Trekking poles
Two telescopic aluminium poles, ten grammes apart on the published figures — is the named locking lever worth more than the four sets of tips?
These two are close enough on paper to be interchangeable: both aluminium, both reaching 135 cm, both with cork grips and a foam extension, both with a per-pole weight inside ten grammes of each other. The line that separates them is the one this hub keeps finding empty — the lock. Terra Peak names an external lever system; PINUQUEST describes stepless adjustment and names nothing. Neither publishes a packed length, so that line stays blank on both sides.
| Compared on | telescopic aluminium poles, 110–135 cm, 270 g per pole | telescopic aluminium poles, 63–135 cm, 260 g per pole |
|---|---|---|
| Lock mechanism | External aluminium lever, named Fastlock — stated | Not published — stepless adjustment, no lever or collar named |
| Adjustment range | 110 to 135 cm — stated | 63 to 135 cm — stated |
| Weight per pole | 270 g per pole — stated | 260 g per pole for this aluminium version — stated |
| Packed length | Not published | Not published |
| Shaft material | Aluminium — stated, no alloy grade named | Aluminium — stated, no alloy grade named |
| Section count | Not published | Not published |
| Grip material | Real cork with an extended EVA grip — stated | Cork with a soft grip extension and an extra-soft strap — stated |
| Tip fitting | Rubber buffers — stated | Four pairs — asphalt, terrain, mud and snow — stated |
| Basket fitting | Not published | Not published |
Each tick belongs to its own line and nothing more. The row of ticks is not a score: the two verdicts underneath settle the page, because these two answer different questions on the trail.
The one to pick if you want to know what holds the length. Terra Peak names its external lever system, Fastlock, and that is the whole difference on a shelf where four listings in nine name a lock and five do not. Everything else here is a draw or ten grammes the wrong way, and no packed length is published, so it goes in the car boot on faith.
Ten grammes lighter per pole on the published figure, adjustable from 63 cm rather than 110 cm, and supplied with four pairs of tips where the Terra Peak lists rubber buffers alone. The gap is the lock: nothing in the listing says what mechanism holds a section once you have set it, and on a telescopic pole that is not a detail.
Both state 135 cm as the maximum. They differ at the short end — 110 cm for the Terra Peak, 63 cm for the PINUQUEST — which changes what the poles can do folded down and who they suit, not how high they go.
It offers an aluminium version and a carbon version, and publishes 260 g per pole for the aluminium and 210 g per pole for the carbon. The reference reviewed here is named as aluminium in the title, so 260 g is the figure compared above.
It does if the poles have to go inside luggage rather than strapped outside it. Both listings supply a carry bag and neither gives a collapsed figure, so there is no published number to plan around on either side.
Telescopic aluminium · 110–135 cm · Fastlock external lever named · 270 g per pole stated · cork grips with EVA extension · packed length not published
A telescopic aluminium pair that names its external lever system, publishes 270 g per pole and cork grips, and never says how short it goes.
Best for: A walker who wants a named external lever and cork grips, and who carries poles on the outside of a pack.
≈ 43 €
Telescopic aluminium · 63–135 cm · 260 g per pole stated, 210 g for the carbon version · cork grips with foam extension · four attachment pairs · lock not named
A telescopic aluminium pair with cork grips, a very wide range and a stated per-pole weight for both the aluminium and carbon versions — and no lock type and no packed length.
Best for: A household of mixed heights where a cork grip and a long grip extension matter, and the poles travel on the outside of a pack.
≈ 28 €
Prices in these summaries were read on the dates each review gives. The live figure sits beside every product.
