Quite inadvertently, I seem to have become something of an expert on walking poles, and on their tensile strength especially. Since I began serious walking around twenty years ago I have owned or used six different models of pole, [seven now, see update at the end!] and I seem to have managed to damage four of them. There are several reasons for this high mortality rate:
- I am 6'4" tall, and perhaps tend to have poles more extended than most people do, which might make them a little more vulnerable
- I like to use ultra-lightweight poles which are more fragile in the first place
- my sense of balance is average at best, and if you have a wobble or trip then you can lean heavily on the pole sometimes to recover balance
- my knees are basically, knackered. This makes long descents difficult and I must go slowly and put weight on the poles to help reduce the shocks to my knees. This is the reason I started using poles in the first place, and I could not do serious walking without them nowadays.
Brief details and a photo of each set of poles are given below. After that is a summary and recommendations, also a bit about how to use poles since so many seem not to have thought about that.
1.
Brasher Provolution
This is a carbon pole, weighing 204g. I am pretty sure this pole is no longer made, and Brasher themselves are now taken over by Berghaus, so I won't say too much about them.. but in summary, they have been very good poles, comfortable, with a useful double grip that extends part way down the handle. They are strong and sturdy, and I enjoyed using them. They had two drawbacks: firstly they were quite expensive (£90 the pair) and secondly they used a clamping ("Power Lock") system that was easy and quick to adjust but turned out to be not entirely reliable. Fairly regularly, one pole would telescope itself shut when you leaned hard on it, which could be disconcerting to say the least. I think if you keep the screws on the locks perfectly adjusted they would in fact be OK, but they do move and they have a tendency to catch you out. Eventually (on my third visit to the Pyrenees) I broke a pole, by letting one end drop into a rock crevice and then leaning on it. I think that any pole would have broken at that point, and I don't at all hold it against them. In fact only an end of the pole broke off and it is still usable, just not quite to its full length. I have the broken pole still (that is it, in the photo above. The bottom part will not extend as far as once it would), and still use it; the other one eventually got lost, sadly, on a daywalk. Still, I do think the double grip is a really useful feature, worth a gram or two of extra weight. Because I liked it so much I intend to add extra grips to my current poles below the rubber one, using tennis racquet grip fabric.
2.
Fizan Compact/Rohan Ether
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| Rohan Ether, fully closed, and Fizan Compact, top part extended |
This is an aluminium pole made by Fizan and it is astonishingly light. It has "158gm" and "world's lightest" marked on the pole; my two actually weigh 173gm (Rohan) and 177gm (Fizan), with snow baskets but without rubber ferrules. I originally bought a pair of Rohan Ether poles, which were Fizan poles rebadged for Rohan and were identical, except for the colours. I paid £60 for the pair and used them on the Pennine Way in 2014. They are comfortable to hold and to use, and although it is simple, the twist locking system has been very reliable and works well. Unfortunately, I leaned on one and it bent. I was a bit surprised, as I didn't feel I had done anything very extreme. I took it back to the Rohan shop I bought it from, and they very kindly replaced it. The service I have had from Rohan over the years is absolutely first class. Their stuff is not cheap, but it is very good value, which is the important thing, and I am quite a fan. They no longer have the poles rebadged, they are now sold as Fizan Compact poles, (and even cheaper! £29 each ... update 2024: £37.50 now!) so now I have one blue Rohan pole and one brown and red Fizan pole. But they feel the same in use, so I am a perfectly happy bunny.
Both poles extend up to 130cm, and are 59cm fully closed up. The handles are the usual black, slightly soft rubbery stuff, quite comfortable. I could do with a longer extension ideally, but I can manage more or less OK with 130cm.
I highly recommend these poles. They are both light and strong, easy to adjust, reliable and comfortable to use. One thing, please do not store them wet: dismantle and dry them first. Aluminium may not rust but it certainly does oxidise, and I have heard of these poles seizing up completely, when left wet for a long time.
Update 2024: these poles have completed three Pennine Ways now, and are still going strong. Highly recommended.
3. Komperdell Ultralight Vario 4, (marked "Generation 2.0")
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| Komperdell Vario 4 poles. The remaining normal one at rear, two compact ones in front, one unscrewed |
While buying my tent and sleeping bag from the excellent
Zpacks, my eye was caught by the Komperdell carbon poles, and I bought a pair for $185 (£119.42) - a lot of money. You can however find them cheaper online sometimes. They come in two sizes, normal (120-145cm) and compact (105-125cm). I bought the normal ones, they weigh175gm each with their snow baskets on, or roughly the same as the Fizan poles above. That is good going, since they extend considerably further - up to 145cm. They feel light in use and the handles are comfortable. As you can see they unscrew into three parts for storage or transport - there is an elastic cord that keeps them together. Not sure about its longevity, but the pieces screw together so probably would work just as well without the cord. Only the top section is adjustable, with a quick release clamp similar to the Brashers, except that in the relatively short time I was able to use them, they never slipped or needed adjustment once - also very good. They also came with a "no quibble guarantee," a "free repair service no matter what happened." The only minor drawback seemed to be the rather short adjustment range, which I could live with. So I was pleased with them, and cheerfully set off with them into the Pyrenees.
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| pole with the two broken bits.. |
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On day 9, I was
walking through a forest on my way up to the col d' Anaye, when the bottom six inches of one of the poles fell off! It just dropped off in one piece, for no reason I could establish. Bewildering. Also extremely awkward as the final climb to the col and subsequent descent into the Vallon d'Anaye (during which another piece fell off) is not easy. By the time I finished the long descent into Lescun, I had successfully proved that I could not continue with one pole - I had to find another similar pole or another pair.
In the end I posted the Komperdell poles back home from Lescun, and when I got home I posted the broken one onto the UK Komperdell importers,
First Ascent Ltd of Matlock. Their website promises "Repair service has never been so fast and easy! Our staff provide a FAST and EASY repair service returning your poles ready for your next trip." Unfortunately my experience has been neither fast nor easy. I posted the poles to them on 18 September and at the time of writing the matter is only now almost resolved, more than two months later. In fact it has been quite a saga, and I had intended to write a separate blog entry detailing all the ins and outs. They sent me not one but a pair of new poles, but they were the compact ones (hence the photo above) which with a maximum extension of 125cm are not much use to me. All they had to do was repair the lowest section of the broken pole!
However to their credit Komperdell stuck at it and in the end we did get there. I have posted the compact poles back to the importers, Komperdell have sent me a pair of longer bottom pieces and returned to me the undamaged top part of the broken pole, so I now have my original pair, repaired, plus a spare bottom pole.
If you find yourself having to make a claim I recommend that you only send off the bit that is actually broken, not the whole pole(s). Also best perhaps to deal direct with the manufacturer in Austria, despite the extra postage.
I should mention that the Importer said that the problem I had was not uncommon. I quote:
"The issue with the lower sections of the Ultralight model is something we have seen a couple of times before and given the potential consequence of this type of failure in remote or exposed situations, Komperdell have now opted to use their Titanal rocksleeve technology for all lower sections of carbon trekking poles in the future. Whilst this does mean the absolute lowest weight will not be possible, the weight difference of such poles is certainly not a burden at 25-30g per pole."
Indeed the Komperdell website now gives a weight of 205gm (plus basket!) per pole, which is about 30gm more than mine, and the pictures show a silver bottom section where mine are black.
4.
Decathlon QUECHUA Forclaz 500 Light
So, there I was in Lescun, with an urgent need to acquire new poles. There is only one shop, a nice little supermarche, but it had no walking poles for sale. In the end I bought a pair of these poles from one of the staff at the Hotel Pic d'Anie, where I was staying. I paid €30 for them, used but in reasonable condition. That is about the same as they cost new, but at the time it was a seller's market..
Unfortunately I don't have a photo and couldn't weigh them. At left is a picture of me clutching the poles, with two friendly Belgian girls alongside.
The website says the poles weigh 230gm each. They felt solid and robust, and I used them as far as Gavarnie without incident. I liked them - they were easy to adjust, both the straps and pole length, and were reliable, no sudden collapses. I did not find the grips quite as comfortable as some, but they were OK. The main drawback for me was that they were a little short at about 128cm max. They are designed for women mainly I think, since there is another version that extends to 140cm and weighs 270gm.
Overall I thought these poles were excellent value for money. They taught me that light weight is not everything, since although they weighed more than the others it was never a problem and the upside is increased strength and robustness. And you could buy five or so pairs for the price of one pair of Komperdells. I would recommend them.
5.
Leki Summit HTS 6.0 aluminium poles
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| Leki Summit - the surviving pole, showing doubled extension markings |
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| closed. The grip is comfortable and looks smart |
When I reached Gavarnie and my next rest day, I had a look around the town which unlike Lescun, has several shops that sell walking poles. Gavarnie is a friendly and lively town, and I always enjoy my visits there. In high summer it can get rather touristy, and some walkers look down on it rather, but if it weren't for the tourists it wouldn't be there at all...
So I had a poke around the considerable variety of poles available, and eventually settled on a pair of Leki aluminium poles. The precise model is not available in the UK but these ones,
the Makalu, are identical bar the colouring. The poles cost €72 (around £50), weighed 280g each, so not particularly lightweight, but looked strong. They had fetching cork handles with nice rounded tops, and the Leki "super lock" adjustment system - you twist the poles in the usual way to loosen or tighten, but once tight they feel very secure and never once slipped. I left the Decathlon poles behind in Gavarnie and transferred my allegiance to Leki.
Unfortunately however I was not able to use them all that long since after a week or so a foot slipped near the top of a steep col and I sat down.. no harm done, quite safe, but when I got up I found one of the poles had bent in two, bang in the middle. Evidently its robust appearance was a little misleading!
The remaining pole I am still using for daywalks. It does feel solid and is comfortable to use. The adjustment system is rock solid. However it is a little heavy. It also has another unusual feature I am not all that keen on, in that both the bottom two sections have height markings on them and if you want to change the pole length you are supposed to adjust both sections, not just the upper one as with all the other poles I've used. I found that rather cumbersome, in practice.
So.. once again I am down to one pole, a serious issue since I need two not just for walking but to erect my tent. For the short term I cut a tree branch to size. It worked OK, but it was very heavy compared to an aluminium pole, and not terribly robust either. However a couple of days later I met a very nice couple, Mick & Gayle, who had a spare pair of Leki poles that they kindly (and rather bravely) lent me..
6
Leki Microstick Ti
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| Leki Microstick poles, one extended, one collapsed. |
These are Nordic Walking poles, and as such not adjustable for length - they measured 121cm from end to end. I did not weigh them, but the
Leki website says they weigh 216gm each, which sounds about right. The Ti stands for titanium, but why I do not know - since the poles are made of aluminium. They were comfortable to hold, but always felt a little fragile to me. Since they cannot be adjusted for length I would not buy them myself, though I see Leki do make an adjustable version too. They are expensive at £130 or £150 for the carbon version. The double handles are good, all poles should have them.
Summary and Conclusions
So there we have it, six pairs of poles.. four of which I managed to break! Though I would argue that in only one case was it was my fault (Brasher). I never contacted Leki about their pole but both Rohan and Komperdell happily replaced the broken poles, so my current stock is two complete pairs and two individual poles. I use the Brasher and Leki poles on daywalks and will keep the Fizan and Komperdell poles for more serious walking.
Three of the pole failures occurred in the mountains and the high Pyrenees with their rocks and steep cols are a hard environment. You could expect to use any of these poles happily for years in more normal British walking circumstances.
- For longer distance walking lighter poles are better than heavier. On daywalks weight is more or less immaterial
- Antishock systems add weight and cost. They may reduce shock to your arms, but I have never found that to be a problem anyway. So they are not for me. It's my knees that need protecting.
- Reliability is key - a pole that collapses unexpectedly is a dangerous pole
- All the poles were reasonably comfortable in use. The Leki cork handles looked smart, but felt little different in use.
- Carbon poles are generally not as robust as aluminium, in my opinion
So far as recommendations go I think the Fizan poles are the best value for money. They are extremely light, comfortable and reliable in use and reasonably robust. At £58/pair (2024: £75/pair) they are half the price of the Komperdells, or less. Buy them from Rohan, and you will get excellent aftersales service as well. The Leki Makalu poles are about the same price here in the UK, heavier, but strong. I didn't like their double-adjustment system. You would be better off buying similar poles from Decathlon, for half the price. For normal walking something like these are probably the best value of all - only £12.99/pair!
As for the Komperdell poles, they had comfortable handles, the adjustment was reliable, though a little more restricted than some, 120cm - 145cm for the standard poles and 105 - 125cm for the compact. They are very light, quite expensive, but in my experience at least, not very robust. I couldn't recommend them, though maybe they are the better for the recent changes made to the design.
My perfect pole would be like the Fizan pole, but with an extra 10cm of extension, and with the Brasher double grips. Still looking, though maybe I have enough poles now ...
I'm happy to answer any specific questions anyone may have. Happy walking!
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Update April 2023:
7. Leki Microvario Carbon poles
I still have most of the poles mentioned above, and the Fizan poles especially are still giving good service. They are still available from Rohan, though a little more expensive - £37.50 which is good value I think. The ones below cost about double that, perhaps more..
I haven't broken any since I got back from the Pyrenees! I have however acquired a new pair of poles - new to me, anyway. My son and I were walking in the Peak District. As we crossed the Snake Pass road, heading for Alport Towers, a highway maintenance lorry pulled up and gave them to us! They said they had been left leaning against a wall, had been there for a fortnight and nobody had come to claim them. They thought they would be better put to use, than being left to rot. We happily accepted the gift!
The poles are Leki Microvario Carbon poles and are rather unusual. They fold into three parts, connected by a plastic cord. When you want to use them, pull them, and they become rigid. They have a push button which when pressed, allows them to fold again. I don't think Leki still sell this precise model, but this one seems similar (and incredibly light!). Leki make an amazing range of different poles, at all prices - look out for sale items.
The poles are comfortable, work well, feel strong and quite light - they weigh 222g each, and adjust from 110cm to 130cm or 52". Except mine don't, quite, they measure 129cm fully extended, despite the markings on the pole! They are good poles though and I can recommend them if you want to pay a fair bit for good poles! They have the extended grips that I like.
The poles, one extended, one folded. They do fold very small! Only about 38cm, or 15." Easy to tuck into a rucksack, or even a pocket..
The top joint, showing the press button used to fold the pole. When unfolded the button pops out, to keep them rigid.
