Makalu Antishock 3 Trekking Poles

Have used these poles all of 2001 so far and they work pretty well. The shock absorbing quality is excellent but after a few months of use, one of the internal springs has compacted and does not work well. This could have more to do with me not cleaning it after each use and using it in lots of volcanic sand and dirt. The only other downside is that I notice if I am coming down a mountain hard, my wrists can become tingly or numb due to the handles not having a positive angle.



The handle material I have found to be excellent as it does not get too slippery with sweat. The tips have been very durable as well.



It's a pretty good product in my opinion but you may want to spend the extra $20 to get the new Leki Makalus with the positive angle handles.

Good quality. Cork grips are the best ones I have used so far. The shock absorbers really do make a differnce on a long trip. I have had to replace the tips twice. But this is easily done once you get the hang of it. Just boil the tips for 90 seconds and the pop off with a wrench. Heat up the new ones the same way and slide them on. Good ones as poles go.

I used to laugh when I saw people using "hiking sticks". Well, not anymore. When I finally discovered what a difference they made and how they saved my knees from wear and tear, and my body from inadvertant tumbles, I'm a believer. I'm using the Leki's with the cork angled grips and I love them, in fact, I have gotten to the point where I won't leave home without them, they make that much of a difference to my hiking comfort.



Do the anti shock features make a difference? Well, to me they do. Mine have just enough give that they eliminate the jolts that I used to get with my previous pair of trekking poles, the REI komperdell ones. The cork handles are superior in feel to me as the rubber of the REI ones I had previously, made my hands sweat more. It is important to provide a small amount of maintainence on trekking poles. After a trip, I always spend a few minutes and make sure everything is clean and protected. I've had my Leki's now for about three years and they are taking all the punishment I can give them.

Great poles. Had some REI clones but fell apart after one trip.

I have used trekking (tripping) poles and have found they just get in the way. The Leki is a very good pole. The locking position will hold when resting on them with a heavy load.
I've watched to many people try to use trekking poles as extra legs through boulder fields only to watch them plow into the rocks.
Hence the name "tripping poles"
But all-in-all they are a quality pair of poles.

These are a well built pair of poles, but the price doesn't justify them. I bought these for my mother, who uses them and loves them. The locking/spring feature is cool, but doesn't really make me glad I bought them. The REI Ultralight poles are similar in weight and features and design but a bettter value.

These are the "king of tripping poles" but why? I prefer the REI Summit which are half the price and have less moving parts making them better for me. No matter what people say, it's hard to design a trekking pole that changes the world of trekking poles. For me, these are more a novelty.