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Aug 05, 2023

The Best Trekking Poles for 2023

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If you walk or hike regularly (and, really, if you don't, you should), we strongly recommend using a pair of trekking poles (or, at the very least, a walking stick).

After about 40 hours of testing on trails, streets, beaches, and many places in between, we’ve determined that the Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles are the best for nearly everyone. They’re simple to set up and use, comfortable, and able to take a beating.

Poles improve balance and cut down significantly on wear and tear in your legs (especially in your knees), particularly when you’re going downhill.

But poles also make walking—one of the best, and certainly easiest, workouts you can do—even healthier, because they also get your whole upper body involved.

This basic set of poles offers an excellent grip and easy-to-use adjustments.

If you’re looking for a fine, sturdy, simple set of trekking poles, Montem's Ultra Strong Trekking Poles are our pick.

They’re made of aluminum—a malleable, sturdy material that is not as brittle as carbon fiber—so you can scratch them, ding them, and generally bang them around without worrying they’ll break, yet they’re lightweight enough for most people.

The EVA foam grip is less sweaty than cork and won't chafe your hand over time like hard rubber, and the adjustment mechanisms are simple to use and tighten. Plus, these poles come with rubber tips and baskets included; for all our other picks (and most poles in general), you have to buy those pieces separately.

Montem is a small company that makes pretty much nothing but poles, and when we contacted the customer service, we found it to be excellent––the founder and CEO is often the guy who picks up the phone.

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Testers loved these lightweight poles above all others—they’re the most usable sticks for all situations and terrain. But they are expensive, and the warranty isn't great.

May be out of stock

Gossamer Gear's LT5 Carbon Trekking Poles are exceedingly simple to set up and use, and they’re very comfortable. And since they’re made of carbon fiber, they’re extremely light. They’re also expensive: more than $200 for the pair, plus shipping, on Gossamer Gear's website. For some people, though, they’re worth the relatively high price. Among the dozens of poles we researched, and the 10 models we field-tested, the LT5 poles were the favorites across the board because of the overall simplicity of their design. The LT5 poles have two adjustment points and collapse from 51 inches when fully extended down to 23.5 inches. The locking mechanisms aren't flip locks but simple twist locks, which keeps the profile slim. Ultimately the high price and limited warranty kept us from making this set our overall pick, but if you want the most comfortable trekking poles, these are the ones for you.

This basic set of poles offers an excellent grip and easy-to-use adjustments.

Testers loved these lightweight poles above all others—they’re the most usable sticks for all situations and terrain. But they are expensive, and the warranty isn't great.

May be out of stock

Do you believe in gravity? In the endless march of time? In the unsteadiness of the ground beneath you? If so, you need a trekking pole, or a walking stick, or a hiking staff, or a cane (mechanically, what they do is basically all the same). Any tool long enough to reach the ground and arrest your fall and aid your balance is a good tool to have around—a broom handle or a tree branch could work in a pinch. And yet, too often, so many people don't have anything.

Maybe it's because we might see a person using trekking poles and think, "What a dork." I know, because I was one of those people once, not so long ago, on a slice of the John Muir Trail silently judging backpackers in their mid-30s, tricked out with gear, poles included. "Nerds!" I thought. Whereas I was a purist, with nothing but a pack, some running shoes, and a good hat. Nothing fancy. Definitely not a pole.

The assumption that trekking poles are only for serious hikers is deeply misguided.

But poles are valuable, as I learned the next day when an early-season blizzard forced us to hike out 27 miles through the high, extremely un-flat Sierras in about 12 hours. Descending at dusk, dropping thousands of feet via stairstep switchbacks—well, I’d like to say it brought me to my knees, but I didn't even want to think about my (poor, tired, swelling) knees. By the end of the day, the three of us were staggering to our cars in darkness, wishing we’d had a stick or a pole or even a decent-size branch to lean on and help us on our pathetic way.

That day was extreme, sure, but it's what got me interested in trekking poles not just as a necessary piece of gear for backpacking trips but also as a useful thing to have around on day hikes. More than that, what if I started using them even on more casual walks around Los Angeles? Would I feel silly sometimes? (Yes.) But also, sometimes, great? (Yes.)

What's strange is that despite studies that show trekking poles reduce force impact and distribute energy evenly across the lower body, many reviews begin with the idea that poles are "optional" or "not the most necessary piece of hiking gear." That's simply not true. Absolutely nothing is necessary to hike—plenty of people hike barefoot, maybe some of those people also hike naked, I’m not sure. But the assumption that trekking poles are only for serious hikers is deeply misguided. Walking with poles more generally, interviewed experts agreed, improves stability, stops falls, and may save lives. So walk, use poles. You’ll feel better. You’ll feel good.

I’ve written for The New York Times Magazine, MIT Tech Review, Fast Company, and Outside—and before I was writing, I was an editor at Fortune, Popular Science, World Policy Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. Before I was editing, I was backpacking.

I interviewed Dr. Timothy S. Church, former researcher at the Cooper Institute and co-author of a Nordic-walking study, as well as Carol Ewing Garber, president of the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of movement sciences at Columbia University.

I also leaned heavily on my dad, Gary Bradley, for research, expertise, and testing support. He has been an orthopedic surgeon for decades. He brought the 10 pairs of trekking poles into his office and left most of them upstairs, in a physical-therapy center, where they were assessed over afternoons and taken out into the surrounding mountains on weekends and evenings, tested by assorted doctors, patients, nurses, assistants, therapists, and anyone else who happened to pick up a pair. Some of the testers even filled out survey sheets we left behind, too.

I tried the poles in small batches for a series of hikes, some short (less than 3 miles) and some long (about 10 miles), over as many different terrains as California in the late summer and early fall could muster: hard dirt, soft dirt, sand, and sandstone; oaky woods and scraggly chaparral; some desert, some beach, a little jaunt in foothills of the Sierras.

If you don't use a pole, what good is it? No good. On my treks, even in walks around the city, it's amazing how many people I’ve seen with poles stowed away, sticking out of their pack, or carried in the crook of their arm, not touching the ground. What a sad pole! You have to use the pole. Don't be afraid of the pole. In this spirit, usability was by far our main concern and the metric we returned to most often in deciding the best set of poles overall. But it's also a huge, slightly fuzzy category that covers more concrete factors such as the following.

Adjusting mechanics: How easy is it to adjust the pole on the trail? Or to fold it away quickly into your pack? Generally, the locking mechanism is the agreed-upon easiest and best method for adjustment, but I’d argue that ease of adjustment has a serious downside: More joints where you might adjust a pole mean more places for the pole to fail on the trail. Ultimately, in our experience the easiest-to-use adjustment mechanisms were minimalist. The Gossamer Gear pole uses a twist lock mechanism, which adds to that pole's overall simplicity. Our other picks all use simple flick locks for adjustments and offer the added benefit of measurements for remembering your preferred height.

Portability: A lot of trekking-pole reviews heavily weigh how quickly and well the poles collapse for packing. We realize some hikers have some extreme portability needs for which these highly collapsible poles are ideal, but for most hikers we think our picks are perfectly portable during travel. Not one of our 30-plus testers had much of anything to say about how packable any set of poles was, because, of course, they were busy using the poles. Note that you’ll probably have to check your trekking poles in your luggage, regardless of size, due to TSA carry-on restrictions; keep that in mind if you’re planning on flying with them. Afterward, however, set them up—that's the best and surest way to make sure you use the poles. Despite all this, I spent several hours on several hikes swapping between pole sets, collapsing and adjusting, collapsing and adjusting, knowing in my heart of hearts that were I not researching these poles for review, I would not have been engaged in such mid-hike foolishness.

Here's what I learned: Most trekking poles collapse into themselves by telescoping at two joints—the wider one attached to the handle or grip, the smaller one nearer the ground. The two-joint design means the poles are more packable, as they collapse smaller, but it also means more can go wrong. There's also the unpleasant possibility of a slight rattling, making a little noise and causing a very minor tremor in the stick. A lot of people aren't really bothered by the rattle. I was, because I crave as much silence as possible when I hike, except in bear country.

Comfort and versatility: What sort of options does the pole offer? Can you exchange the baskets or tips for different terrain or weather conditions? Do you have a bunch of different ways to hold the stick?

Grip shape and texture: One of the factors that most immediately determine whether someone will connect with a pole is how it feels in their hand. One tester—a physical therapist—gestured toward a clutter of poles in the corner of the office, where patients had been trying them out. "The first thing you see everyone do, without fail," he said, "is pick one up, give it a squeeze, and then nod—sometimes satisfied, sometimes not." Cork is generally a favorite grip material because it breaks down over time and slowly shapes to your hand. Cork stays cooler than rubber but is heavier and sweatier than foam. Rubber doesn't absorb any water, so it's probably better for hardcore mountaineering and winter treks, but rubber in hot climes or in sweaty hands might chafe after a while. The ability to grasp a grip in multiple ways, from multiple angles, is a big benefit, too—you don't want to be locked into a single hand position if you’re using these poles for the long haul, over many years, in all sorts of places and weather conditions.

Aluminum versus carbon fiber: We were skeptical about the difference in feel between a carbon fiber pole and an aluminum pole—we thought the effect had more to do with weight and less to do with feel. Boy, were we wrong! Carbon fiber poles are lighter, of course, but also much stiffer. A downside: "Stiffer" is one way of saying "extremely brittle." We didn't have a problem with any of our carbon fiber poles, but plenty of other people have reported that a bad nick can quickly turn into a crumbling seam, causing an entire section of pole to fail. Aluminum is heavier but more malleable, able to survive nicks and scrapes and even bends, and it's generally a less expensive option. In our experience, we tended to like the feel of carbon fiber more, but plenty of reviewers say they barely notice the difference. We found one upside to carbon fiber, too, in that it tended to be quieter on the trail.

Tips: Carbide or steel tips offer good traction in most natural environments, even on ice. Rubber tips are good for stowing and for use around the house or town, or in sensitive natural areas; some poles have angled rubber walking tips sold separately for asphalt or urban walking.

Strap or no strap: Extremely passionate backpackers have been engaging in a rather intense debate about this, but here's our two cents: Get a strap, have a strap, use the strap. You can find a lot of poles with removable straps, but why would you want that? To avoid, like, a strap tan? To us, a removable strap is just one more part to lose, one more unnecessary thing to fuss with. Some straps are way more comfortable than others, and Leki's trigger-grip straps are slightly divisive (this reviewer unexpectedly grew to love them). But the main thing about straps we found is that you are more likely to regret not having one when your pole careens halfway down a mountain or into a stream. Also, if you do decide to use your strap, make sure you’re using it the right way so that the strap helps support your wrists.

Baskets: The basket at the bottom of the pole says a lot about what you’re using it for: A smaller basket (or none at all) means more general everyday hiking, while a larger basket makes more sense for snow or scrambles or off-trail, muddy scenarios. Most of the poles we looked at either come with additional baskets or make it very easy to add a basket, but for the most part the majority of people are almost never going to think about the baskets on their poles.

Shock absorbers: Do you need them? No. Do you want them? Maybe. Do they work? Sometimes—and only really downhill. They actually work against you going uphill, but some people seem to swear by them. None of the models we extensively tested had them, and you can mimic plenty of the absorption action with a good $20 pair of rubber tips. At the end of the day, a pole is just a pole; too many whiz-bang options will overcomplicate a very simple tool and add more things that can break.

A few other factors we considered (and will be considering during ongoing testing) are the lifespan of the pole—not just the general durability but also the warranty it comes with and the manufacturer's reputation—and that extremely vague but important metric known as performance. Basically, after several days, weeks, months, and eventually years of using some of these poles, are they still great? So far, our picks are.

We kept encountering various reviews and message-board posts about how wild temperature swings can radically affect a pole's performance, expanding and contracting the metal, and challenging the locking mechanisms. So one February weekend after our original testing, we took three of our top picks into the southern Sierras, at the edge of Sequoia National Forest, and tramped around in the snow and ice for a while, up and down the side of a mountain. We also left the poles out overnight, when temperatures remained in the low 20s. We adjusted and readjusted the poles, and we leaned on them heavily.

The good news is that, overall, none of our top picks showed any significant failure in the cold. We stand by those choices. We will say, though, that the standard locking system in both the Montem and Leki poles can be a challenge to adjust while wearing gloves. And the biggest challenge of all, when you’re messing around with poles, comes when your hands are halfway frozen, shaky, and no good for delicately screwing and flicking lock systems. In snow, especially going uphill, the top of the grips also mattered significantly, and those on the Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles stood out as the most comfortable in this case.

Simplicity won out, both in setup and design.

Using all those variables for consideration, we had various testers (doctors, patients, nurses) in a physical-therapy office fill out ratings forms with room for comment. We also interviewed several of the testers about their experience with the poles as well as their observations of patient behavior and response to selecting a pair from the group.

The usability/attractiveness test was especially interesting. The more technical-looking a pole—the more adjustment mechanisms, the fancier the grip, the more radical its paint job—the less testers were drawn to it. Simplicity won out, both in setup and design. Very quickly, a favorite emerged, in part because it looked like not much more than what it was.

This basic set of poles offers an excellent grip and easy-to-use adjustments.

Simple and sturdy, Montem's Ultra Strong Trekking Poles are our overall pick. We liked their basic design, the ease of adjusting them on the trail, and the comfort of their straps. Made of aluminum, these poles won't have any of the potential durability issues that more-brittle carbon fiber sometimes will. The trade-off is that they’re a bit heavier, but unless you’re an ultralight hiker we bet you won't notice.

The grip, made of EVA foam that lightly mimics cork but is far more durable, is excellent, and the carbide-tipped poles come with interchangeable rubber tips and baskets, too. We also like the flick-lock system Montem has developed, which puts all the adjustments and pole-tightening mechanisms outside the pole so that you can easily, quickly access them.

Montem is a small company that makes almost nothing but poles. Often, when you call the company, its founder is the guy picking up the phone. Plus, the poles come with a one-year warranty that covers a fairly broad range of manufacturing failures and defects. For all these reasons, and because they are such a bargain, the Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles will work for nearly everyone, from the occasional hiker to the die-hard backpacker.

One complaint with the Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles is how difficult it can be to tighten them enough so that they don't rattle slightly, causing a slight disruption on an otherwise quiet trail. Even after many attempts at tightening, we detected a small rattle to the poles, a minor bummer. Along those same lines: We really believe the three-piece telescoping mechanism is more prone to come a bit loose on the trail, requiring further adjustment. And fundamentally, we think that more parts often mean more potential problems. It's great to see newer poles moving away from that standard, into fewer pieces with simpler mechanics. Still, the Montem poles are tough to beat.

Testers loved these lightweight poles above all others—they’re the most usable sticks for all situations and terrain. But they are expensive, and the warranty isn't great.

May be out of stock

Perhaps you believe a pole is just a pole—and that's fine (and mostly true). But the poles that were the simplest in every way, from their setup to their overall stripped-down look, the poles that every tester agreed were extraordinarily comfortable, not just by virtue of being so light but by having a great, slightly squishy grip, the poles that everyone eventually fought over, were the Gossamer Gear LT5 Carbon Trekking Poles. In addition to being sturdy and feeling great, they ranked as our top-rated set in the usability category. The biggest downside is the price, but if you’re an avid hiker and you plan to incorporate poles into that routine, we think the cost for poles like these is worth it.

Gossamer Gear's LT5 Carbon Trekking Poles are the updated version of the original LT4 poles we tested, which are now discontinued. The new LT5 poles now have two adjustment points, whereas previously there were none. This change allows them to collapse from 51 inches when fully extended down to 23.5 inches. Even though the fixed length on the original LT4 set was a great feature and we’re sad to see it go, the LT5 poles are still exceedingly simple to set up and use, and they’re very comfortable. The company also redesigned the hand strap, giving it a more ergonomic shape and a small amount of padding, and pole tips and baskets now come with your order (they didn't before). Overall, Gossamer Gear seems to be providing a better value than previously, without sacrificing the quality of the pole.

The "LT" in the name stands for Lightrek, a Gossamer trademark that speaks to what these carbon fiber poles are all about. They’re for ultralight hiking, a backpacking subculture that values cutting unnecessary ounces (some would say to an extreme degree, shaving down toothbrush handles and whatnot) on the trail.

But a stripped-down approach turns out to be exactly right for making a trekking pole. The biggest complaint and mark against every other model we tested was that they had too much going on—too many adjustment locks or an excessively complicated strap, a weird handle shape, or a tip or basket system that was overly tricky. Instead of flick locks, those poles have a twist mechanism to adjust their height. The LT5 design has exactly two parts: the tip section that hits the ground, and the grip section that sits in your hand. The tip section screws into the grip section. That's it. It's dead simple, and it simply works.

The grip, too, is a stripped-down compromise that manages to feel just right. Gossamer calls the material, a cork-like foam, Kork-o-lon. In our tests, it soaked up palm sweat better than cork, and it has begun to age and warp into my specific grip with time. It's also getting a cool grungy trail patina, making it appear more natural than it really is. The tips are carbide, which has been fine on every condition we’ve tested it on (except nice wood floors). These poles don't come with rubber tips and baskets included, as the Montem poles do, but they are compatible with Leki-made rubber tips and baskets. The poles also float, and you can extend them up to 140 centimeters, not for hiking but to pop up a tarp for shelter (another feature for ultralight hikers).

Gossamer's warranty isn't great. It does not cover failure due to the durability of its carbon fiber, and carbon fiber can break more easily than aluminum. We’ve seen a few sad tales of folks using their poles for cross-country skiing or going up a scree field and snapping them within days of purchase. We’ve also seen stories of other ultrarunners and thru-hikers who have used their Gossamer poles over tens of thousands of miles without an issue. Gossamer is very up front with the limitations of carbon fiber. The company has excellent customer service and is clearly dedicated to getting things right. One longtime customer and hardcore backpacker I met on the trail said he’d eventually snapped the bottom part of one of his poles a few years back, after nearly a decade and probably a few thousand miles, and Gossamer had cut him a deal on a replacement part after he’d emailed about it.

A quick word on what a difference a good pole tip can make, especially on city streets or rocky trails: It's a huge difference. Even if you already have a pair of poles and are happy with them, we recommend trying some tips, both to improve grip and to lengthen the life of your poles. They also very slightly reduce impact and act as an additional cushion, and they cut down on the noise of the pole striking the ground, if you’re into maximum noise reduction.

Our top choice comes with a pair, and so does our upgrade pick, but the others don't. We like Leki's rubber tips because they worked on most of the sticks we tested. Two especially good tips are the Leki Silent Spike Pad and the Leki Rubber Fitness Walking Tip. Both of those, and most others available, top out at about $35, which for such an immediate and worthwhile improvement is generally a good investment if you’ll use your poles fairly regularly.

We’re searching for a budget option to potentially add to this guide, and we plan on testing packable options.

If you are Nordic walking: Consider the Leki Instructor Lite, which come with grips and handles especially well suited to that activity. The differences between Nordic walking and a basic hike are subtle but important enough to matter. Nordic walking is slightly more aerobic than typical pole-walking. It looks a bit more like cross-country skiing without skis—longer poles, larger arm motion, and a lot of work for your shoulders and triceps—and is known to increase heart rate, blood flow, and oxygen consumption. As a result, it tends to burn more calories and helps strengthen your upper body while lessening the impact on your lower joints.

Leki is a German company that specializes in poles and almost nothing but poles (aside from folding chairs, which really are just a series of poles, when you think about it). The outstanding aspect of the Leki Instructor Lite is the grip strap and handle, which the company calls the Trigger Shark. This bicycle-glove-like design looks a bit dorky, but the stares you’ll get (we swear) are worth it because the glove strap forces the pole into exactly the correct crook of your hand. These poles also ranked among our top picks for their clever, easy-to-use adjustment mechanism, as well as their simple, two-part design—the upper section is aluminum, and the lower section is a carbon composite, giving each stick a nice, slightly top-heavy weight overall.

We tested a huge range of poles from the two biggest manufacturers, Black Diamond and Leki, as well as a very cheap and best-selling model on Amazon from Bearios. All of them were well-reviewed elsewhere and worked pretty well for us in general. We’ll say this again and again and again: The best pole is the pole you use consistently, and most poles out there work just fine. Still, following are the reasons why we ultimately dismissed some of the models we tested.

Aside from the now-discontinued Alpine FLZ Z-Poles, our former recommendation for a packable set, Black Diamond's poles—we tested the Alpine Ergo Cork and the Carbon Cork—are equipped with the standard three-piece telescoping adjustment system that most poles seem to have and that we’ve already said we’re not terribly in love with. They collapsed sometimes, and required extra fussing to stay locked and pole-like. Tightening the locks on Black Diamond's poles is far more difficult than on, say, Montem's. But generally these were lighter and stiffer when everything worked. The cork grip handles were also very comfortable, but they weren't—as we sort of expected them to be—a difference-making step beyond the mock-cork of certain foam grips we ended up liking best.

As for Leki's poles, we tested a range of the company's expensive, trail-runner Z-collapsing models. They often suffered from appearing overly technical, and they turned a lot of casual users off with their complicated folding systems and radical handle design. Also, most of Leki's poles ranked among the most expensive models we saw in our research and seemed to be made for a very specific user (the extreme trail runner who also cross-country skis). If you’re a sucker for the latest and greatest in materials and design, and if you have some slightly off-piste uses in mind for your poles, we recommend going to a store and testing them in person.

The best poles should require minimal care, and all our top picks shouldn't need much at all—just give them a quick wipe-down, and if they get especially wet, take them apart at the end of the hike or the day and make sure they dry out. Moisture can do all sorts of strange things to even the most noncorrosive metals.

As far as sizing a pole correctly goes, you can find a lot of information out there, and a lot of these companies will send detailed instructions on how to make your poles the right length for you. We like the test where you put your arms at your side and then bend them at the elbow, about 90 degrees; wherever your hand ends up is about right. Lots of serious hikers swear by lengthening poles slightly while on a long downhill, and shortening them slightly for uphill. But as ever, for always: The pole that's best is the pole that you use the most.

Ian Nicholson, How to Choose the Best Trekking Pole, OutdoorGearLab, July 31, 2014

Church TS, Earnest CP, Morss GM, Nordic Walking Study, The Cooper Institute

Dr. Timothy S. Church, chief medical officer of ACAP Health Consulting, interview

Carol Ewing Garber, president of the American College of Sports Medicine and professor of movement sciences at Columbia University, interview

Ryan Bradley

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