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Product Tested: Leki - Makalu Titanium Ultralight trekking poles
Price paid, where purchased: $99, EMS
Size/Weight: unknown - but lighter than most other poles I've tried
Similar products tried: Many Leki and Black Diamond producs
How long/where tested: 3 years
Rating 1 to 5: 5
Summary: These poles were my first. Before buying them and since I've had the opportunity to try other poles (in instances where I forgot mine, etc). The Leki's are light and strong, have been up nearly 2-rounds of the ADK 46 as well as numerous other mountains and hikes.
The only flaw has been with the locking mechanism. It takes some getting used to. The tendency is to loosen them too much, and if you do it's a pain in the arse to get the twist locking mechanism to 'grab' inside. There's no other means of getting them locked. The way I avoid having to deal with a potential problem is to rarely collapse the poles. They do collapse pretty small, but since buying them I use them for 99% of the hike.
Balance is much improved with poles and on a few occassions having trek poles saved me from a serious spill. Poles also reduce the impact on your knees when descending steeper sections.
Price paid, where purchased: $99, EMS
Size/Weight: unknown - but lighter than most other poles I've tried
Similar products tried: Many Leki and Black Diamond producs
How long/where tested: 3 years
Rating 1 to 5: 5
Summary: These poles were my first. Before buying them and since I've had the opportunity to try other poles (in instances where I forgot mine, etc). The Leki's are light and strong, have been up nearly 2-rounds of the ADK 46 as well as numerous other mountains and hikes.
The only flaw has been with the locking mechanism. It takes some getting used to. The tendency is to loosen them too much, and if you do it's a pain in the arse to get the twist locking mechanism to 'grab' inside. There's no other means of getting them locked. The way I avoid having to deal with a potential problem is to rarely collapse the poles. They do collapse pretty small, but since buying them I use them for 99% of the hike.
Balance is much improved with poles and on a few occassions having trek poles saved me from a serious spill. Poles also reduce the impact on your knees when descending steeper sections.