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While I wish they had stock of the other colors (will have to buy another pair next year) my black set is great. Theyre light, swing naturally, and have really made me realize how much I like to choke up close to a foot when skiing really hard lines - keeps me from accidentially dragging a pole but theyre still there if absolutely needed. They survived several long pole whacking sessions with some friends when racking up gnar points and really made me look like I was the best skier on the mountain, which is good, because I am.
My only complaint is that the 125cm I received is longer than any other 125cm poles Ive ever used. I don't mind choking up (thats the whole point- I get that) but I was expecting a true 125 but in reality they are closer to 130cm.
When I received the poles I was surprised to see that the baskets just screwed onto the shaft rather than snap on the way Black Diamond poles do.
Last weekend while skiing in the backcountry I was boot-packing up a section where I carried my skis with one arm and doubled up the poles with the other arm. When I got a ways up the trail and wanted to switch arms (skis and poles) I realized that one of my pole baskets was missing.
I had to drop my load and retrace my path back down the mountain and look for the basket. Luckily I found it approximately 400 yards back down the trail.
All I could think about is that if I wasn’t able to find the basket I would have had to cancel my plans for the day because without baskets in the backcountry the pole would have been virtually useless.
I really don’t want to have to carry an extra pole basket in my backpack “just in case”.
For the rest of the day I was focusing on twisting the ski poles to the right (righty-tighty) when I planted them.
Other than that debacle the poles worked great. I like this type/style of pole and am happy to have them. If the basket issue were to continue I would seek out a similar style of pole from a different brand.
I love these poles!
The grip is a nice firm foam. Some will argue that you can make these types of poles yourself, sure, but they simply won’t look or feel as nice as these.