Black Diamond Trail Shock Trekking Poles

A couple of weeks ago I decided to pick up a pair of trekking poles. Over the years, I have always hiked with support from a stick I would fashion from fallen brush along the trail, but never with anything like this. I did some initial research and quickly became overwhelmed in a sea of brand-loyal opinions and features not necessary for my purposes.

I narrowed my choice to a pair of Black Diamond Trail Shock poles. These poles seemed to be favorable among many reviewers and experts, but this was evaluated carefully. For me, I made a choice based on reputation, reviews, and price as they were available through a fantastic sale. I must admit that after putting about 25 miles on them, I am completely satisfied, impressed, and convinced that trekking poles can help tame or improve any trail. The FlickLock system keeps the sections of the poles exactly where you set them and the shock absorber helped me transition to ascend or descend.

Pros:
Lightweight.
FlickLock system.
T-Stage Shock Absorber.

Cons:
Small baskets.
No rubber tips included.

My pair of Trail Shocks is one of my favorite pieces of gear and they've taken me from the snowy peaks of the Sierras to the Mojave desert. As a 6' 200lb guy I can be pretty rough on my gear, especially the weight weenie ultralight stuff, but these seem to be the perfect balance of weight and durability. The FlickLock is hands down the most stable pole locking system I have ever used and the extra "cush" that the elastomer damper saves my knees. I've managed to bend the lower shaft on mine a few times catching myself in what would otherwise be a nasty fall, but some gentle coaxing in the other direction has them straight enough for me and there doesn't seem to be any dangerous structural damage. Also the nicer sticky rounded tops on the grips alone are worth the price difference from the Bdel Trails (the next model down).

The only annoyance (not real issue) that I have found with these poles is that the travel on both left and right are usually not identical. One pole ends up feeling stiffer/looser than the other. This is somewhat noticeable when hiking, but if you are someone that notices these things, it may be annoying. Sometimes it may feel like one pole is doing as much work as the other. It would be great if you could adjust these shocks but I guess BD designed these shocks to be good for all conditions.

Other than that, the flicklock works very well. It does not allow the pole to slip, and if it does, it's because you have not tightened the screw enough to clamp onto the pole tightly.

It is too bad that this model does not come with optional snow baskets because I would love to use these in snow.

I never used poles and wondered if they would help. Always used only a walking stick. Poles are far superior. Walking on a road I did not find that they helped at all. However, on a trail I found myself relying on them almost immediately. They stabilize you. Found they very useful particularly on the downhill slopes.
The lock mechanism works well. I thought the poles would slip and require periodic adjustment. They did not. And they did not seem to flex or feel flimsy in any way. Since the tubing is not that large of a diameter this surprised me greatly.
I did not notice any difference on the shock resistance between the two poles. I think these same poles without the shock absorbers would work well ... but I believe the shock absorbers are worth the extra money.

The difference between using poles and not using poles is huge. On a long recent hike, I was sore from my waist down for days. After using these poles, I did twice the distance and had very little soreness as my upper body shared in the workload. These Black Diamond poles are great. The anti-shock works well and isn't noisy. The locking mechanism is amazing - it stays completely locked at all times. I like the expanded gripping surface in case you need to use two hands on a pole. One of my hiking buddies had anti-shock Leki poles and they squeaked and were noisy. I highly recommend the Black Diamond poles!