Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles offer a really nice set of features at a very
friendly price point.
You have got ergonomic grips.
You have got durable aluminum con-struction.
And easy to use external locks.
Let’s go ahead and take a closer look at the feature set of the Trail Ergo Cork trekking
pole.
These are three part poles.
So you have got two points of adjustability.
And because of that telescoping design these pack down efficiently to 29 inch minimum length.
They ex-pand as well to a maximum length of 55 inches.
So you have got quite a bit of adjustabil-ity on these poles for users of varying heights.
There are markings on the shaft sections of the poles which makes it really easy to designate
exactly what length you would like them set.
And the external locking mechanisms on the poles make it easy to open them up, easy to
lock them down.
And there is a nice, confident bite there.
So once you have got them at the length you want them to, simply close that flick lock
and off you go.
One of the stand out features on the poles and really what grants them their name are
these natural cork grips.
Just a really nice feel in your hand, very tactile, nice texturing on there.
So on the go it just feels great in your hand, frankly.
And if you are sweating, if you are kind of building up heat, these still grip very confidently.
Sometimes with rubber grips and things you can start to slip a little bit and that doesn't
seem to happen with that natural cork.
You do have integrated straps.
These are adjustable so that you can set them where they are most comfortable for you.
But a nice moisture wicking material on the inside of those straps and wrist straps really
do help to take the strain off your wrists and other joints over the course of the day.
There is an extended portion to this grip.
This is EVA foam.
It extends further down that top shaft section than just the standard handle would.
If you are using this with gloved hands, this is a really nice grab point for making adjustment.
If you are going up and down varying grades, so you are back and forth on switch backs
and one moment your pole is on the outside and then it is on the inside hand.
You could find yourself wanting to make all kinds of micro adjustments to the length of
the poles.
Or, because of this ex-tended section of grip, you can really set the poles at a spot where
you can grab them here and then grab them here as that grade, as that elevation changes.
And just a really nice, smart feature there in addition to the standard grip.
On the other end of the poles is where you will find Black Diamond’s flex tech tips.
So in talking about this entire extended section here at the bottom of the lowest shaft section,
that is designed in such a way that it is replaceable and also built in such a way that
if you would wedge these poles between rocks in a crack, something that would put you in
a position to potentially break or snap the actual shaft section, these would sheer away.
And while that might not sound ideal, it is definitely preferable to actually destroying
the poles by breaking a shaft section, so pretty smart design.
The very end of that tip is where you will find the carbide tip.
That is best used on dirt, on unimproved surfaces.
It can be unscrewed and replaced with basically a semi perma-nent rubber tip, which is nice
if you were to be using these in improved surfaces.
And sometimes that is actually better on a smooth rock than the carbide tips might be.
So some versatility built into those tips.
And there is other versatility there, as well.
You can see that the poles come with these low profile trekking baskets.
In most cases where the ground isn’t terribly soft, what these baskets do is keep the poles
from going too far into the ground so that you can move forward confidently instead of
having the poles go so deeply into the ground that they are not doing what you expect them
to.
So in many cases that is enough.
But you will see some threading here and Black Dia-mond does thrown in broader diameter powder
baskets with these poles which, again, adds to their value.
If you were using this in softer surfaces, certainly in snow that broad-er basket is
what you need to keep those poles from digging too deeply.
Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork trekking poles, a really nice feature set at an affordable
price that makes these a really great choice for three season or year round hiking, back-packing
and snow shoeing.