I find stowing my poles much easier now that I have removed the baskets. I was finding them a real pain, catching in undergrowth and among stones. Of course, there may be boggy conditions when I will regret them, but it's worth it for the lovely streamlined feel, and fewer grammes too.
It seems to me that the ultra-lightweight fold up poles would be much quicker and easier to assemble during a race than the conventional telescopic ones. The latter have to be loosened and extended very carefully, as if you loosen too much or pull a section out too far the joint can stop working. Also, if you don't tighten quite enough your pole can telescope suddenly, always at the worst possible moment. In fact, in my experience, even if I tighten as much as possible, involuntarily telescoping can happen from time to time, even with top quality poles
IMO, the great defect of both Mountain King and Raidlight folding poles is that the padded hand grip is too short. As the wrist strap is not adjustable, this means that when using the strap properly one's hand may well be holding the shaft rather than the grip. Camp Xenons have both a longer 20cm grip AND an adjustable strap. Unfortunately no-one in the UK seems to stock them.
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Originally Posted by Alexandra
