In order to climb those really demanding and tough climbs in the Alps I needed to purchase a pair of "competent" hiking poles.
I knew that I didn't want to spend a fortune and buy the best product online. I needed something that a mid-pack runner needs as help and support in order to get that finish line. I had a pair of poles purchased months before in Decathlon. Those were too heavy and a little bit tricky to use when the hands are tired, cold and then the mind is tired.
I found these on AliExpress and I bought a pair of them. From the first day these seemed as a great buy!
The build quality and the details were exact as I expected. The poles were light, easy to use and the overall quality was really great. I needed to test the poles before those tough races. I had the Lavaredo 120k race and the UTMB race waiting for me.
We don't have mountains here around Gothenburg in Sweden, but we have a few interesting climbs for sure. I went out hard, i tested the poles both up and downhill. I checked if they can hold me if I should fall or loose balance, i pushed on the uphill hard and the product met all my expectations. No issues at all.
I used these during the following races:
- 100 milja Istre | 100 miles of Istria (173 km) - 2017, 2018, 2019
- Risnjak Trail (16 km) - 2017
- The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail (120 km) - 2017
- UTMB (170 km) - 2017 and 2019
- Activitus Ultra Trail 61k (61 km ) - 2019
These Ultralight Adjustable Collapsible Travel Hiking Nordic Walking Sticks are still used and are still performing amazingly well!
They are light, easy to adjust and really good grip. Hiking is much easier with these poles. I usually change the length of the poles while hiking those long climbs to 125cm and 130cm during the downhills. The adjustment is very easy and quick to do. There is a lever on the pole and you need to adjust just the top part of the product. Sometimes I adjust the length depending of the difficulty of the trail in order to gain the best advantage of the poles.
I can highly recommend the product! It will definitely help you during those long runs and ultra races as well! :)
