I can’t remember exactly when I bought these poles, but it was at least two years ago, possibly longer. I use them both as my trekking poles and tent poles for my solo tent, solo tarp, and Lunar Duo Outfitter (for two). Being made of carbon fiber, they’re light and strong coming in at 7.8oz. They were cheap AF too. I have the flick-lock version which I recommend over the twist lock version (if they still make it). In the winter they’re used as my snowshoeing poles and shelter poles depending on what shelter I’m taking with me. Its a four-season delight. I have the EVA handles which leave black shit on my sweaty hands. My partner has the cork grips which are better in my opinion.
My recommendation is to get the flick-lock version with cork grips.
These poles have been so thoroughly revered and worshiped, there’s little to add to the consensus. They’re awesome, plain and simple. They were affordable to boot.
If there is one thing I recommend, it is doing the “Skurka fix”. Check out the pics below. Notice the pole on the left (in both pics) has a clear plastic piece used to tighten down the flick lock. It can fail. If it fails in the field there’s no way to really repair it. In my case that would mean I’d have a pretty damn difficult time setting up my shelter.
To fix, you just replace it with metal parts. The pole on the right was fixed preemptively using this fix that Andrew Skurka came up with. The pole on the left still needs to have the clear plastic part replaced. He also notes that the tips will need replacing eventually, which is another easy and affordable fix . I’ve beat the shit out of these, but I’m not at the point where I feel like the tips need replacing.
So there you have it. These are totally worth having.
.douchepacker. 