Black Diamond Trail Shock Trekking Poles
Test Series by Kurt Papke
Tester Information
Name: |
Kurt Papke |
Age: |
57 |
Gender: |
Male |
Height: |
6' 4" (193 cm) |
Weight: |
225 lbs (102 kg) |
Email address: |
kwpapke at gmail dot com |
City, State, Country: |
Tucson, Arizona USA |
My backpacking background is a combination of the Minnesota area,
where I
have
lived
most of my adult life, and Southern Arizona where I moved a little more
than a year ago to Tucson to take a new job. I am a diehard
trekking pole user; I rarely hike without them. They relieve the
strain on my knees, and have saved me from falling many times.
Initial Report
Product Facts
Product Information
|
Manufacturer
|
Black Diamond Equipment, LTD.
|
|
Manufacturer
website
|
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com
|
Year
manufactured
|
2010
|
Model
|
Trail Shock
|
Color tested
|
Cinnamon (only color currently available)
|
Size tested
|
One size only |
MSRP
|
$109.95 USD
|
Weight
|
specs:
20
oz
(584
g)
measured: 21 oz (594 g)
|
- Usable Length (specs)
|
27-55 in (68-140 cm)
|
Collapsed length (specs)
|
26 in (66.5 cm)
|
The Trail Shock trekking poles are a member of Black Diamond's
"Mountain" series of gear. Features from the manufacturer's
website include:
- Control Shock progressive four-stage shock absorber
- Dual-density grip
- 360-degree padded webbing strap
- Foam extension: this is an extension to the grip, allowing the
user to "choke up" on the poles on uphills or uneven terrain
- Double FlickLocks: these enable/disable telescoping the poles
Initial Inspection
The poles were received with packaging suitable for a
hanging
display as shown at left. Removing the packaging required cutting
three cable ties for which I did need a diagonal cutter. The
instructions (shown at right) were tightly packaged inside the wrapped
cardboard section with the manufacturer's name, and required a bit of
extricating. The instruction sheet explains clearly how to use
the FlickLocks, and how to adjust them if needed. The
instructions appear
to be generic for Black Diamond poles, as they also show how to use the
autolock binary system which is not present on the Trail Shock poles.
On close inspection I could find no evidence of manufacturing defects:
no glue drips, burrs on metal, or improper assembly. The
FlickLocks were properly adjusted: the opened and closed with a
reasonable amount of effort, and they held the pole sections in-place
with no slippage when I applied my weight to them.
I found the cinnamon/sliver color combination attractive and
pleasing. These are good-looking poles.
The poles came with a label that illustrates
the action of the shock absorber as shown at left. The shock
absorbers are also visible in the packaging picture above, located just
below the handle. I like where Black Diamond has placed the
feature: it is as close as possible to my hand, so the additional
weight it adds to the pole should not impact the dynamics of how I
swing my arms and the poles.
I leaned on the poles to see if I could replicate the compaction of the
shock absorber shown in the illustration, and I could certainly see the
difference, but not as much as pictured. My guess is I would have
to really put some serious pressure on them to do so, such as I might
do in preventing a fall while hiking.
First Impressions
I adjusted the poles to my favored length. I am accustomed to
using another Black Diamond model pole where the lower section is a
fixed length, and the pole length markings on the upper section read
out the total pole length. On the Trail Shocks the two sections
are independently adjustable and have independent length markings, so I
had to add up the two lengths to get the total.
Slipping my hands into the straps was easy, and the straps came
adjusted nicely to my hands with no gloves worn. With heavier
winter gloves, say for snowshoeing, I would likely have to let out some
slack in the straps. The straps are nicely padded and felt good
on my hands.
I took the poles for a spin around the driveway. They feel
well-balanced and comfortable. I will adapt to them quickly.
The most intriguing feature is of course the shock absorber. I
have never used this type of pole before, so I will be very interested
to see how they feel on the trail, and how much benefit I perceive from
the feature.
When I released the FlickLocks to compact the poles for storage I
noticed that Black Diamond has corrected one of my gripes with a prior
model of pole: there is a stop when pushing the sections together that
prevents the FlickLock from overlapping the next section and making it
difficult to close. With the older model I had to be careful to
not contract them too far, but with the Trail Shocks they come to a
hard stop at the right spot.
Kudos:
- Good handle & strap comfort
- Easy pole length adjustment
Concerns:
Field Report
Field Use
Date
|
October 16, 2010
|
October 17, 2010
& November 1, 2010 |
October 27, 2010
|
November 7, 2010
|
November 14, 2010
|
November 28, 2010
|
December 5, 2010
& December 12, 2010
|
December 18, 2010
|
Location
|
Catalina State Park, Northwest of Tucson, Arizona
|
Saguaro National Park, West of Tucson, Arizona
|
Picacho Peak, Northwest of Tucson, Arizona
|
Pusch Wilderness in the Santa Catalina Mountains
Northwest of Tucson, Arizona |
Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina
Mountains
|
Tortolita Mountains, Northwest of Tucson, Arizona |
Ragged Top Mountain in the Silverbell range in
Ironwood Forest National Monument Northwest of Tucson, Arizona |
Saguaro National Park, West of Tucson, Arizona |
Trail
|
Romero Canyon
|
Esperanza, Hugh Norris
|
Hunter Trail
|
Linda Vista +
Pusch Ridge
|
Pima Canyon
|
Alamo
Springs
|
None, bushwhack
|
Safford Peak
|
Terrain
|
Santa Catalina Mountain canyon, trail was mostly
hard granite with large rock steps
|
Tucson Mountains (Wasson Peak) ascent, sandy
trail with 100's of small steps
|
Picacho Mountains, steep ascent of the North
face
on a rocky trail
|
Linda Vista: desert bajada
Pusch Ridge: steep mountain ascent
|
High desert canyon with lots of trees and brush
along the trail, path is combination of granite and sand
|
High desert canyon and sandy wash
|
Very steep and rocky desert mountain ascent
|
Very steep and rocky desert mountain ascent
|
Distance
|
5.2 miles (8.4 km)
|
7.4 miles (11.9 km)
5.9 miles (9.5 km)
|
2.1 miles (3.4 km)
|
2.7 miles (4.4 km)
|
8.3 miles (13.4 km)
|
6.7 miles (10.8 km)
|
1.6 miles (2.6 km)
3.3 miles (5.3 km)
|
3.7 miles (6 km)
|
Weather
|
75-80 F (24-27 C), no breeze, a bit humid at the
start, sunny |
75-85 F (24-29C), no breeze, sunny
Trip 2: Sunny, dry, calm at the base, breezy on the
ridgeline, 80 F (27 C) |
Sunny, dry, calm, 75 F (24 C) |
Sunny, dry, calm, 70 F (21 C)
|
Sunny, dry, calm, 55-70 F (13-21 C)
|
Partly cloudy, windy,
50-55 F
(10-13 C)
|
Sunny, dry, calm, 70 F (21 C) first trip, 40-65
F (4-18 C) second trip
|
Partly cloudy, mild breeze out of the south,
55-65 F (13-18 C)
|
Altitude Range
|
2700-3700 ft
(820-1130m) |
2960-4420 ft
(900-1350 m)
|
2000-3100 ft
(610-945 m)
|
2700-3700 ft
(820-1130 m)
|
2900-5100 ft
(880-1550 m)
|
2700-3900 ft
(820-1190 m)
|
2400-3700 ft
(730-1130m)
|
2200-3400 ft
(670-1040 m)
|
This is a common training hike for me, as it is only 10 minutes from my
house and starts climbing right after the trail leaves the parking
lot. The reward at the top of the ascent is a rest in the cool
shade of the Romero Pools, and maybe a little stream water splashed on
my face.
At the outset of this first hike with the Trail Shocks I experimented a
bit with the length to fit my height. I was a little unsure how
much to extend the upper versus the lower portion, and ended up with
something near the middle of the range for each. With the two
adjustable sections it was a bit of
an effort to get both poles extended exactly the same length, but no
big deal.
The Santa Catalina Mountains are made of granite, and the trails are
very hard and rocky with steep steps from the boulders that are
naturally in the trail path or were placed there to prevent
erosion. They are an ideal spot to test shock absorbing poles as
the tips more often than not are planted against solid rock. The
steep trail steps give lots of opportunities on the ascent and descent
to observe how well the poles help with large steps.
I was quite pleased with the performance of the poles. They
seemed
light in my hands, sturdy when hefting my large frame up and down big
steps, and my hands felt comfortable on the handles and straps. I
am
not sure I could notice a huge difference from the shock absorbers, but
I can say I had no aches or pains in my hands, elbows or shoulders
after the hike. Overall, it was a pleasant first experience.
Saguaro National park is split into two units, on the East side of
Tucson the park comprises the Rincon Mountain range, and on the West
side of the city it contains the northern half of the Tucson Mountain
range. The Esperanza trailhead is about 2 miles (3.2 km) down a
gravel road, and about a 15 minute drive from my house. This was
my first-ever hike on this trail. This whole hike was very
different in character than the day before:
the steps were much smaller, the incline less steep, and the trail was
mostly sand instead of rock, as illustrated by the photo below.
The above picture was taken looking back down the trail at about the
halfway point. The sandy trail is visible at left in the photo
and in the distance on the far ridgeline.
On this hike I noticed quite a bit more vibration in the poles,
particularly when I held the handles very loosely in my hand, which I
often do. The vibration was horizontal, as if the poles would
flex on every ground strike and vibrate at a resonant frequency.
Perhaps I am just spoiled, as my old poles do not do this. The
vibration has no real impact on performance, I could not hear the
vibration, and I wasn't concerned they were going to break, but it is
quite visible. I will keep my eye on this to see if it causes any
issues.
This hike took the better part of a morning, and I was surprised when I
was done how little fatigue I felt, particularly in the arms and
shoulders. The Trail Shocks are lighter than my other poles, and
seem to use less energy.
About two weeks later I returned to this trail with several friends in
tow, and we covered a little less ground that afternoon than I did
alone, but the views were spectacular. I have nothing to add to
my
observations of pole performance from the second visit.
This mountain, just 45 minutes from my house, is becoming one of my
favorite little hikes. In the past I have always taken the
Southern route to the saddle point, which is a longer hike and more
gradual. On this trip I hiked with several compatriots who wanted
to make the attempt from the Hunter Trail on the North face which is a
much shorter route to the top, but a lot steeper. The following
picture shows me and the poles taking a breather beside
a very large Palo Verde tree:
Descent of Picacho Peak
Photo courtesy of Jackie Daniels
It was on this trip that I really noticed the effect of the shock
absorbers on the descent. When I leaned forward to make a steep
down-step and put most of my weight on the poles, I could really feel
them snap back when I took my weight off on the landing. Though I
cannot tell how much stress they are reducing in my wrists during this
type of use, it must be quite a bit for me to be able to feel the
relaxation of the "springs" in the poles.
The Linda Vista trail is a local favorite of
mine. It is a nice little loop on the bajada that descends from the
canyon behind Pusch Ridge, and I normally just do the loop. This
time I decided to do as much of the ridge ascent spur trail as my legs
would allow, as I had already done a good run at daybreak. The
trail turned very steep, at times requiring me to hold both poles in
one hand and use the other to grasp the rocks for a handhold. The
picture at left shows the view back down the canyon.
The poles did a great job gripping both the rock and gravel on the
trail. They did not slip once. On this hike I extended the
lower segment to the maximum length, and extended the upper pole
segment just enough for comfort. I experienced less vibration of
the poles when striking the ground this time. I am going to have
to play around with different amounts of extension of the upper and
lower segments to see where the maximum and minimum vibration points
are, but certainly a longer extension on the lower segment greatly
diminished the horizontal vibration I had noticed before.
On descents I
have made very effective use of the shape of the top of the pole
handles. I use the poles almost as "crutches" to minimize the
strain on my knees when stepping down from very high steps or
rocks. With the straps around my wrists, and using my smaller
fingers to hold the handles as much as possible I can walk almost
indefinitely using the poles as shown in the photo at right. In
the photo I did not have the straps around my wrists, as I had removed
them to use both hands to access my camera, but in normal use I would
have the straps on.
This technique has been very effective for me on descents, as I can
switch my hands to the top of the handle without breaking stride.
This gives me maximum extension of the poles, and allows me to put most
of my weight directly over them.
The foam extension below the shock absorber has been less useful to me
so far. I have tried using them when ascending steep areas, but I
don't like taking my hands out of the straps as I have to break stride
to do so. Most of the trails I have been on do not have long
enough stretches of steep inclines to warrant using the
extensions. I will continue to look for opportunities to use them.
I seem to be returning to Pima Canyon about
every six months, and did so with the Trail Shock poles in
mid-November. It is a trail that screams out for pole use: lots
of elevation change, large boulder steps, and areas of gravel and scree
that make it easy to lose footing. On the flip side the brush
impinges constantly on the trail, making it difficult to swing poles
without catching on something.
During the ascent the FlickLock on the lower segment of one of the
poles slipped several times, indicating that I really should have
tensioned the phillips-head screw before the hike, or brought a tool
that had such a screw driver with me. Unfortunately for me,
I had done neither of these tasks. The photo at left shows
the two poles after a few slips, where the difference in length is
about the size of the pole handle.
On the descent things got worse. As stated above I often use
poles as "crutches" on descents and put a lot of my weight on
them. By the time I returned to the trailhead I had to re-adjust
the pole length about a dozen times. In several cases the slip
occurred when I had my full weight on the poles, causing me to lurch
forward, not something I like to do.
By the time the hike was completed I was feeling very aggravated.
I was angry at myself for not being better prepared with a multitool on
the hike. I was angry with the manufacturer for designing a
product that required me to be prepared with a tool. In my
opinion, the FlickLocks should either have a thumbscrew on them that
allows me to tighten them without a tool, or a small phillips
screwdriver should be embedded in the handle or some other location so
that the user always has the means to tension the FlickLocks.
On the descent I also used the foam handle extensions. I
began my descent by extending the upper and lower segments of both
poles to their
maximum length to minimize my forward lean. When I encountered a
trail section where it
looked like I had to ascend for 30+ steps, I removed the wrist straps
and choked up on the poles using the handle extensions. When I
completed the short climb, I re-inserted my wrists into the
straps. This worked just fine, but I found as time went on I had
a tendency to just tough it out on short ascents and simply stretch my
arms out in front of me using the straps & handles. I am
accustomed to this type of motion from many years of cross-country
skiing, where long poles are the norm.
This time I came equipped with my trusty Swiss Army knife with its
phillips screwdriver. At the beginning of the hike I tightened up
the set screw until I could no longer close the FlickLock that had been
slipping, then backed
it off a bit so it functioned properly. I had no more issues with
slippage in that section. However, at the very end of the hike I
had one last hill to climb and used the poles aggressively to propel me
up as my legs were getting really tired. Another section
slipped! Before I set out on my next hike I am going to take the
time to tension all the FlickLocks.
Other than that issue the poles performed flawlessly. The
Tortolitas are smaller mountains on the Northwest edge of the Tucson
valley, just a 15 minute drive from my house. I had never taken
the Alamo Springs trail before, but it's a sweety with nice elevation,
lots of statuesque saguaro cacti, and a soft and easy return down the
Wild Burro wash. I was very pleased with the poles in the sandy
wash area, allowing me to keep a good pace in the soft ground despite
my fatigued legs. I found that extending the poles a bit longer
than usual gave me maximum propulsion in the level sand.
I can't believe I have lived in Tucson for
a year-and-a-half and just finally made it to Ragged
Top. The Ironwood Forest National Monument is fairly new,
receiving its designation at the end of the Clinton
administration. It is one of the most biologically diverse areas
of the Sonoran Desert, including what is believed to be one of the two
remaining herds of desert bighorn sheep in southern Arizona. The
good news: I saw their scat on this trip. The bad news: I didn't
see the sheep (yet!). Ragged Top is the highest mountain in the
Silverbell range, and is scalable without climbing gear with some
moderate scrambling. This is not a hiking area for people who are
afraid of heights.
I would normally not have used poles on a hike like this. As can
be seen from the photo at right with both the pole and the saguaro
cactus as inclinometers, I would judge the majority of the climbing was
at about a 45-degree angle, typically conditions where I would want to
use my hands to grab rocks or shrubs to steady myself. I decided
to hike with the poles to test them under the most extreme conditions I
thought I could safely handle. I didn't make it all the way to
the summit, as I was hiking alone and was concerned about the descent;
if I fell there was nobody around to pick up my carcass.
The Trail Shocks performed well on this hike. They bit nicely in
the scree, and did not slip on me even once. One of the things I
really like about these poles is the sturdiness; I can put all my
weight on them during descents and not have any mental anguish about
them bending or giving way under my prodigious weight. I had no
problems with any of the FlickLocks slipping; I think I have them
well-tightened now.
A week later I returned to the mountain determined to make it to the
top. There is a popular loop hike that takes the North gully on
the way up and descends on the South face. When I hit the steep
part of the gully I had to stow the poles on my lumbar pack, where I
lashed them horizontally to the front of the pack. I appreciated
how small these poles do compress down with the three sections.
They protruded a bit off to my sides and snagged several times on
brush, but never pulled out of the lashings. I retrieved the
poles after descending to flatter ground on the North side of the
mountain, and used them to pick my way down the remainder of the bajada.
At the end of this hike the pole handles had several cactus spines
embedded in them. There is no real trail at Ragged Top, and I was
constantly walking through Jumping Cholla, picking up quite a few on my
pants legs. I will have to go over the handles with needle-nose
pliers to make sure I have all the spines pulled out to avoid
irritating my hands. This is not a negative reflection of the
pole design; any kind of padding will pick up cactus spines. I
would rather remove them after the hike than not have sufficient
padding on the pole handles.
Another combination of hiking & climbing. I used the poles
for about 2/3 of the trip, and strapped them to my lumbar pack for the
remainder of the ascent to use my handles to scramble. I used
them more on the descent to help save my knees. Once again I
could really feel the effect of the shock absorbers, feeling them
bounce back when I took my weight off the poles on the descent.
My wrists were a little sore after this hike from using them so much to
support my weight, and I don't think with all the pressure I was
putting on them that the shock absorbers could have prevented it.
This was the first hike that I really appreciated the foam handle
extensions. On the descent I went off-trail and followed a
contour line for quite a distance, with a side slope of about 45
degrees. I choked up on the left (uphill) pole for the whole
section of the hike, and appreciated not having to raise my uphill arm
so high to dig in to the ground.
Summary
Overall I am very happy with these poles. When the FlickLocks are
properly tensioned I trust the poles to support most of my weight.
Things I like about the Black Diamond Trail Shock poles:
- Shock absorbers were quiet and effective
- Comfort on my hands and wrists
- Well-designed handle tops allow me to use the poles as "crutches"
on steep descents
- Sturdy: I never felt any concern about bending or breaking the
poles
- FlickLock adjustments are easy to use
- With the three sections the poles telescope down into a compact
size
- Foam handle extensions are handy when following a contour with a
steep side grade.
Opportunities for improvement:
- FlickLock tension should be either adjustable without a special
tool, or the tool should be provided and stored within the poles.
- I feel conflicted whether I like the ability to adjust both
segments of the pole lengths or not. It certainly allows more
flexibility, but I found it a bit of a pain to get the two poles to
exactly match up, and I had to keep four FlockLocks properly tensioned
instead of two.
This concludes my Field Report.
Long Term Report
Long-Term Field Use
Date
|
January 15, 2011
|
January 30, 2011
|
February 5, 2011
|
February 12-13, 2011
|
February 27, 2011
|
March 6, 2011
|
Location
|
Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina
Mountains |
Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina
Mountains |
Tortolita Mountains, Northwest of Tucson,
Arizona |
Superstition Mountains, West of Phoenix, Arizona
|
Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina
Mountains |
Saguaro National Park, West of Tucson, Arizona |
Trail
|
Pontatoc Ridge
Trail
|
Pontatoc Canyon
Trail
|
Upper Javalina and
Wild Mustang
|
Reavis Ranch Trail
|
Pontatoc Ridge
Trail |
Various, but
mostly Picture Rocks Wash
|
Terrain
|
Santa Catalina Mountain ridge, trail was mostly
hard granite
|
Steep canyon trail, mix of hard granite and soft
sand
|
Rocky high desert
|
Canyon creek bed, trail was a mix of rocks and
loose soil
|
Santa Catalina Mountain ridge, trail was mostly
hard granite |
Combination of loose sand and rocky areas
|
Distance
|
5.2 miles (8.4 km)
|
7.4 miles (11.6 km)
|
4.5 miles (7.25 km)
|
10.5 miles (16.9 km) day 1
3.9 miles (6.3 km) day 2
|
4.45 miles (7.16 km)
|
8.5 miles (13.7 km)
|
Weather
|
44-70 F (7-21C), no breeze, sunny |
50-70 F (10-21C), no breeze, hazy sunshine
|
60 F (16 C), no breeze, hazy sunshine |
35-65 F (2-18 C) with calm sunshine
|
37-45 F (3-7 C), mix of sun and snow showers
|
65-75 F (18-24 C) mostly sunny
|
Altitude Range
|
3100-4700 ft
(945-1430 m) |
3100-5040 ft
(945-1535 m)
|
2700-3700 ft
(825-1130 m)
|
4400-5400 ft
(1340-1650 m)
|
3100-4500 ft
(945-1370 m) |
2350-2800 ft
(715-850 m)
|
First time on this trail, though I've been to the trailhead a few times
as it's the same for the Finger Rock trail. I picked this trail
for its steep ascent and broad views from the ridgeline, and I was not
disappointed on either account.
The challenge for the Trail Shocks on this hike was handling the steep
trail profile with its hard granite surface, where trekking pole
slippage can
be a real issue. I am happy to report that the Trail Shocks
handled the challenge with aplomb, with only one minor slip on a very
steep, hard surface, where I would expect any pole would have
issues. The following photo shot looking back down the trail
illustrates the steepness and how rocky the area is. The picture
was taken in the WSW direction, that is the city of Tucson below,
then Saguaro National
park and the Tucson mountains, and off in the distance is Kitt Peak
National Observatory in the Baboquivari Mountains.
View from Pontatoc Ridge
For me the descents of these steep trails are always tougher than the
ascents; it can be easy to turn an ankle or skid with the forward
momentum. I had the poles extended to the maximum for the entire
trip down, and there were a couple of spots where I would have liked
even a little more length when clambering down from a big rock step,
but then this would make the poles harder to stow.
This trail begins from the same trailhead as the previous Pontatoc
Ridge hike, but follows the base of the canyon instead of the
ridgeline. It is a healthy climb, and gave me a chance to test
the Trail Shocks performance on an extended ascent/descent. The
shock absorbers did a good job of protecting my wrists as the pole tips
bit into the hard granite surfaces. On the descent I used the
handle extensions on two occasions where the trail dips across the
canyon bottom and then ascends for a short distance on the other
side. They worked fine, but my hands really wanted the feel of
the straps, and my grip quickly fatigued from having to hold on so
tight to the foam handle extensions.
A note on the straps: as I was hiking along I was reflecting on how
much I like the straps on the Black Diamond pole handles. They
adjust very nicely, though I seldom find the need to do so, and I
really appreciate the way they are padded right where my thumb
intersects my hand. The straps can handle a lot of weight without
feeling much pressure on my hands.
The Tortolita Mountains are composed of metamorphic rock. The
trails are mostly a combination of various sizes of granite boulders
and small rocks, making for tough footing. On this hike I
extended the upper (thicker) section of the poles to the maximum
allowed, and then adjusted the lower (narrower) portion to give me the
correct length for hiking. I observed a fair amount of vibration
in the poles when the tips struck the hard granite surface. This
seems counter-intuitive to me: I would have expected less vibration
when maximizing the use of the thicker section of the pole, and more
when using more of the lower, thinner section, but that is not what I
have experienced.
The poles still performed great in this configuration; I simply noticed
more horizontal vibration.
The Reavis Ranch trail is a section of the Arizona Trail that traverses
the Southern section of the Superstition Mountains. I decided to
explore this area, which was new to me, on a weekend backpacking
trip. The trail was my first use of the poles in what could truly
be considered soil, where the tips sank into the surface. As
expected in such conditions, the tips gave great traction with no
slippage. The small ring at the top of the pole tips did a nice
job of preventing excessive sinking of the poles into the soil surface.
I was also carrying a reasonably heavy pack. Despite the
description in the trail guides that Reavis had year-around water
availability, in Arizona it is wise not to depend on this, so I was
packing 5 L (5.25 qts) of water which weighed my pack down
significantly and made me a bit top-heavy. As a result, I relied
more heavily than normal on the poles to keep me balanced and upright,
as well as to propel me up and down the mountains. This is a job
they did well; I felt comfortable with the poles on both ascents and
descents.
There was a lot of very scratchy brush along the trail, including
Manzanita, scrub oak and Juniper. When I stowed the poles in my
vehicle after the trip was over I noticed a few areas where the paint
was scratched. Nothing serious, just cosmetic, but the Trail
Shocks no longer look brand-new, which is what I would expect after the
use I have put them to. I do not treat my trekking poles with
great care; it is my thought that their purpose is to save wear and
tear on my frame, not vice versa.
Headed out on a snowy Tucson morning with several hiking companions to
enjoy the rare sight of white powder on the ground in the Catalina
Mountains. We didn't do the scramble up the ridgeline, so the
distance and altitude were a little less than last time on this trail.
This was my one experience with the poles in snow. I didn't
bother to bring baskets to use, as I didn't expect the snow to be deep
enough to make it worthwhile, and that indeed was the case.
Nonetheless,
I greatly appreciated the traction and safety provided by the poles
during the descent.
Though Picture Rocks is just 15 minutes from my house, I had not hiked
to the petroglyphs there and I needed a Sunday morning
leg-stretcher. The petroglyphs were easy to find:
Petroglyph at Picture Rocks - looks like a Desert Bighorn Sheep
Made by the Hohokam Indians about 1000 years ago
This hike was about 50% wash walking, with very loose sand, almost like
walking on a beach. I was happy to have my trusty Trail Shock
poles with me, as I really needed the propulsion in the sand.
There wasn't much need for the shock absorbers under these conditions,
but they didn't slow me down either.
Summary
This picture illustrates how I feel about
these poles after
using them for 4 months, as expressed by the skeleton of a deceased
Saguaro cactus: I say "yay", these are great poles. I don't have
much detail to add to the bullet points from my Field Report. The
main data point to add is I had absolutely zero slippage of the
FlickLocks once they were fully tensioned.
The conclusion I have drawn is that the FlickLocks are very reliable
once they have been properly tensioned, but mine did not come shipped
that way, I had to tension them correctly myself.
As to the utility of the shock absorbers, that is very hard to
objectively determine. I certainly had no ill effects to my
wrists and hands from the long distances I traversed on very rocky
trails. I certainly knew the shock absorbers were there on the
descents.
Subjectively, I liked the shock absorbers. The "feel" of the
poles was a little softer on hard surfaces.
The poles have held up well despite the harsh desert conditions they
were exposed to. I certainly made no attempt to treat them
easily. A few scratches on the paint are the worst they have
suffered.
My bottom line is the Trail Shock poles have earned a permanent spot in
my kit.
Many thanks to Black Diamond and
BackpackGearTest.org for the
opportunity to
test this product.
Read more reviews of Black Diamond gear
Read more gear reviews by Kurt Papke
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