UKC

I'm after a pair of multi-purpose trekking poles for long walk ins (both summer and winter) and alpine use. I want them to be the 'z-fold' way of packing up so they can be stashed inside a rucksack. Not bothered about having length adjustment but decent snow baskets are essential. Can anyone offer me some good recommendations.

I've been looking at;

BD - Ultra Mountain Carbon. Very expensive but if they are strong enough to last years I could be persuaded to go this high.

BD - Ultra Mountain FL. Aluminium versions of the above but with length adjustments. They seem like they will be bomber but maybe a bit on the heavy side.

The ski pole versions of the above. Basically the same pole with a different handle and bigger baskets but £20 cheaper.

Leki - Micro Titanium. Seems pretty good and very light. Would need to buy decent snow baskets though.

In reply to Tom F Harding:

Komperdell expedition 4 solid

In reply to stoker:

£100 from blacks seems pretty good. Why are they called a 4 section when clearly there is only 3 sections? Do they 'snap' into place or do you twist them like older style poles?

http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/123270-komperdell-carbon-approach-vario-4...

In reply to Tom F Harding:

It looks like there's a flick lock so the top (hand) section can be extended.

I am good fan of BD poles as their customer service is brilliant. I had to deal with them once and the reply was more pleasant than I could have expected.

In reply to Tom F Harding:

I've had good customer service from BD. Got some replacement parts for a pole sent without and questions. You do have to pay for the shipping to the UK though.

I had the alu foldey ski poles, can't remember the model. They skied really well. I left them on the roof of my car one day. =[

I use the BD Trail poles for hiking, summer and winter. Super stable. one of them slips a tiny bit on long descents, it slipped 5cm over a 6km descent where I was putting a lot of weight on it. But the z-fold ones have the metal flicklock adjusters which seem slightly more robust.

In reply to Tom F Harding:

I was not talking about the Vario but about this one:
http://uk.racingtheplanet.com/store/komperdell-carbon-expedition-solid-4-pa...
got them for € 89 online, (70 £)

It has an elastic draw cord, but every section has to be screwed in place. It's not exactly like the BD system (pull last part)
I like them.

In reply to stoker:

Thanks Stoker but I wanted a pair of the z pole type because as well as being small the 'twist lock' mechanism on a lot of poles is rubbish. Pretty useless looking snow baskets as well.

Another vote for the BD poles then, thanks Bob the Builder