Old school way of thinking, climbers would just carry an ice ax and forget about messing with trekking poles. But the added stability of two additional points of contact (four including your feet) speeds up ascents and descents while providing an additional amount of safety. We have used trekking poles with crampons on moderately angled snow slopes where a fall would not be serious for a quick ascent, which allows us to carry a shorter lighter weight ice ax for the steep stuff.
Gabel X-Lander Lite Trekking Poles
After the summer Outdoor Retailer Show, a shiny new set of Gabel X-Lander Trekking Poles arrived at Cascade Alpinist world headquarters hours before our departure to the Enchantments for a week of climbing earlier this summer. We tossed them into the car top box and headed east to start the long awaited vacation. As the year has progressed into winter, the X-Landers have always been invited along on every outing for the last six or so months. Weighing just less than 8 oz. each, they are a light weight three section trekking pole that collapses down to 25 ½ inches for easy storage on the pack when not in use.
Poles collapse to easily store on your pack.
Until receiving this set of poles, I have been a proponent of lever lock style of pole adjustments because of the positive holding power and a previous purchase of a set of back country ski poles with a twist lock adjustment that did not securely hold. This well known brand of poles collapsed after a pole plant, sending me out of control on a steep slope. In the six months of hard use, including a recent day spent skiing, the Gabel twist lock mechanism never accidently released. (Gabel makes a more expensive lever lock style of pole also.)
Twist lock design allows infinite tightening keeping the pole from changing length.
This can be attributed to the thoughtful Italian Design found throughout the poles including the twist lock mechanism that is made from a special plastic fitting that tightens down over a cone shaped fitting pressed into the pole section. This twist lock design allows infinite tightening and little room for failure. Gabel anodizes the individual pole sections inside and out to reduce the possibility of corrosion/ oxidation which over time impedes the smooth movement of the inner sections, the Gabel X-Landers show no sign of oxidization on the inner sections. I discovered the effects of oxidation on a set of lever lock poles, after I did not store them fully extended to allow the moisture to evaporate, something we have a lot of in the Northwest. To get the oxidized poles open it took holding them in a vice and reefing on them.
Combination of foam handles and nylon strap provide a comfortable grip.
The handles are comfortable featuring a sculptured EVA foam grip that provides just the right amount of friction and breathability even when your hands are sweaty. The top of the grip is hard plastic and houses a nylon strap that is fully adjustable, even on the fly. The nylon strap is lined with a comfortable neoprene material to prevent chafing when they are adjusted tight against your hands. The outside of the strap has a reflective logo that makes them easy to find with your headlamp on early alpine starts.
Two different style of baskets come with the poles.
At the business end is a surprisingly durable point tipped with a very hard carbonized metal. We have stuffed these tips between rocks on trails, talus fields and in dirt for over 200 miles of walking and they show little wear. Included with the poles are two sets of baskets, one set for summer trekking and one for use on the snow. The baskets screw on about 3 inches up from the tip and seat on to a shoulder that has a notch that keeps the basket from unscrewing.
Grey Ones Rating:
The X-Lander Trekking Poles feature careful attention to design details that make them extremely durable and a pleasure to use even on the longest uphill grind in the heat of the summer or on steep snow covered slopes in winter. If you can get your hands on a pair, they are definitely a better value than most poles priced under $100.00 and should be a piece of gear you’ll have around for several years.