Silva Aluminium Cork Trekking Poles Review - ''A workhorse piece of equipment, not the lightest, but strong and highly reliable and offer very good value for money.''
Posted by Lois Fife on Feb 13, 2025
I have been rigorously testing these Silva Trekking Poles Aluminium Cork over the past 12 months. They have joined me on numerous multi-day hikes in the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District, Scotland and whilst on regular long day walks on the North York Moors. They have never let me down, adding confidence to steep descents, taken the load off the body when packed up and provided stability on muddy and uneven ground.
The ergonomic cork grips are easy to hold, even on hot days when the hands get sweaty the grips remain comfortable and abrasion free. The foam extensions to the grip, allow you to move the hands down the pole, without having to stop and adjust the pole length for a short section of a path where a shorter grip is beneficial.
Pole length is easy to set up with two flick locks per pole. Just ensure there is enough resistance on the clamp when locking to the desired length to keep them tight, as this can loosen off when opening and closing the clamp. A small finger-turn of the screw will micro-adjust this tension. Each pole is clearly numbered with both metric and imperial measurements on both the upper and lower sections and are adjustable up to 140cm. I use the lower end of the size range for general use, but having the long length is ideal for use as a tarp or tent support. Over the course of the year the numbering has started to wear off the lower sections, despite always cleaning off any dirt or debris after use – this is the only negative I can find.
When not in use these poles are telescopic and compress to a length of 67cm making them easy to stash externally on a day pack or larger backpacking rucksack.
Overall, I am very impressed with the Aluminium Cork Trekking Poles. Silva have been making technical mapping and lighting equipment for over 90 years and this more recent venture into the trekking pole market continues to offer the same high standard of design and manufacture that we associate with Silva. These are a workhorse piece of equipment, not the lightest, but strong and highly reliable and offer very good value for money.