REI Co-op  Flash Carbon Trekking Poles - Pair

I liked these poles from the pointy tips up to about a half inch from the foam tops. Unfortunately, they failed after 11 months. During my first use, I immediately noticed that the top of the grip is wobbly. The handle inside doesn't extend inside the foam up to the top of the grip, so the last 1/4 - 1/2 inch is unsupported foam. When you are going down a steep, rocky hill and need to put all of your weight on the top of the pole, it really moves around - not a good thing when carrying a heavy pack with unstable footing. I probably should have returned them early on, but I kept them. The play gradually increased over the course of numerous Blue Ridge hikes and overnighters, and the end finally came in the Slickrock gorge during a thigh deep rushing creek crossing. As I was moving into the water, my foot slid on a rock, and I fell forward onto one of my poles where the top popped right off as shown in the picture. Fortunately, I caught myself with my other one and thus avoided an icy bath. These might be okay if you are only planning to be on relatively flat, smooth trails, but I do not recommend if steep descents under weight are in your future. The shafts are quite strong and showed no weakness when saving me from several full weight trips and falls. When purchasing replacements, I tested all of the tops on the selection at REI. With the exception of these, they were all rock solid with the internal pole seemingly attached directly to the very top of the grip. Not sure how this flaw got through design and testing. Seems like such an obvious failure point.

I have a similar pair but with aluminum shafts. The aluminum model is very sturdy it they transfer vibrations to the wrist and elbow. This may not have been a problem when I was younger but at 61 it's a little tough on the old joints after a long hike on rocky ground. The carbon fiber poles are lighter and seem to be almost as sturdy but they definitely dampen the amount of vibration that is transmitted from the tip. As a test I hiked with one of each and definitely preferred the carbon fiber to the aluminum shafts. You wouldn't think that such a small difference in weight could be noticed but after a few hours of hiking it does.

I took an REI class on snowshoeing on Mt. Rainier. The poles provided for the class were the REI Flash Carbon Trekking Poles. I had purchased a different set of poles before taking the class, and they weren't as good. For one thing, the other pair were not long enough for me. I'm 6' 5" and these REI poles are perfect. My wife wanted to try the REI poles for regular hiking, and she was very impressed with them. She is 5' 5" and they worked perfectly for her too, so the poles are very versatile: short or tall, hiking or snowshoeing. The other poles I had compressed some as I used them (from my weight being on them); the REI poles kept the same height I set them at the entire time. The REI poles are noticeably lighter too. I fell on my REI poles once on the snow, and it didn't affect them at all. They are very strong.

3 miles in on a 63 mile hike while on a dirt trail 1 of the poles broke.. to be fair it sounded defective the moment I started hiking and was making minor cracking noises followed by a louder snapping sound moments before it broke... I think there was a defect in the pole in the pair cause we were hiking pretty much flat land when it broke. Due to the mileage of the trip on day 2 I was forced to repair it by cutting out the broken area and the pole held up through 40+ Miles of the pct with duct tape and a very clever repair In the future I will evaluate the sound of the poles whil putting minor stresses on the in the store before I venture out

Let me state this first. This is my first set of hiking poles, so I really don't have a reference. My review is a combination of experience with the poles and research I have done on the straps. We don't have an REI store where we live. Next time we go somewhere there is a store I am going to bring the poles in to confirm what I think is a design flaw in the straps. The poles: My wife gave them to me as a gift. When she handed them to me, my first reaction was "Wow. I can't believe how light these things are." Even never having used a pair before, I was amazed at how light these things were. I've had them out on a number of hikes now. I really like the poles. They are sturdy. I have never had a problem with the height of the poles "changing" while I am hiking. The grips are comfortable. I have not noticed any arm/hand fatigue from carrying/using them on my hikes. So far the longest hike I have had with them is about 8 hours. My legs seem to notice a difference. I have never really had an issue with pain in my knees hiking, so I can't comment on knee pain. What I can comment on is I do notice less knee fatigue on downhills. I can still feel it a bit, but I don't feel it as much on downhills. On uphills that holds true for my quads. I notice less fatigue in my quads on uphills. I would have to say I probably hike faster on uphills and even trails due to the extra propulsion of the arms pushing on the poles. On downhills, I'd say I'm either same speed or slower. There is a rhythm to using these and for me it is a bit tricky to sustain the rhythm on downhills. I think it is because I tend to have a longer stride and I haven't gained enough experience to really get the poles out front of me consistently. I notice if I slow down a bit and/or shorten my stride, I have more success with the downhill rhythm. The rhythm has not been an issue on flats and/or uphills. I am also a geocacher, and all the hikes I have done so far have involved geocachnig. That means I haven't had a chance to compare how long it takes me to hike a given trail with the poles as I did without since with geocaching you tend to stop more to look for the caches. My one negative so far on the poles is both baskets came off during the same hike (at different times). So I no longer have baskets for them. As mentioned above, I geocache. Usually geocaches are not right in the middle of the trail, and you have to go off the trail a little bit to find them. This means sometimes you are walking through brush and not just the trail. When I do this, I use the poles to kind of beat the brush in front of me (just to make sure there aren't any critters ahead waiting to surprise me... And by the way, I find that very helpful/comforting. Another big like for finding caches is I can use the poles to poke around in areas to see if a cache is there and sometimes to even reach the cache). Anyway, I suspect the baskets came off each time while I was doing that. The trail I was on was fairly narrow (probably 12 inches or so), and there was pretty heavy growth on each side, so it might have happened right along the trail too. I should have pulled the baskets off and thought about it, but there were also some areas of mud, which is why I left them on. Speaking of mud I definitely noticed a difference with the baskets on in the mud in terms of how far the pole would sink into the ground. OK. Enough on the poles. Poles are great! On to the straps: My understanding of hiking pole straps is as follows: usually one side of the strap is smoother and/or padded. This side should be the side that is touching your skin. The padded portion of the strap is usually not symmetrical once it has been adjusted. The portion that touches on the thumb side of the hand is usually higher than the side that touches on the pinky side of the hand. Ultimately if you are using the poles correctly, the straps almost work more like the gymnast wrap principal. It puts more of the load around the base of your hands and wrists instead of on your fingers. Therefore you don't need to have a tight "death grip" around the handles. In fact in alot of what I've read, many folks say they don't even really close their bottom fingers of their hands. Once I kind of found my rhythm, I found this to be true. One last comment that I've read (and do when I am using these poles). When I am sliding my hands into the straps, I slide in from the bottom, not the top. According to what I have read, that is the proper way to insert your hands into the straps. I say that so you have a point of reference for why I believe the straps have a defective design. On my right hand, in order to have the padded/smooth side of the strap touching my skin, I need to put a twist into the strap (I put the twist into the strap on the pinky side as it is less abrasive on that side then the thumb side). On flats, uphills I don't notice it as much, but when I am going downhill I do notice the twist rubbing against my skin. It hasn't been enough to create a hot spot, but it has been enough that I feel it is there. My left hand is very comfortable. One last comment. I like the straps a little tighter. Again, if going with they gymnast example, I want that weight on the palms/wrists. If I have the straps larger, I tend not to notice the twist. But then the poles aren't as comfortable/helpful to use. Was debating between 2 or 3 stars. Gave the three, cause other than the one strap, they are really good poles.

Purchased these recently, and hiked Mt Adams with them. The trekking poles are super lightweight. The locking mechanism worked very well, easy to collapse and stow in the holders of my Osprey 36 pack. I liked the grips and the way the straps adjust. One problem leads to the three star rating - both baskets detached and were lost in a single hike, this includes losing the second basket after making sure it was tight and locked in (after I lost the first one). Seems like the locking mechanism is susceptible to detachment during routine use. If this were fixed they would be a great pole especially a great value for the money

The light weight design and aluminum pole extension clips are a nice design, but the handles begin to tear near the straps and mine eventually tore off the top of the pole when I fell once. A better grip for $140 would have been a better design. Lasted about 4 months. When I called REI and sent pics they gave me a 20% off coupon. I bought a better pair that was less expensive with better grips that won't tear and eventually break from another company. I don't recommend these.

Sturdy, lightweight and easy to adjust but I echo the sentiments of so many other reviewers - the foam grips are trash. The first pair I purchased lasted 3 outings (a mix of backcountry skiing and hiking) before the foam tops tore off. I returned them and grabbed a new pair. On day two of a hike out west, one foam top had ripped off and the other was barely hanging on. When I returned the 2nd pair to REI, I told the salesperson that there seems to be a design flaw with the grips. He responded sympathetically with, "yeah, we're aware of it." And yet they're still selling for $140. Go figure...

One backpack trip and foam handle tore apart on day 2. Would be nice poles if handle design is corrected. In the picture you will see one pole handle where the .foam handle completely tore off. The other you can see the foam beginning to crack.

I purchased these after losing one of my other trekking poles. After a few overnight backpacking trips, the top of the foam grips starting becoming a bit wobbly. Then on one overnight trip, the top of one of the foam grips completely ripped off. In terms of use, I maybe had 30 miles on these before the grip fell apart. Other than the grip problems I do like these trekking poles. I'd have understood if the grips fell apart after a ton of use, or hard use, but they had neither. I'd also have understood if these trekking poles were $20, but they weren't. If you do buy these poles, be ready to buy a replacement pair of grips.