The Best Trekking Pole Review For Hiking and Backpacking

Selecting the Right Product
What is the best trekking pole for hiking and backpacking? We took eight of the best poles and tested them head-to-head to find out. We took these poles walking up big approaches in the Cascades on both trail and snow. We also tested them on shorter hikes with both heavy loads and lighter loads. We evaluated the poles by the following criteria: packability, ease of use, durability, grip comfort, weight, and versatility.

If you are like a lot of people new to trekking poles, you may be wondering "why do you even need trekking poles for hiking?" Please check out our article 10 Reasons For Trekking Poles

And for tips on how to choose the pole that is right for your specific activity, see our Trekking Pole Buying Advice.

There are hundreds of trekking poles on the market today. After extensive research, we narrowed the field down to the eight best. Here is what we found.

Criteria for Evaluation
Pole adjustment mechanism
After extensive testing, the the Black Diamond Poles where the easiest and the most durable with their FlickLock closure. The newer Leki poles with their SpeedLock closure were not far behind.

Weight
The lightest poles in our review were the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Corks and the Black Diamond Distance FL Z-series poles, both weighing 16 ounces. The Leki Aergon SpeedLock poles were only one ounce heavier.

Grips
All the Leki poles had fantastic ergonomics and cork grips that only improved with time. The Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork didn't feel quite as good at first but broke in more than the Leki poles to make it just as comfortable.

Ease of Use
What is ease of use? It is basically how easy it is to adjust the length of your poles, how nice it is adjust the tension on the locking mechanism, change the baskets, etc. Nearly all the poles we looked at had multiple basket options and changing them only takes a minute or two. The biggest difference is how easily the poles adjusted in length. The Black Diamond Poles with their FlickLock design were the easiest to open and close and to adjust tension. Leki poles with their SpeedLock weren't very far behind. The REI Traverse had the best twist lock mechanism available. The BD Distance FL Z-series poles were the most difficult to put together and weren't very adjustable in length but were the most compact.

Packablity
The Black Diamond Distance FL Z series pole was by far the most packable. It was a full 9" shorter than any other model we tested. While it isn't as versatile, it is the most compact. The Black Diamond Trail Compact comes in at second place because it packs down to 23 inches.The BD Contour Elliptic Shock and BD Alpine Carbon Cork were next shortest at 24.5 and 25 inches, respectively.

Overall Durability
We tested both the durability of the shafts and the locking mechanism. The toughest pole in our review was the Black Diamond Coutour Elliptical Shock because of its large diameter tear drop shaped shaft and burly locking mechanisms.