Gram-Counter Gear Carbon Lite Trekking Poles Review - “I’m seriously impressed with their durability considering that they are so light.”
Posted by Danny Pearson on Oct 27, 2022
Over the past 6 months, the Carbon Lite Trekking Poles have been through their paces in a variety of terrain and conditions from the English Lakes to rocky alpine trails in Mallorca. They have performed faultlessly throughout.
Available in 2 lengths – 110cm and 120cm, they will work for a wide range of people but if you are particularly short or tall you might struggle. I usually set adjustable poles to around 112cm and the 110cm length pole worked perfectly for me (I’m 5ft 7 and a bit).
The Carbon Lite poles are incredibly easy to live with.
The pack size is small when collapsed. I took only carry-on to Mallorca and they easily fit inside my pack for the flight.
Assembly is extremely straightforward and the locking mechanism works very smoothly to lock them out to full length. Once locked, they felt reassuringly strong and robust. In the alpine landscape of the Tramuntana mountains in Mallorca, the poles often got caught between rocks or in rock crevices so were subject to plenty of twisting and pulling to free them whilst moving with no issues.
They are supplied with trekking baskets but I personally didn’t use them. The poles are so exceptionally light it seemed a shame to add any weight to them. On occasions, the baskets might have stopped the poles from getting stuck down gaps in rocks but they pack down smaller without them and are easier to shove in a side pocket on a pack.
Often it feels like there are compromises on really light poles but not the Carbon Lite poles. The handles are a full-length foam that is comfortable to use and allows you to move your hands up or down the grip when covering steep ground. Also, the straps are adjustable too to allow for different hand sizes or wearing gloves.
The poles took plenty of knocks and scrapes on rocks but are hardly marked. I’m seriously impressed with their durability considering that they are so light.
So often the lighter the item the more expensive it is but the Carbon Lite poles are very competitively priced compared to poles of a similar weight making them awesome value.
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Danny Pearson |
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Dan is a keen distance walker who loves to geek over the latest gear. In the last few years, Dan has completed a couple of TGO Challenge crossings of Scotland (with another planned for 2024), GR221 in Mallorca, Dales High Route and Hadrian’s Wall plus countless other self-planned routes. A keen mountain biker but finds he doesn’t bounce so well these days when the inevitable happens. |
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