Hiking pole upgrade?

[Robi]

I have fizen compact poles. I love how light they are, but am pretty over them getting stuck extended, taking longer than my friends to get them adjusted and then collapsing when I haven’t tightened them quite enough. So, now that I also need them to support a trekking pole tent I am considering other options and looking for recommendations. I would prefer telescoping poles as they take up less space if I have to carry them and I don’t want fixed length poles. Preferred features:
Cork handle, but foam would be ok
Under 500g per pair
Not twist lock
<62cm folded
Reliable because if they shatter/fail, I will be looking for a stick to support my tent!

Current front runners Alpine carbon cork
Helinox either DL145 or LBB135, but not sure how reliable buttons are?

Thoughts?

[coimon]

Alpine Carbon Cork all the way!

I went from never having used poles to the ACCs in one move though, so I have no other experience to compare them with

That said, they review so well by people who know, that if the weight (223g per pole with straps and baskets removed) and collapsed length aren't issues, I would definitely say buy-once-cry-once and get them.

I got a pair for $175 shipped from England so it can be worth shopping around to avoid the $320 Australian RRP.

[Robi]

Sounds like a good option. Any reputable English sites that show cost in AUD? Cotswold is good, but they don’t have them.

[coimon]

No idea about showing cost in AUD.

I got them from here when they were a bit cheaper: https://www.bananafingers.co.uk/trekkin ... arbon-cork

[matagi]

Helinox DL145 - his and hers poles in this household (hubby got me to order a pair for him after mine arrived) currently on sale through the Helinox website.

[Robi]

Thanks guys. I have some concerns about carbon shattering. I am fairly rough on poles, but the BD ones seems to be pretty solid. Helinox gets a mention in reviews, but mostly for their passport poles which aren’t a good fit for me. Interested in what you like or don’t about the BD or helinox poles and any problems with breakages, wear and tear etc. I like that both options have clip locks as they seem like they wouldn’t give way under strain like my fizen ones have on occasion.

[north-north-west]

I've never broken a BD carbon fibre pole. The cheaper brands, yes, but not BD. I just kept losing them hence the move to el cheapos from AliExpress.
The ACC is the best in terms of adjustable poles.
Flicklocks are adjustable - you just fiddle with the screw to set the tightness. Get them just right and they'll hold under any strain you can put on them and still be easy to open when you want.

[matagi]

The DL145 (Causeway) poles are marketed by Helinox as their most robust pole. No issues with them thus far for either myself or hubby. Only problem we have now is trying to work out how to extend them for use with our Megamid.

[Franco]

The DL145 (Causeway) poles are marketed by Helinox as their most robust pole. No issues with them thus far for either myself or hubby. Only problem we have now is trying to work out how to extend them for use with our Megamid.

take a good look at how BearPaw does it :
https://www.bearpawwd.com/poles_stakes/poles_stakes.php

Black Diamond had something like that called pole link converter :

1389649444_96475.jpg (15.82 KiB) Viewed 13872 times

doing that way is much stronger than extending the pole at the tip or linking the pole this way :

assembled.jpg (266.63 KiB) Viewed 13872 times

assembled.jpg (266.63 KiB) Viewed 13872 times

[stry]

One Planet supply something similar to the Bear Paw set-up shown.

[Nuts]

If you want to save $ (your poles from landfill) and the current poles are otherwise good enough you can now buy the flick lock.. lock mechanism from aliexpress.

[Robi]

Thanks guys. Some good info there. I don't currently need to strap my poles together, but good to know for if I ever do. I actually love my fizen poles so they definitely will not become landfill and I will definitely consider a clip lock conversion if the twist locks fail. I am most likely to continue to use them for day hikes and if not hand them down to my boys. Being young and strong, they don't really need poles, but I am sure they would be very happy with a pole each if only to check for snakes, look cool or more likely use as weapons !

My only really justifiable reason for considering an alternative, is I now need to also use them to support my new tent. So, I would like something that is easier to quickly adjust, less likely to collapse and won't get stuck. I am happy to hear you haven't had any issues with BD poles NNW. I almost lost my poles when I left them on the bonnet of my car and only remembered 1/3 of the way into a 15km hike. Fortunately they were not only there when I returned, but I also noticed them before moving the car .

I confess, I like the idea of having a cork grip and more padded strap for greater comfort when multiday hiking. The comments and reviews for the ACCs all sound good. I have some helinox items and have been very happy with them, so the DL145 sound like the would be a good option. However, for my particular requirements, I think the ACCs will be the better fit. Thanks for the website info coimon. You can look at items in AUD which not only lets you know what the actual cost will be, but also avoids currency conversion fees. Ordering from the UK looks like it could shave off as much as $70, so is probably the best way to go .

[Neo]

Helinox LBB135 here, only ones I've tried.
Strong, their mid level. Never failed.

I have a pair of MSR straps to join them to use as a pyramid pole, tried once but got the MSR 1.5 pole for that.

[Petew]

Helinox are good and robust. I do have the twist lock fl135. Never had a problem with them collapsing or getting stuck.

[CraigVIC]

I have fizen compact poles. I love how light they are, but am pretty over them getting stuck extended

Definitely have to store the Fizan dry and loose, even very short term, or they stick. Once you get used to that I find them trouble free.

[commando]

Each join or adjustment is an unforgiving inherent weakness when 80 kg meets 9.8 m/s2 of gravity.

[Tino B]

Alpine Carbon Cork current model are incredibly rock solid . I’ve been using them ski touring and off track walking. I can’t fault them in any way. They also take a whippet attachment, making them very versatile.

I also use Locus Gear carbon poles that I love but have broken a few in rough conditions.

[stry]

Each join or adjustment is an unforgiving inherent weakness when 80 kg meets 9.8 m/s2 of gravity.

If the poles are telescopic, there are two thicknesses at the joint. They won't break at the joint.

A break is most likely right beside the joint, and it is most likely to be the smaller diameter section of those two that breaks.

However, depending on how one falls or otherwise comes to grief, anything is possible

[jjoz58]

I have the DL 145's and have untold days on them including the AT and no problems. Tough and can one say "unbreakable". Used them for my Duplex and now my tarptent SS Li.

[emma_melbourne]

Leki Kumbu poles - see:
FULL SPECS: https://www.leki.com/uk/product-area/tr ... 36/khumbu/
EXAMPLE OF CHEAP PAIR NEW: https://www.jackson-sports.com/en/au/Le ... 11694.aspx

Aluminium - so won't break / shatter like carbon. (And by the way a number of Youtube thru-hikers have broken and sworn off carbon trekking poles, because when they fail they fail catastrophically)

Cork / rubber mix handle - so not sweaty and gross in hand.

Excellent reviews.

Easy to adjust and lock into place. They have "speed lock" - which Leki touts as being extremely fast adjustment of the pole length. 35% lighter, 27% smaller and same holding force as SL1. I have Leki poles and I can attest that they are fast to set.

(NB: I do though recommend having a Leatherman squirt PS4 which has pliers in order to be able to efficiently tighten the tension if your thumbs aren't up to it in the cold just in case. As the only complaint I ever see with people on Leki poles is that they struggled to tighten the circle tension adjuster and wished they had mini pliers on them - and the Leatherman squirt has this alongside a mini knife etc)

Goes from 110 - 145 cm and that extra height setting can come in handy with some UL trekking pole tents, or to pitch a tarp or awning.

The only negative I see is that they are a little heavier for the pair than carbon trekking poles. And they are not Z-poles so their pack down size is not as small, with collapsible length of 71 cm.

Leki also do Corklite model poles which are very similar, and do pack down smaller to 67 cm - eg) http://www.bogong.com.au/leki-corklite- ... -pair.html

but I note both are longer than your stated length preference when packed down.

[Dexter]

Resurrecting this thread to ask if anyone knows if the Alpine Carbon Cork has been discontinued. It doesn't come up on a search on the Black Diamond Australian site. There's only the two Z type folding poles in their Alpine series. Stock seems to be difficult to find on other gear sites online. In fact, it seems a lot of poles are out of stock right now. I think I'd like cork handles, but it's slim pickin's... Are there any other recommendations that would be fairly easy to find?