Trekking pole recommendations

[jgal72]

Need to purchase trekking poles for Montana elk hunt. Looking for advise on what to buy. Thanks for input!

 

[kcebcj]

I use a old pair of ski poles that I used years ago and they are perfect when its icy and exceptionally slippery. I just took off all the straps and such to make them lighter.

 

[orion2000]

I've had good luck with Black Diamond Trail Back trekking poles. Sturdy. Lock up tight. Good value: not too heavy and not too expensive. Two Colorado elk hunts between 8,000 and 12,000 feet without any drama.

 

[tony m]

Well I use a manfretto mono pod.It can be used as a pole , a tripod for a camera or lightweight spotting scope.It is telescoping too.I use it constantly.The unit swivels for gridding over, say a basin.Quite unique. Wouldn't work with a heavy optic though

 

[16Bore]

Leki aluminum have a lifetime warranty. I have a set I purchased used and snapped a lower hiking the AT. One email and a week later I had a replacement.

Can't complain.

 

[JSHou]

+1 Black Diamond

Their length adjustment mechanism is the easiest/most secure. I believe Leki is copying it now (the patent expired last year or the year before). It relies on cams to cinch down on the poles instead of expanders inside. Even the good expander-style poles (old Lekis) would gum up after a while and have to be disassembled and cleaned. I used to work at an outdoor shop, so we spent a lot of time selling trekking poles/cleaning them. Never had an issue with the BDs (other than user error).

I have the top of my grip drilled out with a nut epoxied in. I also carry a homemade shooting saddle so I can thread it in and use it as a shooting stick if needed (I only carry a 6" - 9" bipod). It's not quick deploy, since I don't use the poles with the saddle installed, but at the ranges I hunt, it doesn't need to be. I'd rather set up a support and miss the opportunity than try to snap off an offhand shot and wound an animal.

 

[T3-OleMan]

...noteing you posted on 10-1 I'll add this any way. I saw a pro walker / hiker (special atire and all) when ELK hunting a couple of years ago in CO go walking up a gravel road with poles and thought he was crazy. I used a small pole in a swamp in Fla this year and liked using it so I went to wally world and picked up 2 pair of $25 trekking poles that adjusted and I went sailing up the Mt. in CO from 9,000 to 10,500 in 45 min. left my Fema supplies and made it back to road in 30 min. It helped an old man even when crossing rock piles and downed logs. I'll never hunt ELK again with out mine. Went back and bought 2 more pair @ $25 / pair (for me a life time supply) cause, like every thing else, they will quit making the **** things since I use them...LOL but true. lightbulbUsed them as shooting sticks too. Good luck.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

Another Black Diamond user here. I have the simple version, no shock absorbers, and the flick-lock external cam mechanism. They come with add-on snow baskets, and I bought the optional rubber "knobby tread" tips to cover the carbide spike tips for summer/hard surface use. I deliberately chose the external camlock setup for reliability and ease of repair should it be needed. I use them as shooting sticks by simply looping the wrist straps over the opposite handles and crossing the sticks. Way more height options than most commercial shooting sticks at no extra weight to carry. I can go to sitting height from the hike pretty fast by just popping the lower cams and sliding down as I drop to the ground.

 

[HARPERC]

I've been using a "Sherlite" for about 15 years. It has pins that lock adjustment in place. I feel more secure as the other adjustments at the time would collapse when challenged a bit. I haven't checked new one so they probably have improved.

My only complaint is it could be taller, kind of short for me as a monopod off hand.

I did wear the original tip off, but that was an easy fix.

 

[Triple BB]

Black Diamonds here. I bent one while elk hunting. Spent the better part of a night in front of the tv using a 3' level getting it back to straight as a lower section wouldn't slide back up in the next upper section. Do BD's have any type of warranty? I really like using one for a rest for my bino's while glassing...

 

[jmden]

Helinox Causeway GL 145: Causeway Trekking Poles | Helinox

This is a line of trekking poles made by DAC, the company that makes virtually all of the high end tent poles. This model in particular has the highest strength to weight ratio I could find at the time. I've used them hard over many, many miles of very toug, steep terrain with packs up to 130 lbs and they've performed very well. These have small grooves at 5cm intervals in the sections of the poles that nest into each other so the twist lock really bites hard into those grooves, locking the pole sections together like no other trekking pole I've seen (don't like flip lock for a couple of reasons). My body, with 100+ pound packs in very nasty terrain has depended on these sections not slipping or failing many times, even in rain, and I've not had a section slip yet.