Hey everyone. So this is sort of a pickup thread from the GG LT4 thread a while back announcing that they were back in stock. It took a turn to Locus Gear CP3 poles. I mentioned that I had a set on order and would report back. I have to say that I was so impressed with them so far, that it felt wrong to keep them under teh GG LT4 thread. It wouldn't do them justice.
As a FYI and reference to the previous thread see here:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=82752
First off, I need to say that they got here QUICK. It was less than 4 days from door to door from Japan to my office in Washington, DC. I couldn't wait to open up the package and check them out, but meetings called and I had to just store them away until I got home. Once I did I immediately took them out and tried them out in hand. I have to agree with the other posters. the grips that came on them were nothing impressive. Just some stock foam. The grip did feel pretty similar in hand as the GG LT grips, but they were still plain, black foam. From other posts in the initial thread, there was some success with the GG LT grips which can be purchased separately from the GG website. Knowing how much I love those grips, I immediately ordered a set when I ordered the CP3s.
Also lucky for me, the black stock grips on the CP3s came off with very little effort as they were only lightly glued on; to the point that it had me wondering how durable they would be with hard use. However it meant less headache for me when taking them off. Since the hand loops were installed in the grips those came off too, which was fine since I don't use them anyways. After I removed the grips, I took some 1,000 grit sandpaper and gently sanded off the glue that was remaining on the poles. I also used some GooGone to remove some of the glue as well. I wanted them to be as smooth and small diameter as possible since I knew that they were a couple mm bigger than the GG grips. To the GG grips, I took a screwdriver and gently rolled it around inside the hole to "stretch" the foam a little bit to accept the larger pole piece. Once I was satisfied that the poles were as smooth and clean as they were going to get, and the holes on the grips sufficiently stretched, I took them to a golf store. I initially got some weird looks walking in the a set of trekking poles, however once I explained to them what I was looking to do and that it was the same process as installing a golf grip they were comfortable with it and the technician slipped them right on. No issues whatsoever; like they were made for them. As with golf grips I let them sit an hour and not play with them so that the solvent would dry and stick.
Once they sat, I extended them to my normal length and pushed down on them to test out the flick locks. One of them slipped with almost no pressure, which had me worried. I unlocked the lock, handtightened the screw on the flick lock, tried again, it slipped again. Although this time it took noticeably more force. So one more go-round on the tightening… no slippage at all. The tension screw just must have been a bit loose from the factory.
Once I got home, I also threw them on the scale which is where I was truly surprised. with the GG grips, the weight of the total set… 10 oz! 5 oz. per pole! So that's only 1.8oz difference between the CP3 and the GG LT4s. .9 oz per pole difference for a three section, flick lock pole.
I'll also agree with another poster from the other thread. These are definitely stronger and "beefier" than the LT4s, however not as detriment. it just feels stouter and a bit thicker than the LT4s. As a big guy, I didn't have much confidence in the LT4s if I were to slip and needed to rely on them, especially with all of the stories of them snapping. With this one, I feel like they still may snap, but it will need to be a much more serious slip or fall, and it would still give me a fighting chance to recover.
Lastly, unlike some other posters, I have no rattle in mine which is apparently common in this model. It does rattle a bit when hitting it hard on the ground, but I think that's just the natural reverberation of the carbon on the metal flicklocks, which is unavoidable in my opinion given the design. Maybe I was expecting to hear something else.
So these very well be my new favorite poles. Once you add up all expenses, they basically come to the same price, maybe slightly more than the GG LT4 for only 1.8 oz weight penalty and the ability to adjust quickly with a flicklock and compact shorter for storage or pitching low hanging shelters and tarps. Well worth it IMHO.
So… in short, since pictures tell a thousand words, and I've already been rambling on; here you go:
