I like them a lot

By Thornfoot Ranked #760 - Telemark Skiing April 19, 2007

I used these poles for a two week backcountry camping/skiing trip in Grand Teton Nat'l park and they worked great. They pack down small enough to easily attach to the ice axe mounts on your back pack, they extend long enough for for backcountry travel and adjust nicely anywhere in between, like for telemark downhill skiing. An unexpected use of having 3 sections per pole was in constructing a snow shelter where disassembled they provided 6 pole sections to help judge wall thickness - very handy.
I have never had a flicklock slip even when leaning heavily on the pole and the flicklocks adjust easily even with gloves on. I took a good spill and had a wrist strap rip out, a bit of a bummer, but better than loosing my arm. I have since taken my guides advice and simply removed the other strap and for the type of skiing I am doing I have not missed the wrist straps at all. If you want to use the pole (or two) to setup a tarp for a quick shelter you will appreciate the poles ability to get really short so you can set one in the center of a small low shelter, something my longer two-section poles can not do. Also I used Lifelink's larger powder baskets which fit these poles just fine. They do have a center of balance that is a bit lower than a lighter 2 section pole that gives them a slightly heavier swing feel, but not so much as to be a bother for backcountry skiing at all, I just would not pick them first for ski racing. I would pick them first for any back country skiing. Wrap some waterproof duct tape around the handle just below the grips to give you a second lower grip and some handy repair tape! Great pole, thanks Black Diamond.

View Details: Black Diamond FlickLock Expedition Poles - 1 Pair

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