Black Diamond  Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles - Pair

I only recently took up hiking with the goal of walking the Camino de Santiago in 2021. At 70+ years of age, not a small challenge. I found the recovery from hiking as I approached the 10 - 15 miles per day level to make me wonder if this was all a pipe dream. I read about Black Diamond and spoke to the reps at REI. They strongly endorsed the product for my journey. In the 5-6 months since I have been using these poles, my back, neck, knees and ankles have not been sore at all. I have also increased my speed and my balance. Thanks to these poles, on Jan 11, 2021, I will be starting my pilgrimage from Leon, Spain. Buen Camino

I've had these for so long I'd forgotten how much they cost and how much I was probably cautious about dropping that much just for "walking sticks". Well I've had these with me through thick and thin for 6 years now and they're still going strong. They've been to the tops of a lot of peaks and back down again. The handles are comfortable and sweat wicking, they're stiff and solid, distribute your body weight more efficiently going up or down especially steep terrain. Great for balance. The slide and lock mechanism is great. I mean, these things are fantastic. Boots and backpacks have come and gone but the poles live on.

I am training for a mountain goat hunt high in the mountains of Kodiak Island Alaska this fall. I am pounding up the mountains here in Pa now for training. So far the poles seem great. Light, easy to adjust and strong. I will take them on this trip later this fall. So far no problems with them. Great for all the hard, steep, up and down that I do. I have over 1500 miles hiking around the world. Liking these poles.

I've never used hiking poles before this set. The idea seemed neat, but I thought they were unnecessary up until now. Not only was I surprised at how natural it felt to use them, I was impressed how much I liked using them. A neat side story, last week, my mom and dad stopped for a visit and we ended up taking a walk around our local nature preserve. My dad recently recovered from knee surgery, but really wanted to go. I lent him the poles, thinking he would reject them out of pride, but luckily he used them because half way through the 3/4 mile trail, he tripped on a tree root and said he would have face-planted without them. Suffice it to say, I now have two reasons to love these poles.

These poles are great. The cork grip is comfortable and easy to hold when hands are wet from sweat or rain and they do not retain heat. The easy to access foam grip is convenient when the terrain changes a lot and you don't want to adjust the height of the poles. The clamps on the two section adjustments are difficult to open and close but it does provide a feeling of security; I don't feel like they will break with repeated use. The nylon straps are easy to adjust by pulling on just one side of the loop, it doesn't snag. The colors are sleek and aesthetically pleasing with a little bit of character.

I bought these in mid-August. I have used them almost daily since. I recently completed hiking challenge in the Adirondack mountains of NY. They were very helpful during difficult sections of trail. They saved me more times than I can count. I wouldn’t think of hiking without them.

Never knew I needed hiking poles. What a blessing they were on this last hike. I’ve been hiking for years and never used them. Decided to give they a try. With all the rain we’ve had and trails being washed away, they really helped with all the rocks and the weeds on the trail. They are really light weight and telescope to the height that is comfortable for you.

“Updated” sticks do not compare to the old. Less ergonomic handles, less padding, feels like the aluminum is heavier.

I'm giving them 5 stars in spite of the title of the review. I love everything about them except one thing: they vibrate pretty bad. I prefer to use my trekking poles at about 130; it feels more natural at that height. With that said, this allows for some significant amount of vibration when planting down. At first it was really off putting and I almost returned them. Instead I gave them a good trial run around some rough trails here in Western Washington for about a month. I gotta say, after a while, I stopped noticing the vibrations or it started to just bother me less. For some this will be a deal breaker but for me, it ended up being a minor problem over time. I would definitely recommend them.

Bought these as my first pair of trekking poles. Im overweight, and I was worried that if I put any weight on them, they would collapse or bend. They have been excellent and stood up to me putting a lot of weight on them. However I did run into a situation where I tripped on some rocks, landing on the pole which bent the lower section of my pole slightly. I contacted Black Diamond about obtaining a new lower section and they were wonderful about helping me replace the bent part. Highly recommend for beginners looking for adjustable poles.