Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles by Cascade Mountain Tech

If you see me on the trail there’s an almost 100% chance that I’ll be carrying trekking poles. They just provide so many benefits for hiking that I don’t even think about not taking them. You don’t have to drop a lot of money to pick up a good pair either. Right now I’m carrying a $30 pair of carbon fiber trekking poles by Cascade Mountain Tech.

Here are some of the features:

• Carbon Fiber Construction
• Cork Handles
• Anti-shock (with the ability to disable it)
• Tungsten Carbide Tip
• Agressive Traction Feet
• Standard Rubber Feet
• Sand/Mud Basket
• Snow Basket
• Twist Lock
• Neoprene Strap
• 16 oz weight (for the pair)
• MRSP: $29.95

I’ll just say it up front. For the price, you can’t beat these trekking poles. They’re built incredibly well, come with a whole pile of attachments (baskets and feet) and they’re pretty light too! I’ve put them through a lot of testing in lots of climates and I still recommend them.

Being Carbon fiber you’d expect them to be much lighter than they are, but what they’ve done is taken advantage of the Carbon Fiber to allow them to build a sturdier pole. I’m rough on my trekking poles, so I need to balance weight with strength. Being able to have a sturdier pole and still coming in at an ounce less than me supposedly “ultralight” aluminum pair was an obvious choice. Especially at the rate I go through trekking poles.

The Cork Handles do an excellent job of absorbing moisture and keeping your grip from slipping. Cork handles aren’t usually found on $30 trekking poles, but somehow they’ve managed to include that and carbon fiber in that price tag.

The baskets are also are twist on instead of pressure fit so I haven’t lost one yet. It’s nice to have the included buckets and baskets that many higher end brands will sell separately to make a few extra dollars.

One of the downsides of Carbon Fiber (not a design issue, just a common issue with the material) is that it doesn’t bend well. It provides great strength, but if you slip and bend them (as I did) you’re going to snap it. If you’re an average user this isn’t likely to happen. I abuse pretty much all my gear and on a slippery trip down Incan paving stones I caught the tip of mine on a rock and broke the bottom third.

I was happy to see that I could buy replacement pieces for only $7.95 on www.cascademountaintech.com along with other replacement feet and buckets. I put in my order last night and will be back on the trail with repaired poles as soon as possible.

Conclusion

If you are new to trekking poles, these should be high on your list. If you abuse your trekking poles and go through pairs regularly, these should be high on your list. If you’re on a budget, these should be high on your list. I can’t fault the design of these trekking poles. The Carbon fiber and cork handles make them compete with $100+ trekking poles and the twist locks are very sturdy.

Do you use trekking poles? What brand do you use? If not, why not?