I was back in REI tonight and looked again at poles. Noticed that the BD Trail made out of aluminum has the angle on their grips, while the BD Alpine made out of carbon does not. Another thing I noticed, not about grips, is that the aluminum was not as quiet when I would plant the poles. It wasn't a rattle, but there was a definite noise. $10 more at REI were both poles than at a local place, but there is the dividend to think about two.