Mountain King Trail Blaze Walking Poles Review 1

Mountain King Trail Blaze poles... I’ve just received my long anticipated delivery of Trail Blaze poles and wasted no time in escaping for a very autumnal round of the Fairfield Horseshoe,

complete with the first dusting of snow it’s seen this season!

I found these poles to be a revelation. As a long term pole user I found these to be the lightest collapsible poles I’ve used that still maintain an acceptable level of stiffness and mountain toughness. They are also lighter and less expensive than our best carbon poles.

They come in two fixed lengths of 110cm and 120cm and are available in 3 colours. The poles are constructed like a heavy duty avalanche probe and have 4 sections which slide into each other and are held taught with a cord that runs through each section. After clicking each section together, it’s a simple step to pull the cord tight and lock the knot in the cord into a small slot (you’ve got to pull very the cord very tight to see the knot); much quicker assembly time than twist lock or flick lock poles.

Like most specialised lightweight gear, I think it will take a while for them to be accepted by the average outdoor user, but they are already a hit with fellow ultralight backpackers and mountain runners.
I think that they will be perfect for use in all but the heaviest situations and ideal for all round hill-walking use. They pack down smaller that any standard trekking pole on the market (38cm) and can’t really be beaten when it comes to weight and grams per pound. This is an important issue among many users wanting a low pack size for travel and/or mountaineering and winter climbing use.

So far so impressed but I’ll be using them and comparing them with the other poles we range at Head to the Hills in a variety of situations this winter so watch out for more articles and reviews. If anyone is passing Head to the Hills in Ambleside and would like to try a pair, I’ve got some Trail Blaze poles available for testing as well as other poles from the Mountain King pole range.

Pete

HeadtotheHills 21 October 2008