Welcome to The Big Outside!
Hi, I'm Michael Lanza, thanks for visiting. Click on my photo to learn more about the benefits of following my blog, and to write to me. I love hearing from readers. And please enter your email below for updates about new stories and gear giveaways!
Book
Tag Archives: trekking poles reviews
Gear Review: Komperdell C3 Carbon Power Lock Trekking Poles
Komperdell C3 Carbon Power Lock trekking poles.
Trekking Poles
Komperdell C3 Carbon Power Lock
$150, 1 lb./pair
backcountry.com
I know: Choosing trekking poles can feel a little like picking out the best straw from a dispenser in a restaurant—they all kind of look the same. But poles are not straws, of course; they differ, and finding a pair you like does depend on how you’ll use them. Taking the C3 Carbon Power Lock poles on a five-day, 80-mile backpacking trip in the North Cascades National Park Complex and a three-day, 40-mile hike in Utah’s Dark Canyon Wilderness (and my wife used them on a nine-day trek of the 105-mile Tour du Mont Blanc) convinced me that they compare favorably against more-expensive, top-performing, all-around trekking poles for dayhikers, backpackers, and climbers. Here’s why. Continue reading →
Gear Review: Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles
Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles.
Trekking & Snow Poles
Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles
$170, 1 lb. 2 oz. (with trekking baskets)
One size, adjustable
backcountry.com
If you make the mountains your playground in all seasons and find your budget tapped by a variety of boots, packs, and other gear for your sports, the notion of purchasing more than one pair of poles may create some financial hardship (and it cuts into your beer budget). You need one pair of sticks that do it all. From six mid-October days of hiking in the western North Carolina mountains, including a 34-mile backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to days of backcountry skiing in the Idaho mountains, I leaned on BD’s Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles and they stood up to every task. Continue reading →
December 11, 2016
The World’s Best Holiday Gift Guide: 40 Top Picks in Outdoor Gear and Apparel
By Michael Lanza
If you’re shopping for someone who loves the outdoors this holiday season… or, ahem, for yourself… look no farther. I’ve compiled my annual list of the best outdoor gear and apparel that I’ve used over the past 12 months. Two decades of gear testing has given me a pretty good eye for quality, I think. This list includes super values in jackets, backpacks, a tent, a sleeping bag and air mattress, trekking poles, climbing harnesses, snowshoes, rechargeable lanterns, a headlamp, knives, kids’ gear and apparel, and a pile of other stuff, as well as some neat stocking stuffers, and a huge range of prices. Plus, many of them are available at sale prices right now (I’ve indicated those below). You just might get all of your holiday gift shopping done right here. Continue reading →
Gear Review: Helinox Passport FL120 Trekking Poles
Helinox Passport FL 120 trekking poles.
Trekking Poles
Helinox Passport FL120
$140, 11 oz. (120cm)
Sizes: 115-130cm
backcountry.com
Yes, you read the weight listed above correctly: A pair of these adjustable trekking poles weighs just 11 ounces, which is several ounces below the weight of most hiking poles and the lightest model I’ve reviewed at this blog. With that tantalizing statistic in mind, I put them through the ringer on several hikes, including a 20-mile, 4,500-vertical-foot, trail run-hike in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains that included several hundred feet of third-class scrambling up 10,651-foot Snowyside Peak. I found several reasons to like them a lot, despite some shortcomings. Read on. Continue reading →
Gear Review: Leki Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles
Leki Micro Vario Carbon Antishock Trekking Poles
Trekking Poles
Leki Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles
$220, 1 lb. 1 oz. (110-130 cm).
Sizes: regular/unisex 110-130 cm, Lady 100-120cm
rei.com
How much does a good pair of trekking poles matter? I used these three-section, folding poles on a dayhike in August that I wasn’t certain I could finish: the 32-mile, 10,000-vertical-foot, nine-summit Pemi Loop in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. For the last few miles, the poles may have been the only thing holding me up. Whether or not you intend to take absurdly long hikes, this one did help me identify the many strengths of Leki’s Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles, and evaluate the usefulness of the antishock mechanism. Continue reading →
