Anatomy of a Leki Trekking Pole

The very first trekking pole that I saw someone using was actually a Ski pole.

Around 20 years ago I was on a winter hillwalking course in the Cairngorms and one of the instructors always had with him two ski-poles regardless of the conditions and regardless of whether or not there was snow. He used them almost all the time. His reason was simple - years of Skiing had damaged his knees and so now he was using these poles to lighten the load on his knees.

In the intervening years the humble ski pole has been transformed into the current crop of lightweight collapsible walking poles complete with shock absorbers. Meanwhile, over in America the ultralight backpackers have taken it full circle and recreated a carbon-fibre ski pole specifically for walking.

The theory was very simple. To make a sectional pole requires a locking mechanism and a stronger cylinder - to support the side-loading stresses at the joint. If you remove these then you can make a single tube that is thinner, lighter and just as strong.