light trek or stix PRO

i have both the Lt. Trek & LT+. don’t own the StixPro (yet).

Lt. Trek has a LOT of flex. i like that (took some getting used to – not much, but some – especially on descents.). most people don’t seem to like this much flex, but learn to live with it.

the LT+ has maybe 1/2 the flex. it still flexes, but is not nearly so objectionable.

supposedly the StixPro have ZERO flex.

also, i have 100’s of miles on these poles (over 400 on the LT’s alone; less on the LT+) and haven’t broken/snapped one yet. though it’s certainly possible to do so.

it’s really your call. you can’t go wrong with any of the 3 poles. since i’m giving advice, i’d say go with either the LT+ or the StixPro. you might be amongst those that find the LT (non-plus) model has too much flex. the other two aren’t really that much heavier anyways, and you get a stiffer pole.

is the flex in the poles comparable to shock absorbing in some adjustable poles?

how far could you push the poles “flex factor” before they snap?

I have a bit over 1000 miles on my LT+. I have no complaints that I couldn’t find on other poles. As for flex: one time when I slipped, I had a pole plant, stick, and flex about 3-4″ out of vertical. It popped back straight with no problem. I might have gotten off lucky, I’m not sure. But that’s the thankfully the only time I’ve given them an extreme test, and I definitely trust them.
-Mark

Ryan,

no. it’s bending flex (aka “buckling”), not vertically/axially compressive in nature. so, it’s not like the “shock absorbing” in some adjustable poles.

in the past, other posters, in other Threads, have commented that they feel that the flexing of these poles, in part, serves a similar purpose to the “shock absorbing” present in some adjustable poles.

i’ve flexed the LT+ a couple of inches or so.

as far as the original LT poles: once, when i slipped descending a steep ~30deg slope on some loose stones/gravel over sand, flexed one pole, quite a bit, several inches out of vertical – at the very least. it’s tip was firmly planted in the sand, but angled forward after my slip. i’m very short so i can’t reach up that high – so the pole really needed to flex quite a bit for it to remain in my hand. remember, looking up at it in my hand while seated on my duff. was amazed that it didn’t snap. it was really bent/flexed. have many more miles on that pole since that incident – it’s still intact.