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Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair

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With 3 vibration-absorbing carbon fiber sections and natural cork grips, the exceedingly light Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles provide support, stability and effortless swing.

3 sections of carbon fiber create ultralight poles that absorb vibration and retain strength over a wide temperature range
Dual FlickLock adjusters allow easy, slip-proof adjustment and won't accidentally loosen like conventional "twist" type adjusters
Natural cork grips with dual-density top knobs fit comfortably in your hands
Adjustable nubuck leather webbing wrist loops support wrists
Foam extensions beneath the top grips allow the hiker to drop the uphill hand lower on the shaft while traversing steep terrain
Poles feature carbide tips and low-profile 1.5-in. trekking discs; discs' small size reduce weight and snagging
Poles also include powder baskets for use in the snow

Imported.

Item 782133

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Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair

4.4

(based on 26 reviews)

96%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Lightweight (21)
Durable (10)
Good stiffness (10)
Easy to adjust (9)
Good grips (9)

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking (14)
Backpacking (12)
Day trip (9)
Alpine (7)
Cross-country (5)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Advanced (10), Avid adventurer (9)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (12)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Survivalist / minimalist (6), Comfort driven (5)

Reviewed by 26 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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Feb

2009

(25 of 26 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

The Best

By ZacB

from Danville, CA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Flexible
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

I think these are the best trekking poles. I love all Black Diamond because of the flick lock system which is way better than the twist lock because of ease/speeed of use and also the fact that they will not collapse when you don't want them to. The carbon is the lightest and best material. I wouldn't mind using the Black Diamond Alpine CF but if you look closely you will notice that they don't have the lower foam grip to put your hand on when acsending (instead they have sand paper - don't ask me why they chose to do that). So this model has everything you need. Flick lock adjusting system, carbon construction and foam lower grip. You can't go wrong with these.

Mar

2010

(17 of 19 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Best Poles I have found so far..

By tigo

from Boston, MA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking
Mountaineering

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

I have returned very few items to REI but the one area I have returned the most is poles. It took me 3 rounds to find the right poles:

Round 1 - I owned a pair of the Leki's before and the twist lock mechanism would not always work for me - I had times when I would struggle to get the Leki twist lock to engage. I especially had problems with the Lekis on winter hikes or when snowshoeing.

Round 2 - I bought a pair of the Eliptical Black Diamond Poles that have a combination of lever lock and pin lock were nice until they broke.... I actually had the pin lock system come undone - the spot where the pin mechnism attaches to the pole is just epoxyed on and the epoxy came undone so I returned those to REI. The eliptical deisng is nice but don't get the ones with the pin lock on the bottom section.

Round 3 - I finally picked up these poles with the lever locks on both the top and bottom sections. I have taken them on my long trips including climbing Mt Elbrus in Russia, Aconcagua in Argentina and many hikes in the White Mountains in New England. They are extremely light weight, but durable.

The Black Diamond lever locks work better than any of the twist lock systems (i.e. Leki, etc).

When picking up a pair of poles even if you decide not to buy this Black Diamond Carbon Fiber model I highly recommend going with the Black Diamond pole with the flip lock system because there design is far superior to anything else I have used or seen on the market.

Jul

2009

(9 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Excellent - very tough

By Dave

from Houston, TX

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

Very solid poles. I didn't have one slip and I was putting a lot of weight on them. In one instance, I downclimbed 3200 (in less than 5 miles) of unstable slab, talus, and river rock wearing a 65-pound pack and they held up perfectly. The tips grip rock very nicely and do not wear out easily at all. Even if they did, a new set of replacement tips is very cheap. I used them on rock, dirt, and in streams. They got banged around a bit and still held up just fine with no nicks of breaks in the carbon material. The top of the grip is made to be palmed for steep downclimbs and it can rub your hand raw if you do that for too long...but that's not really the pole. A simple repositioning of your hand on the grip will take care of this.

Apr

2010

(8 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Weight inaccurate

By HikerAl

from SE PA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

Very nice poles easy to adjust. They hold their adjustment and don't slip at all. They feel very secure on all surfaces.
I have just a couple of nit picks. If your thinking of spending the extra money that these cost to save more weight, the listed weight is inaccurate my poles weighed 1lb 2.6oz or 9.3oz each. Still very lite but not as advertised.
Not made in the USA.
Overall I would buy again.

Jan

2010

(8 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Solid product with great design

By gdpolk

from Arkansas

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

I have been using these for about 1 year now on all of my day hikes and backpacking trips. I have used them crossing creeks and rivers, in the mud, in the heat of summer, and in the snow. They seem to just work. I like that they have a chiseled carbide tip because it gives good traction on almost any surface. This is much, much better than the steel tips found on lower end poles. I also really like the locking mechanism because it is quick and solid. The grips are large and ergonomic and will easily fill the hands of larger males and can be carefully sanded down a bit for users with smaller hands. The large padded wrist strap is nice and doesn't rub which I like. The only criticism about it is that it can't be adjusted down for people with extremely small wrists. This isn't a problem for me but didn't fit my girlfriend when she used them once. These do not feature a shock absorption feature like some poles do which I wish that I had on two or three hikes. However, even without it they were comfortable to use. I also like the foam grip underneath the main grip because it makes climbing more comfortable than just grabbing the pole itself and doesn't require you to actually lower the pole. This is one of those items that you can buy and just count on working, it doesn't really require you to baby it and go through excessive maintenance. I also like that they are lighter weight than many poles, but don't let the weight fool you into thinking that they are flimsy. I weigh 170 and have put all of my weight through a single pole several times and the poles don't even flex. They are super, super rigid and the carbide tip grabs hold of whatever it is laid on. All in all I see no reason to even try another pole.

Sep

2009

(7 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

The BEST!

By X country

from Fairbanks, AK

About Me Outdoor Professional

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Flexible
Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

I used these poles to trek morraine piles and climb mountains with 50+ lbs and cross the tundra with 200+ lbs. they literally saved my life. Awesome Product!

Mar

2010

(6 of 22 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

subject to catastrophic failure!

By ozark howler

from santa monica

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Lightweight

Cons

Collapses Too Easily
Unstable

Best Uses

Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

before one broke on me [ the lowest section] i loved them! compared to aluminum they were absolutely luxurious. very springy and flexible. that all changed when hiking in the ozarks and one got ledged ina small hole and broke the lower section. luckily i was only carrying about a 15 pound pack and my knee was only sprained. had i been hiking up or down a trail into yosemite backcountry it would almost certainly have broken my leg. i returned them to rei and of course they happily refunded them and offered me a new pair of carbons and i said no thanks i'll take aluminum. if you must buy a carbon fiber pole make sure the bottom section is aluminum. they can be hazardous when carrying heavy packs!!

Dec

2009

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

My favorite trekking poles yet

By amokrunner

from Southern California

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to adjust
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

Regarding the locking system: Black Diamond wins over all of the other brands in this department. I've been through multiple twist-lock systems which always end up failing. Black Diamond's flick lock is secure, quick, and sturdy.
The Alpine Carbon Cork poles are nice and light.
The cork handles are very comfortable, warm, and dry compared to other materials. They tend to mold to your hand so they get more comfortable with time. The only thing with cork is that you need to be careful with it. I took a spill (don't ask how) and knocked a chunk of the cork off on a rock.

Jan

2011

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

The Best I've Found

By Liquidbridge

from Minneapolis, MN

See all my reviews

Pros

Dependable
Easy to Use
Lightweight

Cons

Carbon Lower Section

Best Uses

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

A couple years ago I purchased some REI Traverse aluminum trekking poles. They served me well, but this year I decided to upgrade to some lightweight carbon fiber poles.

I first purchased a pair of REI Peak ULs with the twist-lock locking system. It took me about 15 minutes to get all the sections to lock properly. Once I figured out the trick, they locked consistently every time. Unfortunately, the twist-lock system doesn't hold firm enough. I am 205 pounds and when I leaned on the poles, they would collapse under my weight, sliding back together. It seemed that no matter how tightly I twisted, I couldn't get them to lock.

I returned them to REI without any problem and sat in the trekking pole aisle for about 30 minutes comparing all the poles. These BDs were some of the lightest, most secure poles I found. I can't believe how stable carbon fiber poles are over aluminum poles! The flip-lock system holds very securely; no matter how much weight I put on them they held their ground. I also like the smaller basket size and the extra-padded wrist-strap.

The only thing I would wish for is an aluminum bottom section of the pole. I bend one of my aluminum poles in this area when I lost my balance after the pole got stuck between 2 rock on a descent. I have the feeling that the carbon fiber would crack in this situation.

Nov

2009

(5 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Great Except

By Grandpa Moose

from NYC

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Good grips
Lightweight
Strong

Cons

Locking

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles - Pair:

I have long arms and all I need is to extend upper section to 130mm for the correct length. The only issue I had is:
The diameter of the lower section, from the basket 2 inches up, is so narrow the locking mechanizesum cannot grap directly above the basket allowing 2 inch play. (or expose the 2 inch section) This play gets to be very annoying. To redue the "play" I had to insert a sping at the head of the lower section, so it acts like a shock absorber.