Find Lightweight Trekking Poles with the features you're looking for.
How Much Lighter are Lightweight Trekking Poles?
Trekking Poles are an under appreciated piece of backpacking gear. They aren't something that you'll find in the average backpacker's gear collection, but in certain situations they can be indispensable, and your knees will thank you for using them after a long day on the trail. And just like any other piece of gear, there are the light trekking poles and the heavy trekking poles. A quick glance at the list of trekking poles shows that there is, for example, the Black Diamond Contour Elliptic Shock Poles, which weigh in at 664 grams, or 1.5 pounds. Then there is the Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z Poles, which weigh a mere 270 grams, or .6 pounds....- Black Diamond Contour Elliptic Shock Poles - 664 grams / 1.5 pounds
- Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z Poles - 270 grams / .6 pounds
Common Features of Light Trekking Poles
There's only so much innovating you can do with a straight piece of metal that you poke the ground with, but if you take a look at the list of trekking poles you'll see that there is actually quite a difference in weights, despite the fact that there aren't all that many trekking poles on the market.- Carbon Trekking Poles - Innovative materials are usually good for a significant weight savings, and light trekking poles are no exception. Though carbon is a bit more prone to breaks in some situations than the more common aluminum trekking poles, the weight saved by switching to the lighter material is usually significant.
- Fixed Length Trekking Poles - Most trekking poles, even most of lightest trekking poles are collapsible and expandable, which makes them easy to travel with and suited to a wide variety of heights. But all that extra material weighs something, and going without makes for some significant weight savings. A quick look at the list of trekking poles shows that your options are limited for fixed length trekking poles, but they are out there.
