Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are ultralight however sturdy carbon fiber trekking poles that can be utilized for backpacking and day mountaineering. Weighing 9.5 oz per pair, these adjustable three-section poles have easy EVA foam grips and carbide ideas however shouldn’t have hand straps or summer time or winter trekking pole baskets. The highest two sections are telescoping, adjustable, and secured with a dependable lever lock, whereas the bottom fixed-length part snaps into place with a sublime push button mechanism.
- Weight: 270 g (9.5 oz) per pair
- Materials: Carbon Fiber
- Hand straps: No
- Baskets: No
- Sections: 3
- Adjustment: Stage lock and push button
- Collapsed Size: 49 cm (19.5″)
- Min/Max Open Size: 95 cm (37″) – 127 cm (50″)
- Higher / Center / Decrease Pole Diameter: 18 mm / 16 mm / 16 mm
Thicker Diameter Poles
The very first thing I seen once I acquired these Iceline poles was the diameter of the carbon fiber shafts. They’re noticeably bigger in diameter than different fashionable ultralight carbon fiber poles I’ve used, notably within the bottom-most part the place poles are inclined to snap once they get caught between rocks otherwise you fall on them. This can be a welcome design selection as a result of one of many largest issues with ultralight carbon fiber trekking poles is their tendency to interrupt and shatter. I’ve damaged greater than my share of ultralight carbon fiber poles, a lot in order that I keep away from utilizing very skinny carbon fiber poles and like ones made with higher-diameter sections.
Lack of Hand Straps
As famous above, the Iceline poles don’t have hand straps, which might be a deal breaker for lots of people as a result of they lean their weight on them for added assist. Whereas that’s widespread observe with mainstream trekking poles, I believe the omission of hand straps is justified on this case as a result of ultralight poles serve a distinct objective and require a distinct method to make use of.
Relatively than supporting your physique weight, ultralight trekking poles are finest used to increase your sense of steadiness and notion of your physique in house (proprioception), just like how a blind individual makes use of a cane to understand their environment. Relatively than forcefully spearing the bottom, one makes use of a a lot subtler extension of the forearm to maneuver an ultralight trekking pole ahead, evenly touching the bottom on both aspect of your leg to keep up momentum and steadiness whereas shifting ahead alongside a path. It might be good if the Iceline handles got here with a skinny keeper wire so that you wouldn’t lose the poles in the event you let go of them, however that’s loads totally different than having a load-bearing hand strap.
No baskets
The poles additionally lack the flexibility to screw summer time baskets or winter baskets onto the carbide ideas. This could make them tough to hold with the trekking pole holders of some backpacks that require the added width of a summer time basket to make use of. This isn’t an issue for me since I by no means stow my poles and all the time have them in hand, but it surely could possibly be a problem in the event you solely use your poles a part of the time.
The hand grips are made with contoured EVA foam that’s fairly agency and has little give. There may be, nevertheless, no capacity to choke up on the grip when climbing, one other characteristic generally discovered on many heavier-weight mainstream trekking poles.
Advice
Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are an thrilling choice in the event you’re in search of an ultralight and sturdy pair of carbon fiber trekking poles and perceive how they differ from extra typical poles in look and use. Weighing simply 9.5 oz per pair, these Iceline poles are adjustable-length poles with dependable lever locking adjustment and pin-based couplers that may be separated for straightforward air journey.
Disclosure: Durston gear donated poles for assessment.
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