Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'd like to start out by saying that I am novice six foot three inch tall hiker in my mid fifties. While my wife and I were preparing for a 6.4 mile hike that included a 1950 foot elevation gain through varied terrain, it was suggested that we use trekking poles. We purchased three pairs of trekking poles to try out. They were: 1) Black Diamond Trail Back poles from REI for at $80 2) Trail Buddy poles through Amazon for $37 3) Foxelli aluminum trekking poles here for $27 The Black Diamond poles required a screwdriver to tighten the adjustment mechanisms. Something I thought would be inconvenient on the trail. Neither of the less expensive poles required a tool to make any adjustments. Both the Black Diamond and Foxelli poles were solid poles when extended to their maximum recommended length. The Trail Buddy poles started to get "sloppy" as they neared their maximum length. I needed every bit of the length adjustment that was available so those were out for me. The Black Dimond set did not come with a storage bag nor did they come with extra tips or cups besides the small set that were mounted on them. The mud and snow cups included with Trail Buddy poles are made of a very hard, seemingly brittle plastic while the Foxelli poles included a stiff but slightly pliable set. When we went on our hike, I chose to bring the Foxellis and my wife took the Trail Buddy set. The Black Dimond set was left behind because the grips were a little uncomfortable and because of the need to carry a screwdriver to tighten the adjustment mechanisms. We thought that the sets with cork handles would be better for this hike. The Foxelli poles were very solid and easy to adjust while on the trail. They did everything they were purchased for and for an extremely reasonable price. I used the mud and sand cups on the hike and chose to leave them on even though we traversed some very rocky slides and they survived unscathed. The cork grips held up without any deformation. I do think the grips could be a little larger in circumference to fit a taller person proportionally to the available hight of the poles. All and all, these poles worked very well for me and I would recommend giving these an honest consideration while looking through the others available.