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REI Four Winds Travel Staff

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Product Description,
Product Specs,
Reviews

The ideal travel companion for wandering near or far, this lightweight walking staff compacts to easily slip into your luggage.

A great choice for travelers, photographers and hikers
Four-section pole collapses to 22.75 inches, allowing it to be packed lengthwise in a standard 24 in. luggage
Titanal® alloy sections offer the strength of steel but at a third of the weight; they're highly resistant to abrasion and corrosion
Twisting mechanism locks sections securely in place at whatever lengths meet the needs of changing terrain
Extra-light EVA foam grip is easy to grasp
Handle unscrews to reveal camera mount
Staff attaches around your wrist with an elastic shockcord and cord-lock
Includes a basket and a vario tungsten carbide tip

Imported.

Item 745687

REI Membership

REI Membership $20.00

Manuals and Instructions:

manual How to adjust the length with an internal lock

manual How to change the basket on a pole

REI Four Winds Travel Staff Specs

Specification

Description

Best use

Travel

Titanal aluminum alloy

Foam

Yes

51 inches

22.75 inches

129.5 centimeters

57.8 centimeters

Twist lock

Yes

8.5 ounces

Unisex

Yes

Shaft material

Grip material

Adjustable

Maximum length (in.)

Minimum length (in.)

Maximum length (cm)

Minimum length (cm)

Locking mechanism

Shock absorbing

Camera mount

Weight

Gender

Adjustable pole(s)

REI Four Winds Travel Staff Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

REI Four Winds Travel Staff

4.3

(based on 10 reviews)

90%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Lightweight (10)
Well built / quality (9)
Easy to adjust (8)
Good grips (7)

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking (9)
Backpacking (5)
Day trip (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual/ recreational (5), Avid adventurer (3)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Survivalist / minimalist (7)

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 10 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

Jan

2008

(23 of 23 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Perfection - A Dream to Travel With

By Joel Dauteuil

from Saba, Dutch Caribbean

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Flexible
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking
Overseas Travel

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I needed a product that was so light and small that I'd never have an excuse not to bring it with me on trips. This is it. It's feather lite (8oz?) and folds up so small it would fit in any bag - easily in a carry-on or backpack. But, the best part has to be that it's remarkably sturdy. I expected at this weight that it would have more "give" or flex - and I'm pleasantly surprised that it does not. It feels absolutely solid and sturdy - inspiring confidence on the trails. I highly recommend.

Jul

2008

(16 of 16 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Fabulous walking pole

By Born to Travel

from Fresno CA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Flexible
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Day trip
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I bought this pole because it collapsed smaller than anything else on the market (under 23 inches) and I wanted it to fit into a small suitcase. I found that it was very lightweight and easy to adjust. The long padded handle is a real plus because it means that you can easily change your grip position without having to reset the pole length. I have bad knees and poor balance and this pole has been a miracle for me. I can walk much faster when using it and it really helps going down stairs, especially if they are uneven or do not have a handrail. The only con is that the compass seems to be very unstable and I would not rely on it for direction finding.

Jul

2009

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Small, light and very strong

By ageing hiker

from Seattle WA

About Me Casual Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Fits in luggage
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I've had this pole for 4 years now, I got it when I used to commute between the UK and Seattle every six weeks or so and needed something that would fit in my suitcase.

I used it in that mode for three years before my job moved me to Seattle full time a year ago.
I have used it on countless hikes in rain, sun and (lots of) snow. It works just great, collapses easily when I want it to and never when I don't!

I am always amazed how well the (carbide?) tip grips on smooth wet rock and the little mushroom snow thingy seems just the right diameter to work with Official Washington State snow!

Looking at an earlier review, it DOES work as a monopod, but you have to pull the whole foam handle off, not just the compass, and there is a 1/4" stud ready and waiting.

I got one for my son when he came to visit and once he got his head round the fact that snow comes 15' deep in the cascades and not 1-2" like in our part of the UK, he was glad I had!

Mar

2009

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Excellent Product

By Guudbears

from Upstate New York

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to adjust
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Compass sucks

Best Uses

Hiking
Scuba diving

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I've used this for day hiking and the compass really doesn't work, more like a Ouija board in that it points to where you rotate it after a while. Anyway besides that this thing rocks. It is small enough to attach to a pack strap and sturdy enough to support your weight. Recently I used it on a dive trip to Bonaire where we mostly did shore dives. It was a great help in negotiating the ins and outs of the uneven coral we needed to get past. After we were in the water it was small enough to clip to my BCD and never interfered with the dive. It did tend to get gunked up with salt residue but that washed away in frersh water and a little WD40 and steel wool seems to have it back in full functioning shape. So all in all a very versatile product on land, in the sea and in the air (fits in a carry on bag).

Jul

2010

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Nice staff!

By WLS

from Oshkosh Wi.

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

Things I like about it- the aluminum alloy is stronger than a regular aluminum staff. It adjusts down to the shortest length possible so it will fit anywhere. The handle top is foam covered - no compass (mentioned in previous models) which is fine with me - I'll be using my GPS and want the handle to be as comfortable as possible with no cheap compass to annoy me.
The handle does screw off if you have to have a monopod mount. It comes with a tip protector - I wish it came with two but I also ordered the Leki rubber tips which fit it well and work better. It comes with a basket (and again I would like to have two) which should be good for sand or soft ground. It feels very rigid and the collapsing feature allows me to turn it into a cane when I just need that. It is made for REI by Komperdell and the quality is very good. The only thing that would concern me is how the foam handle holds up. There doen't appear to be a way to order a new handle but it looks fairly durable and is comfortable. I think it is a very good choice for a travel staff/cane.

Aug

2009

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Good staff addition

By TrailGuy

from Panhandle, Idaho

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

On a recent trek through Mineral King, the Four Winds Staff provided a trusted assist. It is light and was easy to put aside when the route moderated. The compass does point north if it is allowed to settle (magnetic compass - non dampened). All-in-all everything one would want in a hiking staff.

Jul

2009

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Harder to use in cold climates

By Wandering Lady

from Columbia, SC

About Me Casual Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

This is super in temperate climates, but harder to get extra tight when it is very cold. It seemed tight in South Georgia (island, not state), but after an hour of walking the tip was sucked out by deep mud. REI gave me a replacement and I took a pair to the Arctic. I had to clean up salt corrosion like the other reviewer, but am now unable to remove the snow baskets, even with a strong helper.

Mar

2011

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Works great, packs easy for travel!!

By USN-Ret

from Quad Cities, IL

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Day trip
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I bought this puppy as it would be easy to pack for travel, and use it hiking & geocaching. It's performed without a problem for past two years, despite my using it for poking & prodding possible hiding places for caches, leaning on it while hiking, using it as a "third leg" crossing rough terrain, etc. And I am not a small guy. Not sure what more I could have asked for or expected, but I haven't taken it backpacking (yet).

Sep

2010

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

The right tool for the job

By Jeff the traveler

from San Francisco, CA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I bought the staff for a week of hiking in the Dolomites. I had never used a professional staff before and I wanted one that was easy to transport on airlines. Given the nature of many of the trails in the Dolomites the staff was invaluable. I liked the ability to collapse the polls when climbing the steel chains hand over hand. Also, with one poll I was easily able to shift it from hand to hand as needed on the uphill side of the trail. All in all a great piece of equipment.

Aug

2009

(1 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Very Disappointed !

By Weakknees71

from Denver , CO

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Lightweight

Cons

Brittle

Best Uses

Comments about REI Four Winds Travel Staff:

I purchased this pole at Lakewood , CO REI , the night before leaving on a trip to the Galapagos Islands . Big Mistake ! The pole broke while I was testing it by decending stairs in my home . Maybe this was a " defective " product ; I have other
REI trekking sticks I have used for many years with no problems . However , I cannot recommend the Four Winds travel staff , based on my one experience !