Mountainsmith Carbonlite Pro Trekking Poles

These are my first pair of trekking poles. I'm an avid hiker and just never thought I needed them. After picking up a pair of poles for my girlfriend and listening to her rave about how awesome they were I figured I would try a pair too. I settled on these and boy was it a great decision! They are lightweight and easy to collapse. They help distribute weight which saves my feet from fatigue and also helps my knees on the downhill. The removable boot tips allow the poles to function well on any surface, from snow to slick rock and everything in between. Lightweight but sturdy and at a price that doesn't break the bank! You certainly can't go wrong with a pair of these. From now on I won't be heading into the mountains without these strapped to my pack.

I hadn't really considered trekking poles before venturing out on my first overnight backpacking trip, and I am SO GLAD I had these. My well broken in hiking boots ended up rubbing the back of my heels early on the hike due to the extra weight on my heels and I quickly developed huge blisters. Without these poles, I probably wouldn't have made it back up and down the valley we camped in. I used these to practically hoist myself up each rock, taking the weight off my sore heels, and then used these on the decline to carefully and gently step down.

These poles are lightweight and comfortable to grip, even for someone with smaller than average hands. There's a bit of a shock system to take the weight off on the decline. They adjust in a cinch and collapse for easy storing. I wouldn't ever go backpacking again without having these with me.

These are good lightweight poles. The rubber tips are great when you need a little extra grip on some surfaces. Reasonable price.

I really like these poles. They are incredibly easy to adjust and store at a much smaller size. The cork grip is super comfortable and I like the cap covers that go over the spikes. The price is really great since trekking poles can be pretty pricey.

I just used these quite rigorously on the 30.1-mile, Art Loeb Trail in NC. Overall, I was quite pleased with their lightweight, durable performance; however, I did have a couple issues with these poles.

When I first got them and was adjusting them the first time, the plastic adjusting grip came loose, and I had to re-glue it. They are just there to grip when locking the poles and they serve no structural purpose, so it wasn't an issue to re-glue it. It was disappointing, though, to have to fix gear straight out of the box. (Disclaimer: I did buy these from a different site than Backcountry - serves me right)

The "anti-shock" feature was a bit of a nuisance, too. Since it is toggled on/off by a small twist of the top pole section, it would turn on by itself many times while hiking when I wanted to keep it off, and this feature seemed to loosen even over just a few days of use. Ask yourself if you really need the anti-shock feature before buying, and if not, I'd recommend buying a pole without it.

A grain of salt with which to take this review: these are my first pair of trekking poles, so granted, I don't have much other trekking-pole-experience to compare them with.

A lightweight yet solid pole at a reasonable price. Good value by comparison to other carbon poles. Like the cork grip.

Light, for optimal assistance, and the cushioning keeps your hands comfortable even after steep miles. I've taken these up some of the steepest trails in Utah and they haven't let me down. And when my knee gave out on Zion NP's East Mesa, they got me down the mountain and to the hospital, and couldn't have done a better job about it! I'm back on the trail again, and I owe it all to these poles.
The joint casing between sections of the shaft is coming loose, though I'm not sure if that's from the rigorous trial or manufacturing quality.