Wow. Friends told me about the wonders of trekking poles for the past few years, but it took a trip to coastal Maine for me to actually buy them in preparation for hiking. As it turned out, there was no time to hike on my trip, but since receiving them, I take daily 2 to 3 mile "sidewalk" power walks along Boulevard East, Weehawken, NJ which overlooks New York City. Let me tell you, these ultra light, very easy-to-handle poles are like oars on a boat. Using rubber pole tips, I walk two times faster with no strain on my knees. And when not walking, my back feels perfect and my posture absolutely upright.

At first I felt like a nerd walking on city streets with these poles, but not any more. That said, I plan on a 5 mile hike on the sidewalk around Central Park in the near future (you can read about this in late October 2005 on www.Littleviews.com). By the way, I chose these poles in particular because they weigh less than one pound and compact to the smallest size. They fit like a folded umbrella into my somewhat large purse and are also easy to hook onto my fanny pack without dragging it down or getting it caught on passing people.

The poles worked great on my trip to West Virginia - lots of rocks to balance on - muddy puddles to traverse - they were wonderful. I found that they are easy to adjust but sometimes it's difficult to tell when they are locked fully in position - counting the number of times you have twisted the bottoms is a little lame - still, they're great and I wouldn't trade them - so very light!!!

I had purchased a set of poles about six months ago and was sharing with the wife (one each as a walking stick). After making a pack trip solo and using both, I realized that was a much better way to go. They are great and DO take some stress off the knees, especially on the downhill carrying a heavy pack for me. Having backpacked for over 35 years, I am surprised it took me so long to finally try poles. If you haven’t yet, do so, you won’t regret it.

These poles are really light and strong. I miss having the shock absorber. Cork grip is excellent.

Wash DC's Review: They don't weigh much... but honestly I was hoping they would weigh less. Neverthelss, I appreciate some the Ti Ergo's quality features. The foam grip seems effective, the sections have a stop plastic so they don't pull apart when adjusting, the basket can be removed. Using them in the Shenandoah forest mixed terrain works well. Honestly, I wish Leki would make a 300 pair of poles... pure titanium pole set... super super ultralite... to go along with my snow peak titanium. Until then, the Ti Ergo work well.

We recently used four pairs of poles during an expedition race in Greenland where they were put to very good use. Managed to break/bend two poles however, and so we are about to test the lifetime warranty claim.