Trekking Poles Reviews

Once used primarily by hikers, trekking poles are now being adopted by fitness walkers and those with disabilities. Studies show that trekking poles, hiking sticks and staffs improve balance and decrease lower-body stress – especially on the knees, while allowing users to burn more calories as they shift the stress to the body's core, providing a better cardio workout. Different types of poles have emerged to meet various needs: Rubber tips aid walking on pavement -- useful for fitness walking and physical rehabilitation -- while carbide tips help hikers and backpackers negotiate slippery trails and rocks. Poles that have half-gloves attached to the straps are useful in fitness or "Nordic" walking, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Hiking sticks and trekking poles are especially important for balance at stream crossings; they also make steep descents faster and let the arms aid in steep uphill hikes. Trekking poles are used in pairs, while hiking sticks and staffs are used singly.

We found the best comparison review of trekking poles at BackpackingLight.com, which updated a 2005 report in 2006 by focusing on lightweight trekking poles made of carbon. Backpacking Light tested 12 carbon trekking poles, rating them on crucial safety factors that can prevent falls, as well as factors affecting comfort, like vibration dampening and tips that are easy to replace. Backpacker magazine includes reviews of ten trekking poles in its 2008 gear guide. Reviews are based on field tests, but trekking poles are not ranked.

The most thorough, in-depth trekking pole reviews can be found at BackpackGearTest.org, where individual hikers write lengthy field reports on gear, usually in three stages chronicling initial use up to long-term durability. However, since there's no standardized test or ratings system, it's hard to tell which trekking poles might be best overall. We also found good reviews on hiking and backpacking forums, as well as some anecdotal reviews at About.com and Outside magazine.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Leki and Black Diamond gets the most picks among adjustable trekking poles, and they cost about the same. We included the Black Diamond poles because we found such great enthusiasm for the FlickLock adjustment system on the Black Diamond poles. The fixed-length Gossamer Gear Lightrek Plus trekking poles are by far the lightest. Life-Link Guide Ultra-Light poles are relatively short, but rank at the top in comparative tests. We found mixed reviews for the budget-priced REI Summit and Swiss Gear trekking poles (and for all budget-priced poles).