On the 96-mile Wind River High Route, I hiked with these poles over endless miles of steep talus and scree and pitched an ultralight tent using these poles every night-including one night when the tent and poles withstood several hours of gusts blowing over 40 mph and probably around 50 mph. Sign up for my FREE email newsletter now. Handed packs and poles down a 30-foot cliff we descended on the Grand Canyon’sĮscalante Route.

I clambered up the third-class talus and loose scree of Papago Canyon and Receive on many well-maintained trails-such as the entire TetonĬrest Trail, much of the Pacific Crest Trail, Strong and lightweight carbon shafts withstood more abuse than they’d On the Escalante Route, or when I made a long descent on the South Kaibab TrailĪnd the relentless and severely angled ascent of the Tanner Trail. Leaned hard or stumbled and caught myself on them while scrambling steep talus Lock as securely as a lever mechanisms-but rarely slipped in use, even when I Please follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.Ĭompromises for radically lower weight are few. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip. Join The Big Outside to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several top outdoors blog lists. The basic performance qualities that hikers, backpackers, climbers, ultra-runners,Īnd others look for in poles-but at two-thirds of the weight of the strongest Twist-lock, adjustable poles with straps, the LT5 possess all of But these poles nonetheless offer a basic, minimalist performance that stands up to hard use, as I discovered on a six-day, 74-mile backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon-including a rough, 15-mile, nearly 12-hour day traversing most of the rugged Escalante Route-a seven-day, 96-mile traverse of the Wind River High Route, two-thirds of which is off-trail, as well as on a four-day, 45-mile hike through Yosemite. In fact, the pair weighs about as much as a lightweight down jacket and less than five ounces of water, and might weigh less than your rain shell. The LT5 adjustable poles feel like feathers. You could see the defining characteristic of these ultralight poles even wearing a blindfold: Just pick them up and hold them in your hand.

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