Mountainsmith Trekking Poles - Paired

Good value for what it is: an adjustable, lightweight trekking pole. It would have been easy for Mountainsmith to hit a home run with these poles but they left a couple of features out. An adjustable, 3-section pole, is meant to be adjusted. These poles have hash marks with lengths on the upper adjustable section but not the lower. This requires full extension of the lower section every time (or your own added hash marks) if the upper is to give meaningful information. I regularly adjust other trekking poles for uphill versus downhill hiking and usually like to shorten the lower, smaller diameter section to improve durability. The Mountainsmith poles require trial and error to accomplish this,-a needless inconvenience. A second missing feature is wide supportive straps around the grips. The grips are well contoured to be supportive of the hand but the straps themselves are only about a half an inch in width. For those that like to use pole straps to distribute the force of the pole against the hand, this is a negative. Nevertheless, if you can live with these two oversights, the price is right and therefore the 4 stars. I have other, better, hiking poles (Komperdell poles also purchased from STP). These were cheap insurance against breakage until I can find a deal on a full feature pole. They were also purchased as a loaner pair so the price made the purchase worthwhile. For me, trekking poles really help save the knees and extend the season when there is ice on parts of the trail. If you have never used hiking poles, pick these up on a deal and try them out. Upgrade later if convinced of the value of trekking poles.

These are excellent entry-level poles. They are not the lightest ones available but the difference between these and more expensive poles is subtle. These are a great value, especially when on-sale.

I use these while on the trails around Taos, NM. They do what they are supposed to.

Haven't used them yet, but they sure are pretty

These seem well-made and I expect them to serve well as an introduction this newfangled (to me) way of hiking. A word about adjusting the length (which is not described here, nor in the info that comes with the product, nor on Mountainsmith's webpage describing the poles). Do not attempt to use the black plastic collars as twist-locks (which will be your first instinct if you use photographic equipment). Instead rotate the pole sections inside one another (like a telescoping swimming-pool equipment pole). It takes a few turns to lock them. To de-active the springy anti-shock mechanism, give the middle section a short twist until it clicks. This is all described in a short video Mountainsmith has on youtube... since links are verboten in reviews here, search for "Mountainsmith Trekking Pole Tutorial, " and all will be revealed.