Reviews > Trekking Poles > Poles > LEKI Trek Pathfinder Jr. Poles > Brian Tannehill > Initial Report

Initial Report for LEKI Jr Hiking Poles

Name: Brian Tannehill  
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 7” (1.7 m)
Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)
Email address: bj(at)tannehillclan(dot)com  
City, State, Country: Lompoc, Ca, 93437
Date: 23 Jan 2004

Backpacking Background:

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished all my life in East Texas, and started camping/hunting/fly fishing the last 3 years in Colorado. The majority of the hunting in Colorado was done from a well established basecamp, venturing out from there for the day. Because of the young kids I have (2, 8, 10), I mostly do weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching anywhere along the central coast. I am also an avid Mountain Biker. My 2 oldest boys are getting to the point where they can come out more hiking and camping with me, and I am looking forward to this in the future. I now live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round. I have also recently been accepted to join a Search and Rescue team for the local area, and will be using the majority of my equipment for this, so it had better work!

Backpacking Background on my son:

I have a 10 year old son who is just getting into hiking and camping with me (when school permits). He weighs in at 62 lbs (28 kilograms), and is almost 5 feet (152 cm) tall (a bean pole). He is a beginner to hiking and using poles. He goes out often with me Geocaching, and is starting to go out on day hikes as well (sometimes he wants to stay home and play with his friends).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: LEKI
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.leki.com
Mfg Weight: 14.4 oz. per pair (408 g)
My weight: 15.6 oz per pair (444 g)
MSRP: USA $39.95 per pr.(USD)/ Canada $64.95 (CD)

Field Locations 

The locations of our test will be varied from the beaches located in Central California, (Lompoc, Santa Maria area) to the National Forest just east of here ranging up to 5000 feet (1500m). I will start my son out initially on the hill in my back yard so he can get the hang of using the poles, since he has never used any before. The weather will stay around a cool 60 F (16C) for the majority of this test.

My initial thoughts and description:

The product arrived on the 23 of Jan in a long brown box. The box and poles were in good shape, very simple packaging just the box, poles, and some paper filler for padding. The grips are what the web site calls turbo sport kids grip. They are a black rubber material with one indention for the first finger, and some groves for the palms of your hands.  LEKI is imbedded in the rubber grip as well. The wrist straps are a 3/4 in (1.9 cm) wide black nylon web strap. One strap is open ended, the other has a plastic buckle for adjusting the straps. The top half of the poles are a purple color with pictures of animal tracks that someone might encounter on the trail. The bottom is black with size markings on it from 80 cm - 115 cm (31.5 in - 45.3 in). They also have the name LEKI, and the web site www.leki.com on the pole so when you run across the internet in the woods you can look them up I guess. About 2 inches (5.1 cm) from the bottom are the baskets. They are just standard rubber, with some cleats all around them. The tips start to taper to a point, but become blunt at the very end. Some of my initial concerns are that the plastic buckle will break, the twist lock will get stripped out, and that the baskets will tear. Overall they appear to be very well constructed.

Dylan's initial thoughts:

It is great because it is my size, and the loops are just right for my hand. I like the hand grip. The poles have animal foot prints on the side of themt. The foot prints might help me indentify the footprints on the ground. It is easy to adjust the size, and on the bottom of the the pole it has a metal tip. It might be great on the hills, and it can dig into the ground.

Dylan's thought's after some initial training:

I think this will be a great pole to use. It might help me on big or steep hills. It sticks into the ground and pulls out easy. It is easy to walk with and is great with balance. The grip is great, I went up and down the hill in my yard. The strap helps my hand by holding it in place. I went up and down the hill five times.

Dylan was a bit awkward walking with them. He did notice on the first trip down the hill how they would help with balance coming down. He has never used poles before, so this will be a big learning experience for him and for me. He has also mentioned that the buckle hurts his hand, but he thought he just had it on wrong. We will try to reconfigure the straps and see if they are any better. He suggested using velcro straps instead of a buckle system.

Some questions to answer over the course of the test:
How will the plastic buckle hold up over time?
Will they continue to hurt his hands?
How will the baskets hold up over time?
Will the twist lock become stripped out?
How easy will he "learn" how to use them?

From my initial test plan:
Are they to heavy for him?
How well do the grips work when wet?
Are the straps wide enough?
Too wide?
Do they rub him anywhere?
Do the grips cause blisters?
The web site says they are adjustable from 80-115 cm (31.5 in - 45.3 in). My son is almost 5 feet (1.5 m) tall; is he too tall for them?
Is he too short for them?
Does he like them?

This is going to be a fun test series, and I am looking forward to helping him test the poles. My other son who is 8 years old is extremely jealous, I have asked and gotten permission to let him test as well.

Reviews > Trekking Poles > Poles > LEKI Trek Pathfinder Jr. Poles > Brian Tannehill > Initial Report