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Long Term Report:
Black Diamond Mountain Series Enduro CF
Compact Trekking Poles
Date: September 5, 2006
Tester
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
Finally pursuing a
long-time interest, I started backpacking 3 years
ago. I've progressed from day-hiking
and single overnights my first year, to weekend trips the second, and
finally
to a 7-night trip on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia this year.
I
hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West
Virginia,
and generally use a hammock sleeping system.
For a two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including
consumables, and I’m still trying to lighten that a bit. |
Product
Information:
Manufacturer: Black Diamond
Year of manufacture: 2006
Date of Delivery: March 24, 2006
Model: Mountain Series Enduro CF Compact
Advertised Weight: 1 lb 1 oz (0.48 kg) per pair
Weight as delivered: 1 lb 1.1 oz (0.48 kg)
per pair
Advertised size: 22 in (57 cm) collapsed
22 - 49 in (47 - 125 cm) usable size
Measured size: 23 in (58 cm) collapsed
23 - 49 in (58 - 125 cm) usable size
Color:
Red/dark
grey/black
Manufacturer Website:
http://www.BlackDiamondEquipment.com
MSRP: $109.95
US
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Features:
"Zero-Slip" FlickLock adjustment system
Carbon fiber lower shaft
Padded webbing straps
"Long Flex" tips
Foam grip and foam extension
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Product
Description:
The Black Diamond
Mountain Series Enduro CF Compact Trekking Poles are three section
collapsible poles featuring a "FlickLock" adjustment system which
provides a very strong grip to prevent the poles from accidentally
collapsing. The poles are primarily red in color with grey foam
grips and a black lower section. They have a carbide tip and small
plastic baskets. For a more detailed description of the poles,
please see my Initial
Report.
Field
Information:
Since
my Field
Report, I've used the Black Diamond Mountain Series Enduro CF
Trekking Poles for two additional weekend
backpacking trips (3 day/2 night). The July trip took place on
the Hog Camp Gap to Reed's Gap section of the Appalachian Trail and the
Mau-Har trail in Virginia. The weather was dry and hot, with
night temperatures around 70 F (20 C) and daytime highs over 90 F (30
C). Elevations ranged from around 900 to 4000 ft (300 to 1200 m),
with the terrain varying from steep rocky slopes to dirt paths across
fairly level meadows or winding up and down mountains. I packed heavier
than usual on this trip, around 35-40 lb (16-18 kg).
The August trip was to the Otter Creek Wilderness in the Monongahela
National Forest, where temperatures ranged from 60 F (15 C) at night to
over 90 F (30 C) during the day. Skies were mostly cloudy, with
some periods of sunshine, scattered sprinkles of rain during the day,
and thunderstorms with heavy rain at night. Humidity during the
entire trip was very high. Elevations ranged from around 2500 to
3500 ft (800 to 1100 m). The trail varied from former railroad
bed (old rail ties, large stones, and gravel) to root filled paths
through rhododendron thickets, to rocky wades across creeks and swampy
mud. For this trip, I packed lightly, ending up with a pack
weighing between 20-25 lb (9-11 kg).
I have also used the poles for several day hikes in western and central
West Virginia ranging from 2-5 mi (3-8 km) in length, mainly on
moderately hilly terrain, at elevations from 800 to 1200 ft (200 to 400
m), in a variety of weather ranging from brilliant sunshine to light
rain, in temperatures from 60 to 90 F (15 to 30 C). Pack weight
for these outings ranged from only a half liter of water up to 7 lb (3
kg).
Use and Conclusions:
I've found the Enduro CF Trekking Poles a
great help in my hiking, particularly on steep up and down hills.
Even when day hiking with only a light pack, the poles save a lot of
stress on my knees on the downhills and help preserve my energy on the
uphills. I also find they help me set a more even and rapid pace
as I hike, and have found these poles particularly well balanced.
I like the plastic baskets provided, which have proven small enough to
avoid catching on plants, brush, or sticks along the trail, yet large
enough to keep the poles from dropping too far into small crevices and
jerking my arms backward as I hike, or causing the poles to bend or
break.
The padded wrist straps are more comfortable than the unpadded webbing
straps on my former poles, and they stay adjusted without slipping
while I hike. I did, however, notice during my last backpacking
trip that I experienced a tiny bit of irritation on my right hand, in
the area between my thumb and forefinger, which is more exposed to an
unpadded section of the webbing than the corresponding area on my left
hand. I didn't develop any sores or bruises - I just noticed the
slight irritation after a couple of hours of hiking. A couple of
things were different on this trip that may have caused this - first,
it was more humid and hot than most of my hikes, and secondly, we
maintained a fairly good pace and didn't take a rest break for over two
hours. I believe this situation could be avoided if Black Diamond
constructed the poles with the padding on the straps specifically
configured for left and right hand use, and labeled the poles
accordingly.
Adjusting the wrist straps shorter is easy, but they are very difficult
to adjust longer. This is due to two tiny plastic "teeth" on the
small bar the straps pass under that grip the adjustment strap.
It is impossible for me to pull the strap looser when the poles are
held upright, but by tugging firmly when I hold the pole upside down, I
can usually lengthen it, although sometimes I do have to push downward
on the bar with my thumbnail in order to do so. The difficulty in
lengthening the straps isn't much of a problem for me, because I don't
often need to change the adjustment, and in my opinion is a small
sacrifice considering the benefit of not having them come loose easily
while I am using them.
Tiny teeth shown to the left side of
the adjustment bar above
The FlickLock adjustments have never slipped. Their reliability
and ease of use has
really spoiled me, and I don't want to go back to a twist-lock
mechanism, which I find more difficult to adjust and more prone to
accidentally loosening up. The
markings on the
pole sections make it easy to adjust them to the length I want each
time.
The foam grips are very comfortable, and have held up well with no
apparent signs of wear. I had a chance to test them in wet
conditions on a recent weekend backpacking trip, and found the area
under my hand dried quickly when the grips were soaked, making using
the poles under wet and humid conditions more comfortable for me.
I've found they clean up very easily - if I get them very dirty on the
trail, I can just run a little water over them at home and they're as
good as new.
The only real wear I've noted on the poles are some small scratches in
the paint, a little "roughing up" of the tip section, and the small scraped
area on the plastic at the top of one grip noted in my Field
Report, all of which I consider normal
'wear and tear' for poles.
Small scratches on bottom section of
pole
The Black Diamond Enduro Poles store easily in the outside pockets of
the Granite
Gear Stratus Latitude pack I've been testing, making it easier to
keep track of everything when transporting my gear to and from
trailheads than if I had to remember to pick the poles up
separately. I also like them for propping up the fly on
my Hennessy Hammock to catch the breezes at night, with the tips
fitting in the small plastic rings on the fly points and the grips
staying sturdy against the ground.
Likes:
Reliability and ease of use of the
FlickLock adjustment system
Comfortable grips and wrist straps
Durable and dependable
Stylish look
Dislikes:
Baskets are somewhat hard
to remove
Wrist straps are somewhat hard to lengthen (but offset by dependably
staying adjusted)
Final Conclusion:
The Black Diamond Mountain Series Enduro CF poles are real winners that
I'll be using on a regular basis for future backpacking trips and hikes.
Thanks to Black Diamond and BackpackGearTest
for
the
opportunity to test the Black Diamond Mountain Series Enduro CF Compact
Trekking Poles
Read more reviews of Black Diamond gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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