Best aluminum flick-lock hiking poles? Al versus Carbon for shelter support & field repair

I know it is hersey around here but I don't really care about pole weight. I use the cheapo Walmart poles and they serve me just fine. I've bent one of them, by getting it stuck in a rock (big one) while on the move. I just bent it back and kept moving down the trail.

But any pole is good enough for shelter support. All of them are stronger then normal tent poles. If you break one…it is going to be while you are on the move.

The vibration damping qualities of carbon are worth the price.

I've been using a pair of carbon flick locks from BD; just ordered a new pair because I wore out the grips (metal is showing through the foam). They have seen many, many miles of use.

Steve

I have the following…

BD Ultra Distance Z Poles (non adjustable carbon, very light). I broke the shaft on a pair of these by absentmindedly kicking the pole with my boot on a downhill section. Otherwise they are quite light and reasonably stiff. The handles and straps are comfy but sort of minimal. I don't think they'd be the best for shelter support unless the weather is nice. I also have the aluminum version of the Distance poles, and they are too similar to really make a case one way or the other. They may be a little stronger and heavier and less prone to rock scrapes, but it's hard to tell.

BD Ultra Mountain Z Poles (non adjustable carbon, stouter). These are a more normal shaft diameter pole and use a standard basket and tip setup. I like these a lot, though they don't feel as stiff as telescoping section poles because they rely on close tolerance interfaces between the sections for their rigidity. I like the clean shafts in heavy brush, and I'd trust them in most shelter uses. They have sturdy handles and straps.

BD Alpine Carbon Cork (carbon poles with metal Flicklock telescoping adjusters). These are very nice poles that I use hiking and backcountry skiing. Very stout, and the foreword angled grips are nice on your wrists. The flicklocks can open when hiking through heavy brush, but otherwise work well. I like these because I can carry just the upper shaft from the BD Carbon Whippet poles and swap the upper shaft section for when I need the Whippet head. The cork isn't the most durable and I'd be plenty happy with just a foam grip. They have great straps that are easy to get your hands in and out of, and adjust.

BD Contour Elliptical Trekking (all alu poles with plastic Flicklock adjusters). If you want the stoutest poles made, these are the ones. They have a nice positive anatomical grip angle, great grips and straps. I'd trust these in any harsh situation. Super stiff and durable. These would be my only set of poles, but they are a little on the chunky side. Not bad, just not that light. The plastic flicklocks don't open in dense brush the way the metal Flicklock versions do. These are my backcountry skiing beater poles.

I have honestly moved away from Leki and other twistlock poles because of slipping and difficulty adjusting them. The Flicklock system is just generally superior in my experience after using both systems. I have used other poles like the BD/REI Trail poles, but they were way too heavy for how flexy they were. I've had good results from most of my other BD poles, and now pretty much stick with them.

I DO use my poles for stability, propulsion on flats and ascents, and braking on descents. I use the pole straps in the way they are intended. I would not use poles without straps. I just mention this to give an idea of what role I see poles playing when I travel.

I think you would be more likely to bend the aluminum and have a problem than break the carbon. However, if you are going through a lot of talus, you can put a lot of grinding-type wear on the lower sections, and weaken them that way (versus, like, falling over and bending them—which isn't an issue with the hand straps removed). If you buy from Black Diamond you can order each pole part seperately and repair your poles indefinitely, or create your favorite frankenpole to suit your needs (like aluminum uppers and carbon lowers in your favorite diameter, or an extra section for extending into a pyramid-height pole). That being said, I've switched to the Z poles because they are just so light.

This is the one area where I haven't downsized my gear to the lightest material option.

Obviously, I know that carbon fiber is prone to shattering, while aluminum will bend. Personally, I haven't experienced it myself, so I can't say how rarely it would occur. That being said, I've owned my Black Diamond aluminum poles for almost 10 years, and I treat them like absolute dog shit. They get thrown down cliffs and scrambles when I'm coming down steep grades. I lean on them in awkward positions. I use them for digging into the ground. I get them stuck in between rocks where they catch and bend while I keep moving because of momentum. I've never once had a problem with them, and they've never bent on me.

Because I use my poles for support of my shelter, I'd rather carry a few extra ounces and be confident in the item. Again, I'm sure many people have used CF poles without incident, but personally, I don't feel the small weight reduction is justified. Myself, I've never had my hands or arms go tired after backpacking. It is always my legs and back far before my arms. The weight savings for me would be useless.

Just my two cents!

AS a shelter support it seems to me that the locking mechanism is the weak link usually. Some of the twist-lock poles tend to slip slowly down under the kind of vibrating load you get with a wind-flapping tarp/shelter. That kind of slow slip is not an issue when you are walking – you might have to readjust at some point during the day but so what? whereas in a shelter it means a pitch that goes from taut to flappy during the night. I have flicklock BD ski poles and have had them hold up under some pretty serious wind loads with my MSR Twin Peaks. I also like the fact that it's fairly easy to jack them up under load to tighten the pitch – something that is really hard to do with a twist-lock style.

All that said I sure do like the amazingly light weight of my GG LT4's. I only use one at a time and have not yet used it as a shelter pole so I can't really say how it will do for that but I intend to use it that way – I'll have somewhat lowered expectations though, compared to what my flicklocks can do.

Any of the Black Diamond flick locks will work. Pick your handle preference and budget needs. The less expensive models have a spring pin on the lower section rather than a flick lock. You need tobkeep them clean.

The BD Alpine Cork carbon poles are super strong and not at all fragile but they aren't significantly lighter. The only real justification I can make for flick lock carbon poles is for hiking saltwater beaches, which can ruin your aluminum poles.

I find 16oz/pair poles to be noticeably less nice to use than lighter poles. I've owned Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork and they work fine, but something in the 8-10oz range is much nicer to use.

The Locus Gear CP3 poles are probably the best there is. At ~10oz pair they are a bit heavier than the lightest options (GG LT4) but they're quite a bit stiffer and they have flick locks. They're a great pole for everything but skiing. The only downside is the handles are a bit small so I swapped on some GG handles. For purely on trail use I prefer GG LT4, but the Locus Gear poles are my pick for a diverse range of activities from off trail hiking to long ski traverses.

I've broken carbon poles and aluminum poles on many occasions. The nice thing with carbon + flick lock is that you can always just slide the lower half of the busted section into place where the full section used to be and the pole will continue to function, although be a bit shorter. This is a big advantage over twist lock poles, where the top of a section breaking off renders it un-useable, and a big advantage over aluminum which often distorts/bends when it breaks so you can't slide the broken section into the upper sections. I've broken the Locus Gear poles on two occasions (both very justified: downhill skiing crash, stepped on it when it was laying on a rock) and it both instances I could continue to use the poles.

My concern is more about breaking a pole during hiking so that it can't support a shelter – less concerned about pole breaking during shelter support. It's just so damn easy to kick a pole or land on it.

I used the Leki aluminum twist lock poles for thousands of miles over a decade and they are still going strong, but I keep them as a backup/loaner now because of the convenience of flick locks. I'm good with my gear but these have taken a lot of knocks and bends with no problems.

I've also got about 2500 miles on Cascade Mountain carbon flick locks available from Costco for something like $35. Weight is fairly light, though don't have handy. Flick lock mechanism same as much more expensive REI pole recommended by Skurka. But I'm pretty sure carbon poles would just not survive some of the hits the aluminum Lekis have taken.

I can feel a 3-4 oz difference between poles, but don't think 1-1.5 oz would feel noticeably better.

As for shock, I don't seem to notice any difference between the Al Lekis and carbon poles. With cork and foam handles, isn't the handle material sufficiently absorbing shock?

@Dan that's an interesting point about carbon sections breaking. But how is the broken pole still functional when you're in the field with only 2 functional sections and a broken section? A much shorter pole isn't going to be much help walking. Do you mean you could keep using after getting home and replacing the broken section?

Noticed Justin Lichter used a hybrid pole for non-snow sections – with the upper sections aluminum, and the lower section carbon. Don't see how much an advantage the lower carbon section would offer other than a very tiny weight savings and perhaps some bit of shock dampening.