Today we're looking in depth at Cascade Mountain Tech Trekking Poles. We purchased ours on Amazon for about $23 and weren't disappointed. Weighing in at 10.4oz each, the 7075 alloy aluminum poles are almost 25% heavier than their carbon fiber alternatives, but we didn't notice the weight over our roughly 3mi test hike. The handles of the poles are cork and EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) and are comfortable. After a few miles, they definitely look used, but we didn't notice any flaking or degradation in performance. The EVA foam section just below the cork is handy for a change of grip to introduce some variation over long hikes.
These pole lengths are hand-adjustable (thumb nut with quick-lock lever), although you can use a flat-head screwdriver if necessary (we didn't need to). The three section poles are easy to adjust to fit most heights (adjusts from 26-54"). To operate the lock, release the lever arm, adjust the nut, and the close the lever. Once set, the poles never loosened during our hike.
Each pole comes with several different end caps (snow basket, mud basket, indoor boot, and cap), though we only used the snow basket. We found the snow-baskets slightly tricky to thread onto the poles, and indeed, lost one during the hike. Likely user-error, but hey, it happened. Cascade Mountain does sell replacements, though it looks like they're about $9-10 for a set of two. At that price, might just buy another set of poles.
If you pull off the regular cap, you'll see a tungsten-carbide tip on the pole (and a metal washing in the cap to prevent the carbide tip from cutting through the rubber cap).
Overall: Takeaway
These earned an A in our book. These were inexpensive, held our weight (both between 170 and 200 pounds) and did the trick to hike up to the highest point in Connecticut. We relied on them heavily during the descents and found them handy during some of the steeper ascents as well.
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