Owner Review: REI Peak UL Trekking Poles

Reviewer Information:

Name: Raymond Estrella
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (187.5 cm)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 
Date: October 29, 2005
Backpacking Background: I fell in love with the outdoors (camping) at 10 years of age. Got my first backpack with Blue-chip stamps, and went on my first hike at 14 years of age. And have been hiking ever since. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierras, and have put 500 miles (800 km) on my boots this year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI)
Web site: http://www.rei.com/
Year of manufacture: 2005
MSRP $ 130.00 (US)

Product information from Manufacturer:
Weight: 6.2 oz each (174 g) Verified accurate.
Minimum length: 27” (67.5 cm)
Actual minimum length measured: 27.15” (67.9 cm)
Maximum length: 55” (137.5 cm)
Actual maximum length when set on furthest adjustment marks: 55.6” (139 cm)
Warranty: (Quoted from website)

The REI Guarantee ensures that every item you purchase at REI meets your high standards, or you can return it for a replacement or refund.

Product description and use:

I purchased the REI Peak UL Trekking Poles in March of 2005. I purchased them because of the weight savings over my previous poles.

From my first use of these poles, they amazed me. They were so light that I was afraid I would break them. With over 300 miles using them, I no longer worry about that. I used them from Palm Springs up to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. Down low in Dome Land Wilderness, and the Kern River, and up high in Kings Canyon. In temps that ranged from over 100F (37C) on the Rincon trail to 17F (-8) on the John Muir Trail. They were used in deep sand on southern portions of the PCT, hard rock in Yosemite, and soft moist dirt in Cleveland National Forest.

The grips are made of black EVA foam. They stay “grippy” even with the prodigious sweating that I do while hiking hard. Only a couple times did they actually get slick. They feel as though they would tear easily, but that has not proven to be a concern. They still look like new. On top of each grip a small compass has been inserted. At first I thought it was gimmicky, but as time went on I started liking them. Now I would not want them removed. I checked them with my “real” compass and they are good enough for casual use. You would not want to rely on them for your only compass while bush-whacking for 4 days, but for day-hiking and such they are fine. Near the top of each grip is a black wrist strap. It is adjustable for length by means of a pull out plug. When the plug is pulled out of the grip the strap can be pulled out, increasing the size of the loop. The inside of the straps have a white terry cloth insert to help with sweat absorption.

This is a picture of the grips and straps. The lower grip has the strap locking plug pulled out of the handle.

The shafts are dark grey, almost black. They are actually a clear epoxy coat over the dark carbon fiber cloth. The shafts are marked with metric units on both the upper and lower sections. They have not worn off at all during adjustments. There are some scratches on the lower sections that did go through the markings from banging the poles into rocks. The shafts are adjusted by turning the sections opposite each other, top; clockwise, lower; counter-clockwise, to loosen. Then after sliding sections to the desired length, repeat the process in reverse to tighten. Doing so causes an expanding nut inside the shaft to push against the sides of the shaft, locking it into place. The stops work very well. I could go days without having a pole slip, necessitating a readjustment. With my old poles I would do it a couple of times per day.

This is a picture of the poles in the fully compressed and extended positions.

The carbon fiber shafts seem to take some of the shock out of each hit. They are much quieter than my old aluminum poles. With the large amount of rain that California received last year, much of my spring and early summer hiking was on extremely over-grown trails. I used the poles to push brush and branches out of my way quite a lot. They held up very well.

The carbide tips are much sharper than my old ones. They stuck to just about everything. The exception was some highly polished rock in Yosemite that it wanted to skip off. With over 300 miles (480 km) of use they still look good. The tips are replaceable in the event of breakage or wear.

The poles come with two “vario trekking disks”, what I call sand bails. I use them. They help quite a bit in deep sand and very moist soil. They add .2 oz (5.6 g) to the over-all weight. They also came with two plastic tip protectors, which I immediately lost.

Summary:

I am very impressed with these trekking poles. I like them very much and will continue using them for all my 3-season hiking.

Pros: Light. Strong. Quiet. Compass. Unbeatable warranty and customer service.

Cons: Expensive.