[BigBrunyon]

As someone who knows the gear, I'm starting to recommend a heavier wood these days. Recommending a heavier wood. Basically keeps you more stabilized due to the heftier trail feel. I know the gear! And these days I'm Recommending going a heavier wood!!!

[uww]

I broke a Costco Cascade Carbon pole in some talus at an inopportune moment and decided to go aluminum. Bought Leki z-poles because of the lifetime warranty and love them. I have forgotten all about the ridiculous price.

[Slim]

[NoNameCreek]

I have a pair of LT5 from Gossamer Gear. The grips are EVA foam, shafts are carbon fiber, tips are carbide. Feather-light, durable, and comfortable. You can also replace sections individually. Pricey at $195, but worth every mile.

[Chief Joseph]

[Chief Joseph]

[Malachai Constant]

The Costco poles work well and are dirt cheap, I used them on the PCT and JMT. I have also broke a couple pairs by falling on them. As the Titan tragedy taught us carbon fiber breaks under compression went back to BD flick locks.

[InFlight]

[Malachai Constant]

The pressure differential on aircraft is at most one atmosphere. In a deep submersible is hundreds of atmospheres, comparable to high pressure water jet cutting devices. The cycling from many dives causes fatigue problems. Of course aluminum can also fatigue from multiple pressurizations.

[Dante]

No love for MSR? I like supporting the home town teams (REI, MSR, OR, etc.) when I can. I replaced my old Lekis with DynaLoc Ascent Carbon Backcountry Poles and have had no regrets. My son inherited my Lekis. Whenever they start slipping I clean the inside of the tube and they're good to go for a couple more years.

[Anne Elk]

I ended up going with RichP's suggestion of the Alps Mountaineering poles. It had the design I'm used to (the twist locks instead of clips), which I've never found to be a problem if you wipe off crud before putting them away, and I do think the shock absorption feature helps. https://alpsmountaineering.com/explorer-trekking-pole.html One thing Rich didn't mention is that they're sold individually, not in pairs. I've never seen that before. Kinda handy if you happen to destroy poles often, as mentioned in some comments. I never used trekking poles until one time back in the 90's I went for a quick jaunt up to Barclay Lake with a friend who'd climbed in the Himalayas. He pulled out a set of poles from the trunk and I asked, "What do you need those for on a walk like this?" And he said, "We always walked with them on our expeditions, I never go without 'em." So I learned. '

[Randito]

FWIW: I've owned most brands of adjustable length poles and have busted or worn out all of them. Three years ago I bought a $40 pair of fixed length ski poles constructed with 7000 series aluminum. They are holding up well and working perfectly for me summer and winter. I wrap some duct tape about 15cm below the grip to give me a shorter option.