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Anyone have experience with Mountainsmith Andesite carbon trekking poles?
They seem to check several key boxes. Very light (11oz for a pair), said to be pretty tough for carbon poles. Reasonable price ($100, and on sale for $75). They have a few weird features that I can probably overlook (compress to only 32″, twist-lock rather thank flip-lock).
I searched the Backpackinglight site and could find no mention of them. If you know anything about them, I’d love to hear.
Thanks.
The twist lock mechanism is kind of cheap. Mine results in the poles sliding in response to body weight when temps are below freezing. Also these are the poles that make me think that “not all carbide tips” are created equal. I don’t like the ones on the Andesite at all. They aren’t very sticky on rock and I find them sliding out from under me. I have a similar experience with the Cascade Mountain Tech pole tips. I’m thinking that this is one area where these companies are cutting costs and losing some quality in the process.
However, they do seem like a good value if you’re a trail hiker (the tips are fine on dirt), don’t need to worry about the long collapsed length, and aren’t having to adjust the poles a lot (or use them with a shelter) in winter.
Those are enough caveats for me to look for something else. Thanks, Ryan.
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