As far as I'm concerned the current handle design in trekking poles is inadequet. There is not a big enough lip on the bottom of the handle to supportthe outside of your hand when you put weight through it. This causes one to have to grip the handle harder which ultimately will lead to forearm/hand fatigue over the long haul. My cheep $30 ski poles, which have a very pronounced flat lip of about 1.5 inches on the bottom of the handle, completely supports my hand allowing me to put considerable weight onto the poles without hardly having to squeeze the handle. I know the straps are supposed to take some load off the hand and transfer it to the wrist, but I do not want my poles strapped to me in case I need to quickly drop the poles or tranfer one to the other hand. I can't believe the popular pole makers have not caught on yet.

Similar Products Used:

All kinds of poles from all the major companies (They all are poor with regard to the handle design)

I have owned both the first and second generation Haute Route poles. The first ones were great, except one of the poles got stuck at some point and I was
unable to adjust the length anymore. REI replaced the poles with my current, second generation poles without a problem.
In general, the poles are very sturdily
constructed. I use them for backpacking and backcountry skiing and I often put
a lot of weight on them (I'm 6'1", 230)
and have never worried that they would break or bend. They also make great improvised snow anchors.

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None

I got these for $30 off and have enjoyed the limited time I've had with them. I've only used them for two trips (34 total miles), but they have worked well. The only problem I have is that sometimes when I torque the poles on rugged terrain, I feel them switching from one setting to another. That's only slightly annoying. The grips are really comfortable and wick away sweat very well. The thermogrips are great in the morning too.

Customer Service

REI's customer service is great in general, I wouldn't expect any problems.

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REI Summit and Traverse.

A fantastic value for 16.50 per pole. I have used these on numerous treks in both rocky terrain and sandy soil. i have a tempermental knee and these poles have prevented further problems when traversing downhills and carrying 50+ lbs. I understand they are made by Komperdoll and highly recommend these poles at any cost below $50.00 per pair. The antishock is nice and stiff, is easily turned off and the synthetic handles are comfortable and angled well for comfort for those 15 + mile non stop days.

Customer Service

REI service is exemplary

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None

These were my first pair of trekking poles. I loved the extended rubber grip down the shaft. The antishock feature was nice. I found the paint which REI put on was suseptable to pitting and deteriorated causing the pole segmants to get stuck together. Ultimately I had to throw them out.

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Komperdell Elox

I purchased these poles about 4 yrs. ago and have used them so much that there was pratically no paint left on them.Perhaps they should have been anodized instead. One of the shocks in the poles ceased to function and upon disassembling I found that the shaft had split. Like I said before...I used them. Anyway, one quick trip to REI in Bellingham, Wa. and the poles were replaced with the new updated model...no questions asked. REI has a great warrenty policy something Hiker Boy should have investigated before tossing his.

Customer Service

Awesome service.

Similar Products Used:

Leki, MSR