$100 light trekking poles
Equipment
What is a good quality lightweight trekking pole? Looking to spend $100.
hard to beat the cascade carbon fiber poles from costco. Really. $80 and they have survived tough Alaska hunts and other places for many years. I dont have a problem justifying higher prices for great equipment but these are an exception in terms of price.
Scott
Fwiw, I’ve bent a set of expensive UL BD poles when I slipped on a shale slide.
I called BD and they told me; “Well yeah, you are a big dude with a heavy pack” (6’3”, 240 with 70# of meat in my pack) “they aren’t designed for that”
Ugh, OK? So I went to a heavy duty trek pole ( Amazon $39) and they have been bulletproof
I know you are an avg guy, but you do probably carry a heavy pack sometimes. We aren’t some hot chick thats all of 110# with her dinky daypack…just saying, the stuff we do is different.
Yes have too agree Cascade Carbon very good for the price . Also the Camofire Creast carbons from Amazon. However the Drakon Outdoors 2.0 heavy duty carbon fiber poles at just a hair under 100 bucks delivered from Amazon are just my personal favorites. I also use higher end Peax 's but there over $160 .
Very very good info thanks guys! I have broken both my trek poles and a buddies spare!
^^^^Dang, you’re pretty rough on those things! Might want to consider rebar.
I cut off a piece of red alder. Free and works great. Flexible, yet strong. Will be using in just over a week on an alpine Sitka Blacktail hunt.
Some years ago a " gent " I know decided to arrive home unannounced @ like 3am in d morning reeking of Jameson Irish Whiskey and bright red lipstick on his cheek n neck . As told by " him" his wife at the time a big Ole Lady I might add was waiting on him and " ambushed " him and gave him some good whacks across the head, face and arms according to him as he was trying to protect himself with a LEKI trekking pole. Since then he has always told me LEKI makes good poles ! Lol .....
Leki makes solid light poles… in the $100 range, their aluminum poles are solid.
Leki makes solid light poles… in the $100 range, their aluminum poles are solid.
I paid 44 dollars for mine on Amazon 6 years ago, been thru alot....
I've still got one old yucca stalk stick from my years in Tucson. They're very lightweight and extremely durable. Plus they are free if you happen to live where they grow. Old timers called them "Mose's sticks".
Sometimes they have some kind of larvae in them that will eventually weaken them. We used to drench a new one in turpentine just in case.
I use the yucca stalks in AZ too. Great, better than red alder even. Not many of those growing on the north end of Prince of Wales Island though.
My bud and I spent some pleasant afternoons looking for just the right yucca stalks. Usually combined with quail hunting though. Yucca country is usually good quail country.
I too use “local” walking sticks that can be cut them left behind. Tried store bought but the first time I slipped and put weight on one it broke.
I need to try and remember to bring a yucca stalk north with me after this winter in AZ.
I've used a set of 3-section flip lock aluminum Black Diamonds quite a bit the past 15 years. Even x-country ski with them fully extended with big baskets on them in the winter. Good poles that I've had to straighten a few times.
Also had a couple pair of "no-name" aluminum 3 section poles that were not very good...one pair was a gift from a vendor and the other was from Canadian Tire. Not worth buying though.
I have a couple pair of the carbon fiber COSTCO Cascade Mt poles 3-section flip-lock poles. Love them....super light, haven't broken them yet, quieter than aluminum (especially with the tiny rubber spike caps on), very nice foam grips, etc. Bought both pair when COSTCO had them on sale for $20C each. They've been my go to poles for the past couple 7 or so years for sheep hunts, mountain caribou, etc. Keep a pair in each of the trucks year around. They would be my choice unless you are so rough you break everything you use.
And I cut a new AZ Century Plant (Yucca) walking stick every year down there. They are light and quiet, and work very well. I have a few at home and have donated some of them to relatives and friends. But I like the commercial ones with nylon straps, extendable for mulit-pupose use for sil nylon tarp tent poles, ski poles, etc.
The hunts that I’ve been on where I needed trekking poles I would’ve gladly paid $100 an hour for them
when you need them you need them and they’re indispensable and priceless
Check out Paria Outdoor. They make a carbon cork setup for $60 and I think they are made in Colorado. I’ve used them on several real rough alpine hunts with no issues
Check out Paria Outdoor. They make a carbon cork setup for $60 and I think they are made in Colorado. I’ve used them on several real rough alpine hunts with no issues
Check out Paria Outdoor. They make a carbon cork setup for $60 and I think they are made in Colorado. I’ve used them on several real rough alpine hunts with no issues
Don did you pull the trigger on any yet ? ...
There are some pretty good looking options on REI right now — sale ends 9/2, and some are on Outlet, where there’s a Member coupon for 20% Off one item.
After seeing this thread, yesterday, I went to the garage to make sure that I didn’t forget my poles, and one is missing, and the other appears to have succumbed to 25 years in a salt-air environment, so I burned a bunch of points from my REI card and got some Lekis which probably weigh the same per pair as one of my old ones…
Thanks! I decided on the Costco ones - I ordered them today
I had a trek pole on my desert ram hunt and the guide gave me a rattan walking stick. They don’t make metallic noise when they touch rocks.
I have thd cascade models, Got them on clearance for $26. They have held up several years already on some serious elk packouts.
I put rubber tips on mine no dead silent but not a "bad" sound IMO. On a hard core mountain hunt they never stay long I have to retape after about 2 weeks (most times I cannot find one that fits) but it only takes a minute to retape them. On elk hunts the tape lasts years. Sheep not so much.
I was giving the Costco model some serious consideration, but the cost of a membership put me off…. And I had enough Monopoly money @REI to get a pair of higher-end. I hope they’re as tough as they are light!
Corax, I have the Lekis. Like the light weight, compactness. But I broke one while using it improperly. ( Striking them together to make noise ((that's another story)). Not as durable as I wish they were but would buy another pair if needed.
