Best for all-round tramping

544g/pair

Features: This is a sturdy three-section pole made from 7075 aluminium alloy. It has a dual-position foam-covered hand grip and an unpadded wrist loop with a safety release. Wing Lock release mechanisms provide easy length adjustment. The poles are supplied with trekking and snow baskets and replaceable carbide tips. 

Adjustability: The poles can be extended from 69cm to 140cm maximum, providing 68cm of usable adjustment. That’s a great range. The wrist loop was easy to adjust to cater for different gloves.

Comfort: The palm rest on the top of this pole is small compared to the others and has sharper edges, so it is not quite as comfortable. The main hand grip could have a more pronounced rest for the base of the hand, but the foam grip is soft, providing great comfort and vibration damping. 

In use: Of the poles reviewed, these have the shortest minimum usable length so they’re best for shorter people or when a really short pole is needed for negotiating steep bush or climbing, while they hang from your wrists. The Wing Lock flick lock adjusters are large and easy to use, even with the bulkiest of gloves on, and their level of tension can be fine-tuned. But they are also exposed to knocks. The dual-position hand grip provides a quick change of virtual length without actually shortening the pole, for brief steep sections of terrain. The non-padded wrist loop is not quite as comfortable as a padded one; the webbing is wide and soft and works well when large gloves are worn, but is not quite as quick to get your hand into as would be a more formed loop. 

Value: Considering this pole’s overall utility, build quality and strength, it’s good value.

Verdict: Built with durability in mind, this is a reliable, no-frills pole that is still a very respectable weight. 

Plusses: Great value, strong, short minimum usable length
Minuses: Hand grip could be more refined