CAMP Xenon 4 Pole Review

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There is nothing revolutionary in the design or construction of the Xenon 4 Poles. They are made of four aluminum sections that pull together with the tug of a cord, just like an avalanche probe. The tip is pressed into one end, and a foam grip and nylon strap are attached to the other end. The 120-cm pole is bright orange and weighs 4.9 ounces (140 grams) per pole. A 135-cm length set is also available; it is blue and weighs 5.3 ounces (150 grams) per pole. The poles are available as of April 2011 at a retail price of $70.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

Description
Performance
Comparison
Assessment
Specifications and Features

# WORDS: 1580
# PHOTOS: 11

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Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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Nov 1, 2011 at 12:41 pm #1281402

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

CAMP Xenon 4 Pole Review

Nov 1, 2011 at 10:27 pm #1797664

James holden
BPL Member

@bearbreeder-2

i heartily applaud BPL for this type of review … instead of burying it like other mags/sites

this tells me what NOT to buy, which saves me money and headaches

Nov 2, 2011 at 1:27 am #1797683

Roman Vazhnov
BPL Member

@joarr
Locale: Russia

Fizan poles then.
Will be interesting to read OMM Kamleika Race Smock review

Nov 2, 2011 at 2:13 am #1797687

Ismail Faruqi
Member

@ismailfaruqi

this is the first time i see "Not Recommended" rating in a BPL review. I thought "Average" was the lowest.

Nov 2, 2011 at 8:53 am #1797755

Brad Walker
Member

@brawa
Locale: SoCal

CAMP seems to make a lot of good stuff, too bad they blew it on these poles. I've been happy with all the other CAMP products I have: axe, crampons, belay gloves, windshirt, some carabiners and quickdraws.

The BD poles are certainly a nice alternative, although hard to justify at full retail compared to the Fizan or GG LTs even. I found them on sale and have been happy with them.

Nov 2, 2011 at 9:31 am #1797775

Richard Colfack
BPL Member

@richfax
Locale: ARIZONA

"the lightest crappy trekking poles in the world!"

Nov 2, 2011 at 12:02 pm #1797838

Mike Oxford
BPL Member

@moxford
Locale: Silicon Valley, CA

As someone who's 6'6 240 and actively looking to buy a set of poles, thank you for the review and letting the rest of us know what the cons of this set is!

-mox

Nov 2, 2011 at 12:44 pm #1797860

Doug Johnson
BPL Member

@djohnson
Locale: Pacific Northwest

Excellent review Danny. Ever since we developed the BPL pole stiffness test, I've used this on many, many poles. The original Gossamer Gear Lightek poles (now discontinued) were the most flexible I ever tested with just over 9cm of flex in the test. Most have been less than 5cm. But 15?!? Wow, that is extremely flexible. Thanks for the info.

For comparison, a chart is included in this review for those that are interested:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/gg_lightrek3.html

Nov 2, 2011 at 5:57 pm #1797984

Warren Greer
Spectator

@warrengreer
Locale: SoCal

This is what I expect from a review. Call it like it is. Light but not really made for trekking either. Thanks Danny for saving us from possible injury, not only bodily, but financially too!

Doug, nice to see you around.

Nov 2, 2011 at 10:06 pm #1798079

Dan @ Durston Gear
BPL Member

@dandydan
Locale: Canadian Rockies

Thanks for posting this review. Very good info. I especially like how all the qualitative observations are supported so well with the BPL stiffness test. 38cms of flex (before becoming permanently damaged) is nuts.

Nov 3, 2011 at 10:24 am #1798216

John Coyle
Member

@bigsac
Locale: NorCal

Thanks for the review Danny. I'll know to avoid those particular poles in the future. Since you guys get these products free, sometimes I wonder if the reviews are slanted, but it has been my experience that the reviews in BPL are accurate. Based on your earlier review, I ordered the Fizan Compact poles from a company in the UK. I have been very happy with them. A friend of mine told me he wished he had got them instead of his expensive carbon fiber poles.

Nov 3, 2011 at 11:44 am #1798240

Dale Wambaugh
BPL Member

@dwambaugh
Locale: Pacific Northwest

Ouch! I had to wince at those photos of the failures. I would love to be a fly on the wall at Camp product development when that comes across their desk. I think it is a fair review too. Trekking poles are one item that has a real safety factor: if your pack fails it is one thing, but a broken pole at the wrong time and place could have catastrophic results.

I know there are fixed-length carbon poles out there– is anyone making fixed-length aluminum poles? The alpine ski industry has cranked them out for decades. They are more robust than most hikers would demand and could be lightened a great deal.

Nov 6, 2011 at 2:43 pm #1799157

Patricia Combee
Member

@trailfrog
Locale: Northeast/Southeast your call

Actually I think (I might be wrong), but BPL gave the original SPoT unit a not recommended,
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