I happily acknowledge that the Gossamer Gear LT5’s are beloved pieces of kit among thru-hikers and ultralight practitioners alike. If I was in need of a collapsible pole for fair-season trail hiking, I’d certainly take a hard look at these. And in this context, these poles have served me well enough and I’d give them a solid 4-stars overall for this context.
For me personally, “summertime trail hiking” is a relatively narrow use case, and I need my gear to extend beyond that scenario so I can limit the amount of gear I own and ensure that the gear I do own is as versatile as possible across multiple use cases.
And that leads me to this review. These poles are made with thin-walled carbon, so they tend to break more readily, than say, the Black Diamond Distance series carbon poles or the REI Flash Carbon Poles, both of which are made with thicker-walled carbon tubes (and granted, are a little heavier). That limits their use in snow, mud, scree, etc. when hiking off-trail.
I echo other’s comments about the lack of security in the locking adjustment collars. This is exacerbated in cold, wet/frozen conditions, which makes these poles somewhat limited in their ability to be used in the winter.
I’d love to see these poles offered with slightly smaller-diameter grips for smaller hands/women, cam-lock collars, and thicker carbon tubing.
