Alpine Touring/Telemark Poles

Featured review by FromSagetoSnow

Lighter, faster, and easier to use than other poles, yet worries about durability linger. Despite the worries, I really like these poles.

Summary: From Black Diamond: "The aluminum compactor pole adjusts between popular pole lengths and uses an internal Kevlar cord to instantly break down to packable size and redeploys in a flash. One, rock solid, point of adjustment means you can keep moving instead of being the one always fiddling with your poles." I trek on my ski poles. Or maybe I should say that I ski on my trekking poles. Either way I use them all for both. I don't want to have a ton of single-purpose gear so these appealed to me as a possible do-it-all pole.

Read more: Black Diamond Compactor Ski Poles reviews (4)

Featured review by Peter1955

Light, tough, and cheap.

I find it a bit amusing that after many years, the traditional leaders in hiking poles, Leki and Komperdell, are finally coming out with locking systems for their poles based on the Black Diamond Flicklock system. We've all heard stories about the old twist-lock poles collapsing at the wrong moment, dumping someone in a puddle or causing a fall, and it's good to see other companies following BD's lead. I've had my latest pair of Black Diamond Expedition poles for about three or four years, and they're still going strong.

Read more: Black Diamond Expedition 3 reviews (3)

Reviewed by Skygenie

The Whippet will give you added security in places where falling will have dire consequences. You have to know how to self-arrest for it to be useful. I recommend it for anyone that has ever wished they had, or actually had, an ice axe in their hand while skiing.

I started skiing with a Whippet two seasons ago and I really like it. I don't have crampons for my skis so this gives me a nice sense of security when skiing on hard snow. I've had a few unexpected falls/slides where I couldn't stop if I wanted to but each time there were no bad consequences. When skiing above cliffs or other hazards you don't want to fall into, the Whippet could make the difference between a good day and a bad day. Having a pick as part of your pole is far superior to trying to carry an ice axe with a pole or stowing the pole and just using the ice axe.

Read more: Black Diamond Whippet review (1)

Reviewed by Second Gear

MSR has consistently made rock solid products, and this is no exception. The overall design may become the industry standard. The pole never slipped in height adjustment. The aircraft grade aluminum offered consistent stability. The pole offers a simple way to adjust height without fussing with clips, locks, and twists. The no catch triangular basket, solid construction, and ease of use will make these my go-to poles for my winter hiking and snowshoeing.

The TR-3 at first blush to me while attractive, seemed gimmicky. As I used these poles in various conditions on Mt. Rainier, the more I have come to find they are more than just a niche, cute product. First, I was impressed with how the minimalist packaging packed a ton of information onto the product card, plus, it stowed the instruction sheet neatly into the sandwich board.   Features: These poles are actually quite feature rich: What especially sets these poles apart is the adjustment system.

Read more: MSR Deploy TR-3 review (1)

Reviewed by LoneStranger

Leki's Vario XS four-season poles are designed for kids, but are fully functional on trail or in the snow. Adults or children who use poles in the 80-110 cm (31-43") range will find these two-piece poles are easy to adjust both for length and strap position. Leki's HTS 5.5 aluminum balances strength and weight, making the Vario XS a four-season pole that can adjust for growing children.

  Leki Vario XS  The Vario XS replaced the Leki Vario Jr. SpeedLock and, while aimed at younger hikers and skiers, is a full featured pole that shorter adults might find useful as well. Given their 110cm/43" length fully extended they should work for folks well over 5' though they are a tad short for me at 5'7". Mini Stranger on the Androscoggin River bank. Since these poles were a bit on the sort side for me I once again enlisted the aid of my nine-year-old daughter when it came to testing.

Read more: Leki Vario XS review (1)

Reviewed by BigRed

A reliable, adjustable length pole that has survived multiple seasons of backcountry skiing in my hands. Smooth adjustment, camlock easy to operate with mittens, comfortable grips, bonus inclinometer, doubles as emergency avalanche probe. Old plastic camlock finally broke (repaired) but new aluminum version should hold up better.

For a time, I didn't use telescoping poles for backcountry skiing. Some of my friends had them and it didn’t take rocket science to observe that they had a few problems. Sometimes they’d ask me to hold on to one end while they twisted or reefed on the other, trying to free a frozen twistlock or extend a pole with an ever so slightly bent shaft. Or the twistlock would slip so that the pole collapsed on a critical pole plant, resulting in a nasty or maybe just hilarious crash. Who needs that? And, at least in proportion to my budget in those years, they cost a lot of money, three or four times what a cheap pair of fiberglass xc poles, which is what I used.

Read more: K2 LockJaw Carbon/Alu review (1)