Black Diamond Trail Compact Trekking Pole - 2010 BCS

49in vs 55 in

6 inches at max extension, 2 in collapsed and 1 oz

Terrific. Thanks so much for your response!

I have small hands (I wear size 5.0 in gloves) and I've used these on multi-day trips comfortably. My hands do get tired after long days going downhill but otherwise, these have been very comfortable to grip and use.

Yes, the grip size is reduced from the regular Trails.

23 inches.

Kendra, agree with the other guys. These are excellent poles and you are much better off buying a quality set that will last for years the first time. Cheap poles are not functional and are really dangerous.

Hey Kendra,

These are fantastic poles. Plenty durable and comfortable to use. We have several pairs of these that we've been using for years. I Like Big Agnes and MSR tents. Price and how many people you need to sleep will make the difference in what I would recommend, but a great, reasonable priced, lightweight tent for 1 or 2 is the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2.

This pole works great. And the flick-lock mechanism is the best you'll find for poles - hiking up or skiing down. Also, don't buy the traverse or any other two section pole as they don't collapse enough to easily fit in your backpack for the way down. While its not necessarily a problem, as soon as you start going through trees or you fall, etc, the shorter poles will be welcomed.

akp,

This is more of an all-terrain trekking pole and lacks snow cups, and is less suited for snow. I've been using the Black Diamond Traverse Ski Pole as a winter/all-terrain crossover pole (the snow cups are removable) for two seasons now and love them:

http://www.backcountry.com/black-diamond-traverse-ski-poles

If you're getting into the backcountry, you may want to consider a pole that acts as an avalanche probe, such as the this one:

http://www.backcountry.com/black-diamond-carbon-probe-ski-pole

Keep looking for something you like. There are a lot of really cool poles out there with a million and one features that are worth checking out.

Happy trails!

Actually, these do come with 100mm powder baskets for winter hiking/touring, so they would work perfectly for skinning and booting it up the hill. No using them for downhilling though, the flicklocks wouldn't hold up to constant hard pole plants. But since you would be boarding on the way down, shouldn't be a problem. Just so you know the limitations ahead of time. Hunter's suggestions are also worth a look, for sure.

Try the BD Distance FL (item# BLD-1282). You only get 20cm of adjustment, but the collapsed length is considerably smaller.