The Best Trekking Pole Awards Announced By OutdoorGearLab

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Aug. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- OutdoorGearLab a reputable and the worlds most rapidly growing outdoor gear review website know for their side-by-side comparison reviews, set live today the results of their top trekking pole awards. This updated trekking pole review takes an in depth look at over fifteen top of the line products while scoring them on metrics such as durability, comfort, weight, packed size, locking mechanisms and versatility. Included also in the review is information regarding design solutions addressed by the industry’s top manufacturers regarding twist-lock locking mechanisms, a buying advice article and a top ten list stating reasons why having trekking poles with you while hiking can be beneficial.

The winners are as follows:

The Editors' Choice award goes once again to the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork. According to Review Editor, Ian Nicholson, “With one of our favorite grips in the review the Alpine Carbon Cork was a great all-around, lightweight telescoping trekking pole. We thought the locking mechanism worked great and for a carbon fiber pole we found it very strong.”

Best Buy award was granted to the Black Diamond Trail Back. Review Editor Nicholson states, “We liked the Trail Back’s ergonomically shaped foam grips. The locking mechanism that Black Diamond calls the, FlickLock was a favorite among our testers. This is a sturdy versitle product that will serve most people well for many days of recreational enjoyment. We were especially appreciative of its price. It had a lot of the same features of similar poles in our review that cost $40 to $60 dollars more.”

This review had two Top Pick awards winners, one for the best lightweight poles and another honoring the best all-around poles constructed out of aluminum.

The best lightweight pole and OutdoorGearLab’s Top Pick award winner goes to the Black Diamond Ultra Distance. Review Editor Matt Gerdes reports, “The Ultra Distance was undeniably our favorite lightweight pole. It is incredibly solid and durable for its weight, we liked its ergonomic strap and it has by far our favorite folding system tested.”

The Top Pick for all-around pole goes to the Leki Corklite recommended by Gear Review Editor, Nicholson as a favorite for cross country hiking and traveling and related heavier duty uses. Review Editor Nicholson states, “It has our absolute favorite grip on the market and is one of the lightest aluminum telescoping poles that we tested. Though it doesn’t collapse down very small, it has a very strong locking mechanism.”

The Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork is also a Top Pick mentioned for general hiking use, its great grip and its general toughness. The Leki Corklite Aergon Antishock SpeedLock is also mentioned as a Top Pick award winner due to its high scoring performance of all the shock absorbing poles tested and its strong locking mechanism Leki is calling the SpeedLock.

OutdoorGearLab LLC, headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is dedicated to become the world's most credible and detailed source of side-by-side outdoor product comparison reviews. The company's website is a free resource for people who love the outdoors and participate in activities such as hiking, climbing, backpacking, and camping. After side-by-side testing of outdoor gear in the field, the company publishes the results in comparative reviews. Each product is scored according to several categories, competing products are ranked, and the awards are granted to top performing products. Currently the fastest growing gear review website, OutdoorGearLab reached 4 million people in 2013, and in 2014 their traffic is expected to exceed 10 million unique visitors. Visit their website at outdoorgearlab.com.