressida Cor-Tec are user-friendly and very easy to adjust. We also like the in-field tightness adjustability of both the men's and women's Micro Vario Carbon.

The durable aluminum lever locks on the REI Traverse can take a beating while still doing their job, and they are easy to tighten in the field without a tool. On the other hand, folding poles offer less or zero adjustability and feature a completely different locking mechanism.

Each pole section fits together with the next, and an internal pull cord tightens the links together. When pulled tight enough, the cord engages a spring-loaded locking mechanism that prevents the sections from coming apart. Although this style of pole can fold down to a smaller packed size than telescoping models, they generally don't include as much length adjustment. Poles like the Distance Z save weight by avoiding any adjustment mechanisms, but they are not ideal if you happen to be between sizes or want to lend your poles to a friend.

This allows modest length adjustments once the pole is unfolded. If you plan on using your poles in your hands for your entire trip, then packed size might not matter. On the other hand, if you'll be using your poles to approach alpine climbs and scrambles, you'll have to stash them in your backpack during technical sections. Additionally, if you'll be traveling and need poles that can fit into your luggage, packed size is an important consideration.

The most packable poles on the market today are those featuring a foldable design, also known as Z-poles. In the past few years, these poles have exploded onto the market, and with good reason.

This design packs down to almost half the length of standard telescoping poles. Black Diamond revolutionized and popularized the Z-pole, and now just a few years later, many brands have their own version of the design.

The Leki Micro Vario Carbon , which is foldable, packs down to The Alpine FLZ packs down to 14 inches , just an inch longer. These are the models we'd recommend if you require your poles to fold up and disappear inside your pack, which is ideal for technical climbs, mountaineering objectives, or routes with some scrambling.

Most telescoping poles only collapse down to a length of about 24 inches, making them much harder to fit inside a backpack. Any tool long enough to reach the ground and arrest your fall and aid your balance is a good tool to have around—a broom handle or a tree branch could work in a pinch. Whereas I was a purist, with nothing but a pack, some running shoes, and a good hat.

Nothing fancy. Definitely not a pole. But poles are valuable, as I learned the next day when an early-season blizzard forced us to hike out 27 miles through the high, extremely un-flat Sierras in about 12 hours. More than that, what if I started using them even on more casual walks around Los Angeles? Would I feel silly sometimes? But also, sometimes, great? But the assumption that trekking poles are only for serious hikers is deeply misguided.

Walking with poles more generally, interviewed experts agreed, improves stability, stops falls, and may save lives. So walk, use poles. Before I was editing, I was backpacking. And before I was backpacking, I was walking. I interviewed Dr. Timothy S. I also leaned heavily on my dad, Gary Bradley, for research, expertise, and testing support. He brought the 10 pairs of trekking poles into his office and left most of them upstairs, in a physical-therapy center, where they were assessed over afternoons and taken out into the surrounding mountains on weekends and evenings, tested by assorted doctors, patients, nurses, assistants, therapists, and anyone else who happened to pick up a pair.

Some of the testers even filled out survey sheets we left behind, too. I tried the poles in small batches for a series of hikes, some short less than 3 miles and some long about 10 miles , over as many different terrains as California in the late summer and early fall could muster: hard dirt, soft dirt, sand, and sandstone; oaky woods and scraggly chaparral; some desert, some beach, a little jaunt in foothills of the Sierras.

No good. What a sad pole! You have to use the pole. In this spirit, usability was by far our main concern and the metric we returned to most often in deciding the best set of poles overall. Adjusting mechanics: How easy is it to adjust the pole on the trail? Or to fold it away quickly into your pack? Ultimately, in our experience the easiest-to-use adjustment mechanisms were minimalist.

Our other picks all use simple flick locks for adjustments and offer the added benefit of measurements for remembering your preferred height. Portability: A lot of trekking-pole reviews heavily weigh how quickly and well the poles collapse for packing. We realize some hikers have some extreme portability needs for which these highly collapsible poles are ideal, but for most hikers we think our picks are perfectly portable during travel.

Not one of our plus testers had much of anything to say about how packable any set of poles was, because, of course, they were busy using the poles, but if you need something that packs small, our collapsible pick might be the best choice for you.

Despite all this, I spent several hours on several hikes swapping between pole sets, collapsing and adjusting, collapsing and adjusting, knowing in my heart of hearts that were I not researching these poles for review, I would not have been engaged in such mid-hike foolishness. The two-joint design means the poles are more packable, as they collapse smaller, but it also means more can go wrong.

I was, because I crave as much silence as possible when I hike, except in bear country. If portability is important to you, tentpole-style collapsible poles, like our pick in the category, the Black Diamond Alpine FLZ Z-Poles , are a great option. With a little practice, you can pull them apart and put them back together again in under a minute.

In our tests, this type also tended to be quieter and less rattly than the telescoping versions. A bonus. Comfort and versatility: What sort of options does the pole offer? Can you exchange the baskets or tips for different terrain or weather conditions? Do you have a bunch of different ways to hold the stick? So if I feel like using them, I just take them off and extend them. It takes 2 minutes. Have an idea on how to make these guides better? Leave me your thoughts here.

How To Hike in the Mountains. The Modern Hiking Essentials. How to Hike. The grip is the section that you hold with your hand. Some materials are softer to hold, perform better in the cold, or are more economical. Foam : Soft and comfortable in your hands. Since it absorbs water and hand sweat, it tends to break down quicker than the other materials.

Great for those with sweaty hands or in hot conditions. Poles with cork grips are often more expensive. Rubber : Rubber stays warmer in the cold and dampens shock and vibration. The downside is they can cause blisters or chafing to sweaty hands, so are best used for winter travel less hot and you may be in gloves. Shock absorption : Some poles have little shock absorbers in the handles that offer some respite when walking down hills, which beneficial for for anyone with joint issues.

The downside is that shock absorbers soak up some of the work your arms are doing to push you forward. These straps are adjustable and wrap around your wrist and under your thumb so you keep a relaxed grip on the pole without tiring out your hands.

Different types of tips : Most poles have steel or carbide tips that dig into the ground for traction. These are good on almost all hiking surfaces, except for pavement or slick rock. If you plan to trek over hard ground, consider adding rubber tips that fit over the standard metal tips.