Any competition for the Gossamer Gear LT4S?

Maybe check out Locus Gear ones. There a several people on here who love them. A tiny bit heavier, but adjustable. Have to order from Japan.

http://locusgear.com/products-2/trekking-poles?lang=en

If you do end up going with the GG poles, check out the Deals forum for a 15% off coupon from QiWiz.

http://www.qiwiz.net/specials.html

HUGE fan of the locus gear poles. Shipping from Japan ended up being a non issue. Actually, I got the poles faster than I tend to get things from Zpacks…and that's saying something.

I've beaten these poles up like I have never beaten poles up before – long story – but they have held up great. I seriously thought I'd break them more than a few times but nope – just teeny little scratches and nothing more.

I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I did swap the grips out for the GG grips tho. The sensitive skin on my hands doesn't care much for the black evo.

I have owned all three and like both the Locus Gear and BD better then the Gossamer Gear. I had some of the same issues with the GG as I have with other twist lock poles in the past though they are very light and have nice grips.

+1 Locus Gear CP3s.
+10 Locus Gear CP3s with GG LT4 grips.

I got the Locus Gear poles after reading several posts about how great they were. They aren't quite as light as the GG LT4s, but they do have flip locks instead of screw.

Following the advice of several members I went ahead and ordered the GG grips. You can find several threads about how to do the conversion. I strongly recommend soaking the foam in hot water to loosen the adhesive that holds the foam on… and in my experience the more cuts you put in the foam the cleaner a removal you get. You will need some pliers or a leatherman to remove the strap retainer mechanism. Just like I would on a bike, I put a small amount of Dawn Dish Soap (Green in my case) on the pole and slid them right into the handle… once it dries it is tacky and more than enough to hold the grips on. Once they are done they each come out at around 4.5 – 5oz.

I have yet to experience the 'mystery rattle' that some people talk about – or maybe I have but it wasn't anything that other poles haven't done.

Here is a link to one thread by Mark Kokosky describing the process in more detail http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=83686

Good luck!

PS: They do come with snow baskets.

another vote for Locus Gear CP3 poles, I like them better than my GG LT4 poles

The mystery rattle/resonance has both a diagnosis and a solution on a few post here. Would be nice if someone wrote an official solution one with pictures.

What is is about the cork handles people like so much? I haven't noticed any extra abrasion on my hands, but I usually use the straps nordic style so most of the time my hands are barely touching the grip.

The locus crowd has grown pretty fervent on here. Maybe we should start a cult…or at least have a secret handshake.

I vote for the handshake. I'd also add a code phrase, dance, secret hideout, and maybe a uniform :P

I friend of mine just sent me this picture from Costco… I haven't had these in my hand – yet, but I think I'll pick up a pair and see what's what. I notice that it looks like they share some of the same hardware as my CP3's (baskets).

I bought those last year and they are a great bargain but the CP3's are definitely better.

I will never go back to twist-locking hiking poles.

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles for the win.

I have 3 pairs of these (along with a set of the GG LT4's). The Cascade Mountain Techs are the best of the lower end poles by far IMO, certainly the best poles for the price. But I've broken several sets at the twist lock adjustment. I scavenged the broken sets to keep a few going. There is some encouragement in them in that I've been using my last set for more than a year and a half now (I was out for 7 months of that due to injury) and several hundred miles on mostly rocky terrain with no issues, and this with extending and retracting them for every hike, 2-3 times per week. It seems the key to longevity has been to avoid overtightening, and to store them with the twist locks loose. Also, they now offer a lever lock version on their website for a few dollars more. Mine weigh 14.4 oz for 2 poles, and the grips are comfortable, although not as comfortable as the GG.

That being said, I like the Gossamer Gear poles better, lighter, more comfortable, only one adjustment rather than 2 (the weakest link), but 5 times the price. I would prefer lever locks on the GG as well, although the only set of lever lock poles I've ever owned broke at the adjustment locks too.

"I will never go back to twist-locking hiking poles.
"Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles for the win."

$115, 17 ounces.

Guess you have to know your priorities.

+1 Locus Gear CP3s.
+10 Locus Gear CP3s with GG LT4 grips.

Here is a link to one thread by Mark Kokosky describing the process in more detail http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=83686

This… And you even referenced my thread! Yay! Absolutely the CP3s with GG grips.

And shipping from Japan was less than a week for me… Complete non issue.

I didn't see tips on their website, are replacements available? These Locus Gear CP3 poles look pretty sweet.

This is new and different!

They look like flic-locs.

On their website they list this new model:
http://www.cascademountaintech.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=1010

Carbon poles with flic locs.

Definatley worth checking out. I'll try to get to Costco this weekend and report back. Unless someone beats me to it.

For folks adding GGear grips to other poles, I'd highly recommend putting some Gorilla Glue down in the bottom of the grip before you slide them onto the pole. Let the glue cure overnight with the poles upsidedown. Creating a good bond here is important for long term use; when I've not done it, eventually the grip slides a bit on the pole and starts to poke out the top of the grip.

Still no better trekking pole grip on earth.

Yes I bought the Cascade Mountain Tech flick lock poles last year at Costco here in Seattle, the company is from this area. HERE is a post about them from last year and if you do a search you will find what people have to say about them including me.

Love 'em!

I purchased a set of the CF Cascade poles last year at Costco. I used them for roughly 400 miles of backpacking over the summer. Overall, I was very pleased. The only problem I had was breaking off the small metal tips. Once this happens, you start to wear down the plastic tips. Even so, I feel like I got my monies worth.

I bought a set of the Cascade poles at Costco a few weeks back and finally got around to swapping out the grips for the Gossamer Gear grips.

End result is a weight of 12.3 oz for the pair (sans baskets).

I'm happy for the price, but was a bit bummed to see that the end result wasn't much better than that of conducting a similar exercise last summer with the Walmart Outdoor Products aluminum flick-lock poles – 13.4 ounces for those (again sans baskets).

Considering that the out of pocket expense was within a few dollars though, I'm with the results. We'll see how they hold up!

I believe they are standard Leki replacements

Scott, How did the process for replacing the stock grips for Gossamer Grips go?

I put in an order earlier in the week for some GG grips not knowing that it had been done already on the Costco poles. I had only heard of the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon being modified with Gossamer Gear grips. Glad I'm not going to be the first guinea pig!

Another choice would be the carbon fiber Ruta Locura poles which use to be made by Titanium Goat before they split into seperate companies. They were around before Gossamer Gear had adjustable poles. My orignal Titanium Goat poles bought in 2008 lasted over 3000 miles and only broke when I actually stepped on them in 2012.

I tried the GG LT4 as they have a much nicer handle but had some issues with them breaking to easy. So I bought a new set of Ruta Locura poles which I trusted and haven't had an problems since. Ruta Locura also sells an adapter to make them into a Tenkara fly rod.

As a general rule, I've had bad luck with twist locks coming loose at a bad time. But both the GG and Ruta Locura poles don't loosen up as easy as the brand name poles did for me.