Ya, ya, we hear you, never-gonna-use-trekking-poles people. “I don’t need trekking poles,” you’ll shout at the trailhead, grinning enthusiastically while snapping a branch in half over your thigh to make your own walking stick. “Besides, there are plenty of free branches all over the place out here,” you’ll say through clenched teeth, the pain radiating through your thigh clearly apparent.
Can’t say I blame you. I once resisted trekking poles because I thought they were pointless, made loud clicking noises, and also kinda dorky, but mostly I didn’t want to spend $150 on fancy sticks.
I still don’t want to spend that. You probably don’t want to either. Which is great, because these Cascade Mountain Tech collapsible trekking poles are made with carbon fiber, are plenty lightweight, are available with sturdy lever-locks and a cork handle, and are only $45.
For less than it costs to fill my car with gas, the poles come with straps, two sets of snow baskets, a little rubber foot thing, rubber tips for hard surfaces, and tungsten carbide tips. You can also get a slightly cheaper pair of these poles with twist-locks, but considering they’re already so inexpensive, spring for the much stronger lever-locks.
I have used these poles on numerous backpacking trips over the years, and on plenty of long-distance snowshoe hikes (with the included snow baskets), with absolutely no problems. They’re excellent for saving your knees with a 30-pound toddler strapped into your baby carrier. I’ve wedged them in rocks to keep myself from falling, accidentally skied over one, and banged them on countless granite blocks with no issues at all. They’re the real deal. Considering their price point, I fully expected to shatter a pole, have a lock fail at an inopportune moment, or break off one of the tips. Nope. Shaft vibration was on par with any other carbon fiber poles I’ve used too.
A friend of mine who uses a set of poles that cost nearly four times as much as the Cascade Mountain Techs was so impressed with mine she bought her husband a pair for Christmas.
The only real weak point is probably the plastic nut that tightens down the lever lock. It’s impossible to turn it with sweaty fingers, so I have to use a multitool’s pliers if I want to adjust the length on the trail. Other than that, I can’t imagine that anything that didn’t fail already will fail anytime soon. And even if it does, they’ve already been well worth the money.
My only significant gripe is they don’t collapse as small as foldable poles. But those poles usually cost $200, which is a much, much bigger gripe.
DETAILS
Weight: 8 oz. per pole (including wrist strap)
Adjustable length: 28 – 53 inches
Available with twist lock or lever lock
EVA foam / EVA foam + cork handle
$45 • BUY
OTHER CARBON FIBER TREKKING POLE OPTIONS
If you simply must have the Cadillac of trekking poles, and don’t mind spending $190, the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Z Trekking Poles are about as good as it gets.
Of course, you could spend even more for some of the lightest trekking poles on the market. The LEKI Micro Vario Carbon Black Series Trekking Poles weigh about 7 ounces each, though that comes at a price. $250
A nice pole that’s light, strong, collapsible, and on sale, is the Komperdell C3 Carbon Pro. Normally well over $200, the REI Outlet has them now for $170.
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Andrew Skurka wrote about these poles too, and had a fix for the nut issue.
Or $30 at Costco
Thank you for the awesome review on our poles! Hopefully you are still enjoying them. In response to the difficulty turning the nut with sweaty fingers; were you tightening the nut while the flip lock was closed? It should be easier to tighten down if you first open the flip lock then turn the nut. The nut should only be tightened when the flip lock is open.
Step 1) open flip lock
Step 2) adjust height
Step 3) tighten nut
Step 4) close flip lock
i’m a “i don’t need trekking poles” hiker. only i ain’t smiling i’m scowling when i see those trekking poles that are just another product of america’s hunger for using up resources. grab a sotol stalk, saguaro stalk, even ocotillo,or whatever botany lingers in your neck of the woods. and they biodegrade upon retirement, and you can return them to their place of origin so the insects have habitat to reside in!
A good method, but it’s hard to find suitable sticks in the snow.
About a month ago during a bike ride on the other end of the county I found a really nice birch branch whose previous owner had apparently turned it into an hiking staff (along with some other decent abandoned gear). (No, it wasn’t at a bum camp.) I lashed it to the side of the frame and hauled it the 25 miles back home! A couple weeks ago I wrapped a Brooks microfiber handlebar tape on it (actually meant for roady handlebars but works for this too). It proved its worth last weekend at Mount St Helens navigating some steep terrain.
That’s my trekking pole.
Did you whittle the computer or phone you typed this comment on out of sotol, saguaro, or ocotillo? Come on, lighten up. I’m all for conserving resources, but let’s not get carried away. If I purchase a pair of theses poles and spend a week out in the backcountry hiking, that means I’m not driving my car, not using electricity, not using countless other resources. It’s easy to overlook the resources that you use while noticing the resources used by everybody else.
I was excited when I saw the title of this article because a tank of gas for my car only costs $20-$30. What a letdown (I say with a sarcastic tone). Not a bad deal. Next time I need poles I will check these out. 🙂