This Cascade Mountain Tech trekking poles review is based on the first fifty miles of use, with the Aluminum Quick Lock model poles with the cork/Eva grips. I may swing back around at the hundred mile mark, and provide some updates, as time allows.
I bought my poles at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Northridge, CA, and have been trying them out in the Santa Monica Mountains on the Backbone Trail, Topanga State Park, O’Melveny Park trails, etc. Basically typical So Cal sun-baked, hard dirt, and sandstone based trails, which have recently become muddy from the anomalous rains happening this winter season.
Pro’s and Con’s
Pros: Good quality poles for a deep value price, aviation grade aluminum that’s stronger than carbon fiber, comfortable cork grip works well for all seasons in Southern California, adjustable wrist straps, quick locks easy to operate and can be operated with gloves on, graduation marks to dial in the proper height each time, and comes with a variety of accessories
Cons: lock adjuster dials may need to be tightened out of the box before first using the poles, not intended to be used for cross-country or downhill skiing, cork grip not as insulated as rubber grip for snowshoeing or winter hiking in cold weather conditions, cork grip might be too small for larger hands, minor vibration noise compared to beefier poles.
Features
- Aviation grade 6061 aluminum that’s stronger than carbon fiber
- 8.3 oz. per pole with rubber tip (7.8 oz. with no tip)
- Adjusting height with graduated markings for a range of 26 to 54”; 26″ being their ‘storage’ mode
- Poles are adjustable to the approximately 48″ needed, for tents that require poles to pitch, like the Durston X-mid and Zpaks Duplex
- Cork upper grip and Eva lower grip wick moisture and reduce vibration
- Eva lower grip provided for uphill usage without resetting the pole’s lengths
- Comes with variety of tips/baskets: small tips for hard/slippery surfaces and environmentally sensitive sites, boot tips for power walking/Nordic walking, mud baskets for hiking in mud/sand/soft surfaces, snow baskets for hiking/snowshoeing in the snow.
- The naked tip is made of tungsten carbide metal
- The naked tip can be used for icy conditions (Mt. Baldy in January for instance, if you’re brave and a risk taker)
- Wrist straps are comfortable and can be loosened or tightened to customize your fit (though it may take pliers to loosen the straps’ wedges, the first time you pull them out to adjust the strap lengths)
- Quick locks can be adjusted through rotation if too tight or loose
- Upper, middle and lower sections of the poles can be replaced at the manufacture’s replacement parts website
Performance
I’ve used these both for day hiking with a 10 pound, loaded Gregory Zulu 30 pack, and backpacking with 25+ pounds of camping equipment in a Gregory Paragon 58L pack. But most of the info in this review of the Cascade Mountain Tech Quick Lock Trekking Poles, is based on their use with my Zulu pack, day hiking.
Make sure to tighten your locks before your first hike
The only performance issue was on their first 10 miles of hiking, basically out-of-the-box, one of the quick locks was not dialed in tight enough. This resulted in its corresponding telescoping shaft sinking back towards ‘storage’ mode during use. After 5 to 10 seconds of tightening that particular quick lock, I’ve never had the same problem, over the next 40 miles of hiking. If you plan on purchasing these poles, it’s probably best to just adjust the quick locks to the proper tightness before using.
Weight bearing performance
Otherwise, these poles work adequately. I’ve used them going up some extremely steep sections of trail. Doing so, I leaned into them fairly hard, to take some of that resistance strain off my legs and joints. Based on that, I feel they can take a good amount of body weight.
I’ve also used them to pull myself up steps, where both poles are planted on the step in front of me, and I transfer a significant amount of weight onto my triceps through the poles. Same deal going down steps. No complaints here. The poles will indeed take some weight! I’m usually in the middleweight weight class, for reference.
I’ve also caught myself from slipping a few times with them, where they’ve had to take on more weight than normal, and they performed well, with no signs of bending or wear afterward.
User error slippage
The only slippage I’ve had was when I was attempting to use the poles in a ‘leave no trace’ manner, with the rubber tips on, during steep grade areas of trail with powdery loose dirt and gravel. And it wasn’t consistent, but just a tiny subset of instances of planting the poles on trail with such conditions. 99%+ of the times there was no slippage; just every once in a while, and it was of no consequence on the rare occasion it would happen.
Comfort
Cork Grips
The cork grips are comfortable enough for a good 3-5 hours of hiking; maybe longer, I just haven’t tested them on an all day hike just yet.
The grips also fit my hand perfectly, with regard to their grooves and curvature. I’d say my hand is about medium sized, so if your hands are credibly large, this particular model may not be best for you.
After 50 miles they’ve yet to break into the shape of my hands. But likely they will start to do so in the summer, when they start to get some sweat on them, and become more pliable.
Straps
The straps feel good when hiking. You can adjust them to the appropriate length as needed, by pulling the stop-block wedge out from the handle, adjusting, then replacing the wedge.
My only regret is that when you adjust the strap length, it yanks the soft, cushy underside of the strap more towards one side of the hand than the other. This means my thumb-palm area on one pole is enjoying the soft pad, while my pinky-palm area is enjoying it on the other pole. Do i actually perceive that part of my hands are being robbed of this soft area when hiking? No, not consciously.
Stiffness and vibration
The CMT trekking poles can randomly vibrate as you’re using them. Though this doesn’t translate into reduced rigidity or stability. It’s mostly just a minor noise pollution type concern. To me it’s just the normal background noise of using trekking poles.
Just checking around the internet for other reviews of this pole, I see Andrew Skurka mentions this as well. He says tightening down the locking systems can reduce this, but mine are credibly tight, and still I get the vibration.
Quality and Durability
I see a little bit of light wear on the lower telescoping sections of the poles. Very minor scratches in the black pain on the poles.
I’ve also caught one of the poles between a few rocks on planting, and had to maneuver to release it. However I don’t see any evidence of this event on either pole. No bending, cracks, major scrapes, or anything.
I further don’t see any evidence of rust on the poles from creek crossings. Likely they really are 6061 aviation grade aluminum, as the manufacture claims.
Rubber tips can show wear within first 50 miles of hiking
I’ve been using my rubber tips for some hikes, just to test them out, as were I in a ‘leave no trace’ area. One of the tips does show some wear. A few small chunks of rubber have been chipped off near the bottom edge of the tip’s body. These chunks are too small to compromise the corresponding pole’s performance. However I could see needing to replace the rubber tips within the first 250-300 miles if this trend continues.
Naked tungsten carbide tips are still functional
When your poles are brand new, the tungsten carbide tips have little teeth with ridges protruding from their centers, affording a star-shape effect, when looking at their underside. The teeth help with gripping the trail, but will naturally be ground down over time.
At 50 miles of trekking with the poles, and maybe 20-25 miles with just the naked tips, they are still shaped properly and gripping the trail.
How to replace Cascade Mountain Tech trekking pole tips
To replace your CMT quick lock trekking pole tungsten carbide tips, you’ll need to visit the manufacture’s replacement parts page, and purchase and entire lower telescopic section for each pole. The tips themselves cannot be individually replaced.
Overall durability
Based on their usage thus far on the trail, I’m thinking these poles will probably go thousands of miles before some type of failure. And likely that failure will be from user error.
Obviously the most natural point of failure is the quick lock systems. But if you’re just using these poles for some weekend hiking, or the occasional backpacking trip, like me, they’re probably going to last a good time.
Now if you were guiding half the year, and opening and closing these quick locks multiple times a day, then likely you’re going to use them to the point of failure relatively quicker. But with all the replacement parts available online, and the cheap initial acquisition cost, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Weight and Pack Size
By my scale, the weight of one pole with the rubber tip on is 10.35oz. and the rubber tip by itself is 0.45oz. The pole is therefore 9.9oz., while strapping both to your pack adds a little over a pound of weight (19.8 to 20.7oz.). Compare that to the quick lock, aluminum Black Diamond Trail Pro Shock Trekking Poles, who weigh in at 20.2oz. for the pair.
And while strapped to your pack, the pole’s packed length comes out to 26 inches. And for this Cascade Mountain Tech trekking poles review, I did strap them to my Zulu 30 pack, just to see how they would do. They rode okay on the pack, but tended to slip a bit lower through the loops. This obligated me to take my pack off to sit down; otherwise the bottom of the poles would meet the seat before anything else on me would.
Adjustability
The poles are adjustable between 26 and 54 inches. They are therefore suitable for users that are between 4 feet and 6 feet, 4 inches tall. When holding trekking poles, your forearms should be parallel with the ground.
| User height (feet,in) | User height (cm) | Suggested trekking pole height (in) | Suggested trekking pole height (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| <4’11” | <150cm | <40″ | <100cm |
| 4’11” to 5’2″ | 151 to 158cm | 41 to 44″ | 105 to 110cm |
| 5’2″ to 5’5″ | 159 to 165cm | 44 to 46″ | 110 to 115cm |
| 5’5″ to 5’8″ | 166 to 172cm | 46 to 48″ | 115 to 120cm |
| 5’9″ to 5’10” | 173 to 180cm | 48 to 50″ | 120 to 125cm |
| 5’11” to 6’1″ | 181 to 187cm | 50 to 52″ | 125 to 130cm |
| 6’2″ to 6’5″ | 188 to 195cm | 52 to 54″ | 130 to 135cm |
Adjusting trekking pole height for trekking pole tents
Trekking pole tents have become a popular ultralight option in modern tent design. But what height do your poles need to be at to pitch these types of tents? And will the CMT quick lock aluminum poles do the job?
I examined two popular UL tents and researched their optimal trekking pole heights when pitching – the Durston X-mid tent series and the Zpaks Duplex series. Turns out they both need a trekking pole height of 48″, and thus the Cascade Mountain Tech poles will indeed fit the bill.
Adjusting trekking poles with gloves on
The quick lock design on the locks does allow you to adjust the poles’ heights, with your gloves on. This is one of the advantages these poles have over others, with the twist-lock mechanisms.
Quick lock adjustments
Adjusting the quick locks by dialing in the proper tightness of them isn’t bad but isn’t great. When I had to adjust mine on the trail, it felt there was a good amount of resistance in the dialing process. But perhaps it’s meant to be so, to keep the dials in place after setting.
At any rate, I was able to adjust the dial in the matter of under a minute, on trail, when I needed to tighten a loose lock.
Related: These quick locks actually help me secure my poles to my Gregory day pack. Find out how to attach your Cascade Mountain Tech Quick Lock poles to a Gregory pack by clicking this link.
Further Reading
Thanks for checking out my review of the Cascade Mountain Tech Quick Lock Aluminum Trekking Poles with the cork handles. If you want to check out more gear ideas, visit my hiking gear section of my site. Take care, and see ya out there…