Trekking poles can have many benefits:
- Reduces the risk of catastrophic injury
- Rolled ankles
- Knee injuries
- Falling injuries
- Unloads chronically worn or injured joints
- Provides extra support on difficult terrain
- Steep slopes, rocks/boulders, wet/slippery/icy surfaces, leaf litter, mud, crossing water
- Crouching
- Avoids muscle wear-and-tear
- Distribute pack load from your back / legs to arms / torso
- Unload quad muscles
- Improve posture - walk more upright
- Keeps arms and hands elevated - lessens swelling
- Strengthen arms and core
- Helps to walk more efficiently
- "Pull yourself up" steep slopes
- Greater mileage / walk faster
- Increases safety
- Probe mud, snow or water
- Fend aside thorny, prickly underbrush (e.g. blackberries, gorse, poison ivy)
- Sweep away face level spiderwebs and branches
- Creates vibrations that alert snakes / animals
- Use as a emergency splint
- No splinters like using a stick
Specifications
- Each pole: 3 pieces of 7075 aluminium alloy joined by "Quick lock" clamps with tightening screws
- Telescoping adjustment with 65 - 135cm adjustment range (markings in cm and inches)
- EVA foam grips
- Coolmax fabric hand straps
- Included rubber tip, snow basket and mud basket
- Replaceable rubber tip (type 1, type 2)
- Replaceable tungsten tip
- Included storage bag
- Included linking clips
- 2 colour designs:
- purple & white
- blue & yellow
Pros
- Very versatile
- Relatively lightweight at 240g each
- A good range of adjustment to suit most heights
- Relatively compact storage at 65cm
- "Quick locks" are more secure and less likely to break than twisting screw locks
- EVA foam handles help maintain grip when sweaty
- Soft hand straps prevent wrist/hand irritation
- Can use with just the tungsten tip
- Two people could use 1 pole each
Cons
- Not as light as carbon fiber poles - multi-section carbon fiber poles are ~50-100g lighter but cost twice as much
- Quick locks may slide if not done up tight and heavy weight is put upon it
- Doesn't collapse as small as folding poles - need to stow outside backpack
- EVA foam is quick drying and hard wearing, but absorbs more moisture than other options (like cork)
- CMT poles (affiliate link) may be a better option, depending on how cheap Amazon US shipping is for you
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| Purple / white colour |
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| Blue / yellow colour |
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| Rubber tip & snow / mud baskets |
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| 3 pieces |
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| EVA grips |
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| Quick lock |
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| Removable snow & mud baskets |
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| Expanded / collapsed |
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