Black Diamond Trail Back Trekking Poles

I was going backpacking with my son on the Knobstone Trail in Indiana and he indicated it would be a good idea for me to get some trekking poles (something I have never used before). We set out on Dec 21st with the temperature at 15F and wind blowing at 25mph. Slick leave covered trails on inclines proved the value of these poles. They held solidly, and were easy to adjust but not as easy as my son's Leki poles. However, as the day wore on and the temps got colder, it became evident that the Black Diamond flick lock was superior to the Leki. By the end of the first day, one of my son's Leki poles would only lock at the fully extended or retracted position. At the beginning of the next day with the temp at 0F, one of my son's Leki would not lock in any position and the other pole would only lock in the fully extended position. The BD flick lock never had a problem locking in any position.

It was just dumb luck that I got the BD poles since they were on sale and I was suffering from the sticker shock at getting completely outfitted for a winter backpacking over a 2 month period. I honestly just bought the least expensive trekking poles I could find that appeared to be reasonable quality. The bottom line is I would buy these poles again without any hesitation as they far exceeded the performance of the more expensive Leki trekking pole.

On another side note regarding Backcountry, the poles initially shipped were a set of BD ski poles. The return and replacement of the poles with the correct units were done expeditiously and very professionally. Thanks Backcountry.

I have bad knees and tried to hold out for the longest time against trekking poles - what was I thinking? These are a great pair that are relatively light and compact - which is what I was going for. Carbide tips work great, poles have held up well with just a tightening of the flick-lock after quite a few miles. There are no springs to absorb shock, but like another reviewer mentioned, they do flex a little. Flick-lock makes it easy to break-down and strap onto the backpack in no time - or easily adjust on the go. I took some bicycle handlebar tape I had and made a second, soft hand-grip below the rubber one so that I don't have to constantly adjust if on a trail that is frequently changing incline/decline. Your best bet for something non-walmart that you want to last, but aren't interested in shelling out for the "top-of-the-line."

I have bad knees and these trekking poles are literal saviors of my knees. I have done 3 major hikes this year and one backpacking trip up Bells Canyon in Utah and that puppy is super steep. The poles helped on the trail up to and were amazing coming down. Also the carbide tip is really tough as we spent a lot of time scaling bare granite boulder fields they held up marvelously compared to the cheaper wal-mart version a buddy of mine bought. I bought my father-in-law a pair for his backpack trip in the Wind Rivers Wyoming and he swears by them now too. The FlipLock pole extension system is amazing too - way easier than the standard twist versions. HIGHLY recommend!

great light weight poles. I use them only on down hills and tricky bush-wacks. Love the fast flick locks and light weight. Actually I bent one on the first trip I used them. Tripped and fell head first into a bush with snowshoes on. Tried to role with it but ended up putting a lot of weight perpendicular to pole. It bent slightly and had a hard time collapsing. For only 12 bucks BD sent a new middle section for the pole! What company would do that? The color of the new section is different, but it makes for a good story.