Semi-live review! S&S Archery’s new trekking poles!!

[Jordan Budd]

Got my hands on the new Backcountry Hunting CarbonLite trekking poles from S&S Archery! Initial impressions were wow these are light! The pair come in at 12oz per their website. Feature twist locks for adjustment although these are twist locks like I haven’t personally used. Instead of only the lock turning, the lock and the leg turn. So technically you can have your hand on the leg to tighten/loosen versus only being able to adjust on the twist lock portion itself. I’m sure that was clear as mud. The tension seemed to hold tight while hiking up the mountain on Friday, no complaints there. So far I don’t have any comments on issues I see these poles having. Looking forward to reviewing them throughout the season!

Jordan's review is live here: CL Backcountry Trekking Pole Review

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[hflier]

I have a pair. Been using them for a few weeks. So far I really like them.


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[Justin Crossley]

Jordan's review is live!

S&S Archery CL Backcountry Trekking Pole Review

 

[Justin_the_EDG]

I've always been generally concerned with Carbon vs Aluminum from a strength perspective. I remember someone in video/podcast once mentioning that if aluminum bends, you just bend it back (something I've experienced). Where while carbon takes more force perhaps to break, when it goes... Thoughts on that? I've found I have a bad tendency to get lazy and "catch" my poles as I tire out on a hunt.

 

[MuleyFever]

If you put the same force on an aluminum pole as you would on a carbon pole to break it. The aluminum pole will probably also snap. I have snapped an aluminum pole. There is no bending it back when it is in 2 pieces.

 

[twall13]

Has anyone had any issues with these poles slipping on them? I was hesitant to pull the trigger on them because of some slipping issues with twist lock poles in the past but I ended up getting a set back in December. I've put around 60 miles on them since and I've had the poles slip 4 times on me. I haven't labeled the poles so I'm not sure if it's the same pole slipping or if they've both slipped a time or two. Every time they've slipped on me it's been gradual enough that it probably wouldn't have caused injury under load (my hikes have been without a weighted pack up to this point). If not for the slipping I really like these things. The grips are comfortable, they are really lightweight and seem to be plenty strong from my use. I've torqued them pretty good a couple of times catching myself in the snow and they've held up fine. The twist locks don't get hung up on the pack which I really like, but it doesn't do me much good if I can't trust them. So far they haven't slipped at a bad moment, but knowing they might makes me nervous.

I should probably note that there may be some user error in causing the slipping. With my use up to this point I've pretty much left them fully extended as there are a couple of trailheads within 200 yards of my house. I wonder if I had collapsed them and reset them each time I used them (as I would likely do on a backpack hunt) if they wouldn't have slipped and over time they just worked lose with use from being extended for prolonged use without ever re tightening them. I used them throughout the winter so pretty much all of those miles were in at least a couple inches of snow, sometimes a couple of feet of snow. Not sure if the poles sinking into the snow and twisting as I hike plays in at all but thought it was worth mentioning.

Just curious if I got a lemon pole and should contact S&S or if it's just the nature of the beast with these poles. What has everyone else's experience been?

 

[StopMakingSense]

I had my poles slip on me that I singled out to one pole, turned out to be user error on my part, I broke an internal piece somehow, Rob was super quick in getting it handled for me.

 

[twall13]

Maybe that's my next step, label my poles and see which one slips. It might take another month or so to narrow it down at the current rate as I'd need at least two more slips to narrow it down.

 

[Jordan Budd]

Has anyone had any issues with these poles slipping on them? I was hesitant to pull the trigger on them because of some slipping issues with twist lock poles in the past but I ended up getting a set back in December. I've put around 60 miles on them since and I've had the poles slip 4 times on me. I haven't labeled the poles so I'm not sure if it's the same pole slipping or if they've both slipped a time or two. Every time they've slipped on me it's been gradual enough that it probably wouldn't have caused injury under load (my hikes have been without a weighted pack up to this point). If not for the slipping I really like these things. The grips are comfortable, they are really lightweight and seem to be plenty strong from my use. I've torqued them pretty good a couple of times catching myself in the snow and they've held up fine. The twist locks don't get hung up on the pack which I really like, but it doesn't do me much good if I can't trust them. So far they haven't slipped at a bad moment, but knowing they might makes me nervous.

I should probably note that there may be some user error in causing the slipping. With my use up to this point I've pretty much left them fully extended as there are a couple of trailheads within 200 yards of my house. I wonder if I had collapsed them and reset them each time I used them (as I would likely do on a backpack hunt) if they wouldn't have slipped and over time they just worked lose with use from being extended for prolonged use without ever re tightening them. I used them throughout the winter so pretty much all of those miles were in at least a couple inches of snow, sometimes a couple of feet of snow. Not sure if the poles sinking into the snow and twisting as I hike plays in at all but thought it was worth mentioning.

Just curious if I got a lemon pole and should contact S&S or if it's just the nature of the beast with these poles. What has everyone else's experience been?

Try to find the one slipping would be my first step. I haven’t had an slipping issues but I’m also like 165 lbs. Even with 50-60 lbs in my bag I’m not putting as much weight on them as a lot of guys are starting out. With my 80-90 lb loads of meat this year I didn’t have an issue though.. I only used one pole packing out but that thing saved my ass a couple times.


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[twall13]

I thought I'd follow up on this thread after some more extensive use. I also wanted to give a shout out to Rob and S&S for his awesome customer service. Soon after my post above I narrowed the slippage down to one pole and discovered the locking mechanism on the inside was busted. Rob quickly sent me a replacement section and my problems with the poles slipping seem to have gone away. I've used them for easily 150 miles and packed out a few animals with them and find I tend to use these poles more than my others simply because they are lighter.

I recently had the pin that holds the wrist straps into the handle come out and lost it on the trail (my fault for not noticing it was loose sooner). I contacted Rob to see if I could purchase just that part and he shipped me a whole new top section for free. These guys stand behind their product and I can now fully recommend these poles if you want a lightweight option.

 

[Indian Summer]

I’ll pass on twist locks.