Reviews > Trekking Poles > Poles > Black Diamond Terra CF Trekking Poles > Shandra Hunt > Field Report

Field Report - Black Diamond Terra CF Trekking Poles

Name: Shandra Hunt

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m)

Weight: 145 lbs (66 kg)

Location: Ben Lomond,California

Email: jns170@yahoo.com

Date: 9/20/05

Biography:

Growing up in the Santa Cruz mountains, I have always been an avid hiker and camper. Only recently however, I have evolved into a backpacker. I started backpacking about three years ago. Since then I have done many trips throughout California and the Southwest. I spent five days packing in Grand Canyon, which fueled my love for the sport even more. I try to backpack as often as possible, I think I may be addicted and I am constantly looking for more efficient and lightweight alternatives for the gear that I own.

Product Information:

Black Diamond Terra CF Trekking Poles

Manufacturer: Black Diamond Equipment Ltd.

Year of Manufacture: 2005

URL: www.blackdiamondequipment.com

Listed Weight: 1 lb 3 oz (540 g)

Measured weight: 1 lb 3 oz (540 g)

Listed collapsed Size: 28 in (71 cm)

Measured collapsed size: 27.5 in (70 cm)

Usable Range: 41 in (105 cm) - 55 in (140 cm)

Field Trial:

I have gotten some good use out of the Black Diamond Terra CF Trekking poles. In June I took a car camping trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the Consumes River. I had the Black Diamond poles in the back of my truck with the rest of my gear on the five hour drive to the mountains. When I pulled the Terra CF poles out to use them for a hike, I found that the FlickLock mechanism on one of the poles had loosened completely and disengaged from the vibration of the truck ride. I didn't have a cross cut (Phillips) screwdriver to repair the pole so I wasn't able to use it on this trip. I did a few miles of river rock hiking while I was in the area and I found that even having just one pole really made a difference. The pole helped with my balance while I was hiking over the rocks. I have never really hiked with a trekking pole before so it took me a little while to get used to using it but once I did, I liked it. After I returned home I was able to fix the loose pole with some difficulty and started using both of them when I hike.

I have done several day hikes with the Terra CF poles. On one excursion I hiked about 6 mi (9.7 km) at Wilder Ranch State Park. This area overlooks the Pacific Coastline and the hiking is over open rolling hills. I hiked to the top of one of the ridges that overlooks Monterey Bay. The terrain is a mix of hard pack dirt and sand. I found the Black Diamond poles to be really helpful when hiking both up and down hill. Hiking uphill with the poles allowed me to dig in and incorporate my arms to take some of the workload off my legs. The greatest advantage to hiking with these poles is when descending. I was able to plant the poles to give me more stability when descending which allowed me to hike downhill much quicker than I usually do. The ergonomic top knob on the handle works really well when descending and allows a lot of maneuvering The poles are very stable and don't slip over the ground. My only complaint on this hike was that the poles were noisy when I used them on harder ground.

I took the Black Diamond poles on a hike through the redwoods in Fall Creek State Park, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The trail is a combination of redwood duff and hard dirt. This area is about ten minutes from my house and the trail is one that I hike often. There is a lot of up and downhill hiking and I felt like the poles increased my stability and speed on the trail. There are a few areas of the trail where natural springs run over the trail and turn it to muck. I really appreciated having the Terra CF poles on these areas of the trail where it was slippery. Again, I felt like the poles were noisy when I hiked. The only real problem I had on this hike was when I crossed one of the bridges in the park and got the tip of one of the poles caught in the space between the wood planks.

I used the Terra CF Trekking poles on a trip to Big Sur along the California Coast. I visited Lime Kiln State Park where I hiked about 4 mi (6.44 km) to the lime kilns and the waterfall. I carried a medium size day pack on this hike. The trail to the falls had a lot of obstacles and I had to go over quite a few downed trees. I am only 5' 3" (1.6 m) so I typically have trouble going over large obstacles. I used the poles on either side of the logs, and I was able to use them to pull and push myself over, which made it pretty easy. I had to cross the creek seven times on the hike. When I have to cross the creek I usually end up in the creek, but having the Terra CF poles gave me better balance and something to lean on, which made it really easy to cross the creek. The only problem I had was the same problem I had on the bridge at Fall Creek State Park, where I got the tip of the pole caught. After I hiked to the falls and the lime kilns, I hiked to the beach area of the park. The creek flows onto the beach there, so I had to cross the creek yet again. The poles worked well in the sand, I expected them to sink quite a bit but they didn't.

So far I have used these poles quite a bit on hikes that involve a lot of rock hopping. The poles help me balance when hiking over the rocks. The small basket size really helps when rock hopping because I can plant the poles between the rocks without too much effort and it doesn't get stuck. I think it is fair to say that I have been pretty tough on these poles, they have been hit against a lot of rocks and obstacles. The Terra CF poles have taken quite a beating over the last few months, but the amazing thing is that they don't look like it. I expected the paint to be chipped off and the poles to be dinged but they look remarkably good. I find that hiking with the poles makes both ascents and descents much easier. I like hiking with the poles because it incorporates my arms into hiking. I haven't had a chance to hike with the Terra CF poles while wearing a full overnight pack, but I will be backpacking next weekend on a overnight trip to Big Basin State Park. The trail I will be hiking on is like a roller coaster, with a lot of ups and downs. It is supposed to rain here for the next couple of days so I am expecting the trail to be sloshy and muddy because it is in the thick redwood forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

There are a lot of advantages to hiking with these poles. I like the extra stability and arm involvement that they provide. The handles are comfortable to use for longer periods of time. The foam grip material is effective in preventing hand slippage, I have not had any problems with my grip on the handles, even with sweaty hands. I like using the ergonomic top knob when descending because it is more effective and comfortable to use than the handle. I was concerned when I first tried these poles because the FlickLock adjustment mechanism was difficult for me to use. I have not had to adjust the FlickLock mechanism much because I use the poles at the lowest height setting. I also had a problem when I first tried these poles with the Binary adjustment. I was hoping that the more I used it, it would loosen up and be easier for me to operate. This has not been the case and I find it really frustrating when trying to collapse the poles. Aside from the incident with the FlickLock rattling loose, the only other problem I have had with these poles is that I think they are noisy. When hiking over hard terrain, the poles rattle when they strike the ground. While the noise isn't excessively loud, it is enough that I notice it, especially when trying to hike quietly. The positive aspects of the poles outweigh any small problems I have had and I really like using them.

Good Things:

> Provide extra stability on ascents and descents

> Incorporate arm movement

> Withstand hard use well

> Comfortable handles and ergonomic top knob

Bad Things:

> Noisy

> FlickLock is hard to fix

>Binary and FlickLock adjustments are hard to use

Reviews > Trekking Poles > Poles > Black Diamond Terra CF Trekking Poles > Shandra Hunt > Field Report