Best Trekking Poles for Seniors

Cascade Mountain Tech Aluminum Quick Lock Trekking Poles (Cork Grip)

The cheapest honest way to get the combination most often recommended to older walkers: a cork grip and an external flip lock you can work with cold or stiff hands, rather than a twist lock you have to grip and turn. Cascade builds it on a 6061 aluminum shaft with an EVA extension below the cork so you can choke down on a hill, and includes rubber boots, mud baskets and snow baskets, so the same pair works on pavement and on trail. The trade at this price is weight: these are among the heavier poles here.

Trekology Trek-Z Cork Foldable Trekking Poles

A folding pole rather than a telescoping one: the segments break apart on an internal cord and pack down to about 38 cm, short enough for a daypack or a suitcase. The grip is natural cork on a 7075 aluminum shaft, with a metal flip lock for fine length adjustment, and Trekology quotes a fit range of 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 5 in. Folding poles take a moment longer to deploy than a straight telescoping pole, and this is the heaviest pole in this set.

Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Fiber Quick Lock Trekking Poles (Cork Grip)

The value carbon pole here: a full carbon fiber shaft with a cork grip and Cascade's external Quick Lock, at a price most carbon poles do not reach. Carbon damps trail vibration better than aluminum, which is the point if your hands or wrists ache after a couple of hours out. It ships with a carry case and four sets of interchangeable tips, so one pair covers pavement, mud and snow. Carbon is stiffer but less forgiving than aluminum if a tip jams and the pole gets levered sideways.

Montem Ultra Strong Cork Anti-Shock Trekking Poles

One of the few poles at this price that lists anti-shock as an actual specification rather than a marketing line, which is what you want if downhill steps jar your knees. It pairs that with a cork grip on a 7075 aluminum shaft and an unusually wide adjustment range, from 61 cm up to 135 cm, so the same model fits a short walker and a tall one. Montem publishes weight for the pair only, at 19.2 ounces, which is mid-pack for an aluminum pole with a damper in it.

Montem Ultra Light 100% Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles

The lightest pair Montem lists, at 15.2 ounces for the two, built on a full carbon fiber shaft with an EVA foam grip. It is a two-section design rather than the usual three, which makes it stiffer and quicker to set but means it does not pack as small. Foam is warmer than cork in cold weather but holds sweat more, and the flip-lock clasp has an adjustable screw so you can retension it as it wears in.

Black Diamond Trail Back Trekking Poles

Black Diamond's entry pole, and the one to look at if you want the brand's FlickLock lever without paying the cork premium. The grip is TPR rubber rather than cork, which wipes clean and wears well but is less absorbent on a hot day, and the aluminum shaft runs from 100 to 140 cm, the longest reach in this table. It takes the same interchangeable flex tips and baskets as the rest of the Black Diamond line, so replacement parts are easy to find years later.

LEKI Khumbu Lite AS Trekking Poles

The anti-shock pole in LEKI's line that is still genuinely light, at 8.8 ounces per pole, with LEKI's DSS suspension built into the tip; the company says it cuts impact on joints, muscles and ligaments by up to 40 percent. The Aergon grip is 80 percent natural cork, and the Speed Lock Plus external lever is among the easier locks here to open and close with stiff fingers. Three sections adjust from 100 to 135 cm.

LEKI Makalu Cork Lite Trekking Poles

A straightforward three-section aluminum pole with LEKI's Aergon Air Cork grip and the same Speed Lock Plus lever as the Khumbu, at 8.4 ounces per pole. It comes in two length ranges, 90 to 125 cm and 100 to 135 cm, so a shorter walker can buy a pole that collapses properly rather than one that bottoms out too long. There is no shock absorption in this one, which is the main thing separating it from the Khumbu Lite AS.

Black Diamond Trail Vista Shock Trekking Poles

Black Diamond's shock-absorbing trekking pole: an elastomer damper in the shaft takes the sting out of downhill steps, which is the single feature walkers with sore knees ask for most. The grip is natural cork with a foam extension, the shaft is aluminum, and the FlickLock levers adjust from 100 to 140 cm. Black Diamond publishes weight per pair in grams rather than per pole; at 548 g this is not a light pole, because the damper and the cork both add weight.

LEKI Makalu Cork FX TA Trekking Poles

The folding version of LEKI's Makalu: it breaks down with a push-button system to a 41 cm pack size, then locks out and still adjusts on the Speed Lock Plus lever, so you get suitcase packability without giving up length adjustment. The grip is Aergon Air Cork on an aluminum shaft, at 9.1 ounces per pole. Folding poles have more joints to keep clean, and replacing a single damaged section costs more than it does on a telescoping pole.

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles

The premium pole here, and the one most often handed to somebody who walks a lot: a full carbon shaft with a natural cork grip and an EVA foam extension, on forged aluminum FlickLock Pro levers that are noticeably easier to set and hold better than plastic ones. It adjusts from 100 to 130 cm, a little shorter at the top end than the Trail poles, so very tall walkers should check the fit. It is the most expensive pole in this table, and carbon tolerates a sideways lever less well than aluminum when a tip jams between rocks.