Black Diamond  Trail Back Trekking Poles - Pair

Excellent quality poles that I purchased for a trip into the Grand Canyon. Did South Kaibab down, Tonto across, and Bright Angel up so appx. 13 miles with a variety of angles and terrain. These really made a difference on the downhill with balance, on flatter terrain with push-off, and definitely on the uphill with pull. I practiced with these prior to the Canyon hike but really felt the difference once I was in the Canyon. These are high quality, not bank-busting as far as expense, and they compress into an easy to carry size. I never thought I needed these but now that I have used them I will continue to do so on the big hikes.

I bought these when I started hiking 14ers around Colorado. As my first pair of trekking poles, I didn't really know what I was looking for. These were on the lower price range and help tremendously while on decline. The grip is comfortable and are easy to adjust in height. They are very sturdy and seem like they will last quite a few years before I need to upgrade poles.

First time trekking pole buyer and I researched enough to know I wanted a cork handle, but I also wanted to keep my purchase under $100. I was all set to buy the REI cork handle poles, but I was really impressed with the locking mechanism and overall construction of the Black Diamond (I don't think the REI's are bad at all, just saying the BD's are noticeably better). I decided on a compromise to stay within budget - get the better pole and sacrifice the handle. Took them out for a 1/2 day hike and realized the rubber handles starting chafing, and that on a longer trip it would be an issue. I returned them to REI and got the Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork. Blew my budget by a little, but now I've got the perfect poles for me. If you prefer a rubber handle, then these are going to be a great choice, otherwise I would recommend to spend a little more and get the cork.

My only complaint about Black Diamond is that they don't make more products! These poles are easy to use, lightish (1lb 4oz, pair), have easy locking mechanisms and provide options for attachments. I also have a Black Diamond tent that uses these as an adaptive set of poles. Every aspect of the product fuctioned as intended. Most people seem to worry about synthetic grips and prefer cork. Cork handles are still a luxury I look up toward, however, 40 miles in 3 days left me without any kind of excessive sweating or a single blister.

Just past the 1 year warranty and the whole bottom section of the left pole just fell off. There is no way to reattach it. Contacted customer service and they simply ghosted me. Buy the Komperdell with 3 years of no questions asked replacement.

The poles were great until I slipped on an icy hill and a pole bent. I couldn’t find a way to straighten it out. Luckily a friend had two poles and lent me one to help me get Off the mountain.

Very nice poles. Adjustable clamps stay in place and never slide while hiking. Wrist straps are very comfortable. Retract to a nice small size so they fit on my pack perfectly and don’t stick up past my pack and catch limbs as I’m hiking.

This will be my second pair of trekking poles from Black Diamond and I am continually impressed with the versatility of these poles. The tips stand up well to abuse on longer trails, the adjustability, improved grips, and locking technology have worked well. You will not find a better made set of trekking poles for the cost.

These poles are fine, until you attempt to swap out the baskets. I bought the snow baskets and tried to put them on. There are ZERO instructions included with either the poles or the baskets, so I thought, How hard could this be? I screwed them on, went out, and lost one. Bought a new set and decided I needed to figure out what was wrong. I Googled for a video, and some guy shows how to do it - and it's not at all what you would think. So, WATCH THE VIDEO before you throw money away.

Held up nicely on hike to Half Dome. However it was very warm and my sweaty hands started to blister after 12 hours of hiking. Luckily it was at the end of the hike and the blisters were mostly gone by the next day.