Blog

Silva Northern Traverse 2024

Posted by Chris Futers on May 07, 2024

With the ever-growing popularity of trail running and ultra marathons, events have become plentiful worldwide. One such event is the Silva Northern Traverse which follows Wainwright's 300 km Coast to Coast route beginning in St Bees, covering three National Parks in the north of England before finishing in Robin Hoods Bay. Aside from this multi-day race (5 days for competitors to complete), t …
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Which LEKI Trekking Poles?

Posted by Mark Richardson on Mar 18, 2024

We stock a full range of LEKI poles. Whilst they can be quite heavy compared with truly 'ultralight' trekking poles their design and build quality are exceptional, they build trekking and running poles that will not let you down, they are tough, reliable and will give years of service. In this post we look at our current stocks of LEKI trekking poles and give advice and our opinion so you can …
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Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 Review - “I absolutely loved the new awning style door opening”

Posted by Danny Pearson on Oct 27, 2023

Big Agnes Copper Spur tents have been bestsellers at Ultralight since their introduction in 2008 and with good reason. For 2022, the Copper Spur received some new updates and the TGO Challenge was a great opportunity to put them to the test. The Copper Spur has evolved from the original design over the years with improvements and new features. Big Agnes works closely with Jake La …
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Leki Cross Trail FX Superlite Poles Review - ''Perfect for my needs and specifically for my 2023 TGO challenge''

Posted by Chris Futers on Jul 21, 2023

Now, I’m not a total novice to using trekking poles having done multiple hikes with poles and long-distance trail runs using poles. However, using more budget choices, I was eager to see what a premium trekking/running pole has to offer over the cheaper alternatives. With all this in mind, Leki’s Cross Trail FX Superlite trekking poles, upon review, appeared to be perfect for my needs and spe …
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Black Diamond Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles Review - "Versatile, packable and have even given consideration to on trail maintenance''

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 19, 2023

I converted to hiking poles in 2017 when I completed Wainwright’s coast-to-coast. They help you power up hills, take pressure off your knees, and stay balanced on uneven terrain. A mountain lead I know says, “There are two types of people who hike with poles, those with bad knees and those that don't want bad knees”. I use trekking poles to erect my tent, so they support me and my shelt …
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Guide to Black Diamond Trekking Poles

Apr 26, 2023

Black Diamond were virtually the first company to bring to market truly lightweight foldable trekking poles suitable for trekking and running, the engineering is outstanding and over the years they have honed and perfected the features so they are now among the best poles available. They aren't so good at naming them, however, since the words and letters used in the names have specific meanin …
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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 …
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Why use Trekking Poles? - LEKI post

Posted by Mark Richardson on May 28, 2022

We were watching LEKI's guide to why you should use trekking poles, it was so good we added a link to it here. Then we realised there was more than one - so here are both of them, they're really good.

Gram-counter Gear Ultra Carbon Trekking Poles Review - Ultralight Outdoor Gear

Posted by Mark Richardson on May 05, 2022

I was lucky enough to get a chance to review a pre-production pair of the new Gram-counter Gear Ultra-Carbon Trekking poles, amazingly light at just 125grams per pole, actually the lightest true trekking pole we have available, and of all the products I tested on the Tour of the Matterhorn these were the most remarkable. Note the pre-production poles I had are identical to the actual …
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The Ultimate Guide to Ultralight Trekking Poles

Posted by Mark Richardson on Apr 18, 2022

Using trekking poles splits the load between your legs and arms, it's not an even split, your knees still take the lion's share of the stress of walking and carrying a load, but by transferring at least some of this to the arms your legs get some relief and at the end of a long day they aren't as tired as they would have been.

Cairngorm Treks Review - Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Z Walking Poles

Posted by Cairngorm Treks on Nov 18, 2019

Walking poles are must have items for our days out in the hills and we are always keen to try out something that promises versatility, lightness, low pack volume, robustness and ease of use in a variety of condition.The first impression of the poles was in their collapsed state, allowing them to be stashed on the side of a pack easily or inside if needs be,as well as into hold luggage if flying. T …
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UOG Review - Leki Black Series MVC Poles

Posted by Danny Pearson on Jun 17, 2019

It’s fair to say I’m a big fan of Leki poles and have mostly been using Leki Thermolite XL poles for the last couple of years. For the TGO Challenge I wanted lighter poles but still wanted them to be adjustable to pitch my tent and have a shorter pack size to stow them inside my pack for the train journey to and from Scotland. The Leki Black Series MVC poles ticked all of these boxes and L …
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