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Im realy startin to get frustrated with the twisty kind of poles. I've now gone through a few pairs and know of a few other people who have had similar problems.

I'm thinkin of goin with the little lever lock kind next time, anyone got any info for me on this one? Good companys, break down size, weights, durability ect.

Black Diamond Expedition poles.

http://www.bdel.com/gear/fl_expedition.php

Lightweight, they collapse down nice and small (57cm), have threaded baskets, and the flicklocks are much better than the twist locks on my previous set of poles. The website says usable to 125cm but I've used them up to 135cm without any problems (they are marked to 140cm)..

Highly recommended!

Hey AKLuvin. I had the sticking, bending, and not locking probs til I spent a bit of extra dough on the leki makalu. The titanium poles are more flexible than aluminum & the locking mechanism is more reliable than my dakines or rei summit poles i used previously. They are super light, 1/2 pound each and my only complaint is that they seemed about 10cm too short during the last big dump we had (they only are 130cm long max). How's spring treating you down south? Knee to shin deep north steeps today at Hatcher pass, oh my!

Black Diamond Expedition.....nuff said.

word

ditto

I concur.

lets see i have the (old) leki makalu's... which i hate
i like the bd expeditions, which i also have, but have had a number of problems with the flicklocks blowing out. this summer in china and again at the start of this season, so i have thrown those in the back of the closet.
picked up a pair of the green bd poles (no idea what they are called) they shrink down nice, but have a press tab that is a pain to activate when it is really cold out. plus they have already been bent, but that's what REI is for right.

so as it stands...i have three pairs of trekking poles
all of them have problems of some sort for what we do,
the expeditions are reasonably priced and work... until they don't.
i would get a pair of expeditions and pick up a couple (correctly sized) flicklocks for about $7 at AMH and that should treat you just fine.
cheers

Thanks a lot for the info evenyone.

Sounds like the expeditions are the way to go. I curently have a pair of the Makalu's that are the problem child, somehow the little piece that runs up and down the skrew got threadad down to far and striped out, making not possible for it to come back up and spread the tightiner deal.

REI, here I come.

I love my Life Link Approach poles. Only two sections, so very easy to collapse, get just small enough to put on the pack, and just long enough to be useful poling through the flats. Yes they are twist locks-but have been reliable for years, and the new versions (I think they are called guides) are 14 oz. per pair. I did break a tip on one pole once (torqued it in a rock while descending scree) and Life Link replaced the lower shaft no questions asked-I believe any pole would have broken under that load.

I love my Life Link Approach poles. Only two sections, so very easy to collapse, get just small enough to put on the pack, and just long enough to be useful poling through the flats. Yes they are twist locks-but have been reliable for years, and the new versions (I think they are called guides) are 14 oz. per pair. I did break a tip on one pole once (torqued it in a rock while descending scree) and Life Link replaced the lower shaft no questions asked-I believe any pole would have broken under that load.

Flicklocks are the way to go. I have a pair of Leki's that I converted to flicklock. You can buy the flicklock mechanism and cut a small slot in the poles with a hacksaw. I have been using these for 3 years now with no problems. If anyone is interested I can try to provide more details.

That sounds sweet! hook us up with info and mabey we can put those old poles back in action.