Perfect, lightweight hiking poles - Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ Adjustable Trekking Poles

If you are looking for lightweight, packable hiking poles, look no further. I bought a set of these around 6 months after a friend suggested I buy some.

At the time I thought that hiking poles were for old people and that I didn't need them. Especially the expensive carbon poles. Then I injured my knee on a descent and painfully limped back to camp using a pine branch I found. I bought the poles right after that to use for emergencies, and the poles stayed in my hiking pack for another 2 years. This year however I pulled out the poles to try on a hike up Mt. Sneffels. I couldn't believe how useful they were. Not only on the ascent, but being able to adjust the length for the descent made such a difference. I had to give mine to my wife on one section so that she could make it down.

I've used them for several hikes since then that I would have done without poles before. What I've found is that I can hike further and that I walk with my shoulders back and with much better posture. Instead of staring at the trail in front, I now look around more. I liked my poles so much that I bought my wife a set for her birthday! She sued them on a recent hike and says she loves using them!

The current model poles have longer ferrules and a modified support where the release button rests. Both of those look like great improvements to an already stellar piece of equipment.

Tip: If you know your pole length and you don't care about the adjustable feature, you can buy the set length poles slightly cheaper.