As of today, there is no shortage of options when you are shopping around for a trekking pole. These poles come with various features and some of those features are absolutely handy and few of them can be only fancy additions. With that said, we intend to discuss the features associated with modern-day trekking poles. Having an idea about these features can be pretty handy when you purchase a trekking pole for a specific purpose.
- Adjustable
The length of many of the modern-day trekking poles can be adjusted. Such a feature is vital particularly to improve the overall stability when you trek on uneven terrain. In general, these poles can be adjusted within a range of 24 – 55 inches and that’s good enough to match anyone’s requirement. When you walk uphill, you will have to shorten the pole a bit and the exact opposite is required when you do downhill.
- Non-adjustable
Some of the trekking poles don’t come with the adjustable feature. Instead, the pole comes with a fixed length. Generally, these poles are lighter compared to the adjustable poles because they comprise of fewer parts. If you prefer trekking or walking with minimal possible weight, you can simply opt for a non-adjustable pole. These poles are ideal to perform tasks where you already know you only require a specific length.
- Foldable
These poles perform pretty much similar to tent poles. These poles don’t collapse into themselves as adjustable poles do. In fact, foldable poles can be considered as the most packable variety of the list. They too come with lightweight characteristics. You can unfold them and get back to the usable mode very quickly. They are particularly popular among those who do ultrarunning and fast hiking.
- Shock-absorbent
These poles are equipped with internal springs and they are very handy when you walk downhill because they absorb the potential shocks. This feature can be turned off in most of the poles if you don’t need it. For instance, you can turn it off when you walk uphill. In fact, the shock-absorbing characteristic is a handy feature for any hiker. However, it can be a perfect choice especially for those who have issues with hips, knees or ankles.
- Standard poles
Standard poles don’t have the shock-absorbing ability. Also, they are much lighter and very affordable compared to the previous model. Although they don’t absorb any shock, you can expect very good balance and support from these standard poles, especially when going downhills.
- Ultralight poles
These poles are designed to have less swing weight and therefore, the user can use it easier and quicker. This can be very handy especially during long hikes because it creates less fatigue and stress on the user. They can be packed pretty conveniently. Each pair of ultralight poles are expected to have less than one pound of weight as a standard.
In addition to that, there are poles with camera mounting ability as well. Prooutsiders.com is a comprehensive online store that offers a large variety of trekking poles with a range of features.