Jun 26 2008
Gear Review: Leki Thermolite Antishock Trekking Poles
I picked up a pair of the Leki Thermolite Antishock Trekking poles from REI this week because I’m finally giving into the trekking pole thing and with a couple of hikes this week I figured now was a good time to do it.
In general, I was happy with the poles. They’re lightweight, and they condense down to a very short length which makes them ideal for packing away. The weight on them is speced out at 19.85 ounces and they can go from 53 inches to an itty-bitty 25.5 inches. I also liked the foam grip as opposed to the cork that’s on a couple of the other Leki poles. I decided to go with an Aluminum base instead of the trendy carbon fiber because my father-in-law had broken a pair of carbon fiber poles just last week. I’m fine with the extra weight I get from the Aluminum if I can be sure they won’t break when I need them the most.
My only real complaint with the Lekis was a big one. I’m not a fan of the “screw” system for changing the poles length. The other pair I looked at, the Black Diamond Trail Shocks have a nice switch that makes it hard for the poles to resize on their own. I found with the Leki poles that they’d come unscrewed on the trail and suddenly decide to shorten when I leaned on them. It meant I had to stop and tighten things back up which was kind of a pain.
Overall they’re good quality poles but I see the screw mechanism as a design flaw and with the price of the Black Diamonds being cheaper I wish I would have gotten them instead.
In general what was your feeling about hiking with poles, vs. hiking without? I’m considering making the switch myself to save a little tear on my ankles, knees, hips, back, etc.