Black Diamond's premium trekking pole, the Pursuit Carbon Z strikes a great balance between lightness, toughness, and comfort, making it a model that'll particularly appeal to trekkers and hillwalkers. If you're a runner, or a backpacker concerned with saving every last gram, then lighter and more compact running-oriented poles might be more suitable - something from Black Diamon's fast-n-light Distance range perhaps. But for most purposes the Pursuit Carbon Z looks the business, giving you the benefit of a carbon pole in a design that really feels like it's built to last.

This three-section folding model keeps things commendably uncomplicated, sacrificing adjustability for the simplicity of a fixed length. Since most of us will set our poles to the desired length and then rarely if ever deviate from that, the single size has distinct advantages. But of course you do have to be sure you're buying the length that best suits both your frame and the way you like to handle your poles. We'll look at all this below.

my favourite feature is the fixed length. Sometimes, less really is more

Weight and robustness

At 418g for my pair of 120cm poles (Black Diamond say 382g - 418g, depending on size), the Pursuit Carbon Z Poles look pretty weighty in comparison to some carbon models - for instance Black Diamond's Distance Carbon Z at c.260g/pair. In fact you can get lighter aluminium poles.

However skinny lightweights, especially carbon, can be pretty easy to snap. For a carbon fibe pole the Pursuit seem chunky and robust, and don't feel as if they need to be handled with particular care. Build quality is great, including the reassuring solidity of the mechanism; and to back this up Black Diamond provide a 2-year warranty. Unless saving every last gram is of first importance to you, the slight additional weight here is likely to be repaid in longevity. For general use I don't consider 400-odd grams to be excessive for a pair of poles in any case.

Size

These poles come in various sizes from 110cm to 130cm. I prefer a shorter pole since I find longer ones ungainly. In terms of technique I tend to plant them behind in order to 'push' myself along, an action that needs less length than the forward-plant-pull technique some folk seem to favour. At 1.83m/6 foot tall I went for 120cm, which I find pretty good; if anything I'd have shaved another centimetre or so off that. 

The advantages of fixed length poles are several: They're marginally lighter; there's less to break; and you spend less time fiddling with length adjustment (all those seconds do add up). The theoretical disadvantage is that you cannot vary your pole length as you go; but does anyone regularly do this? And of course if your friends are smaller or taller then they can't borrow them; or is that secretly a plus point?

When collapsed, my pair is a very portable 39cm long, fitting easily in a day pack. Others fold smaller still - the Distance Carbon Z are a couple of centimetres shorter, for one - but that is only likely to make much of a difference if you're strapping them to a running vest - not really the intended use for the Pursuit (though you certainly could...). 

Handle and strap

If, like me, you're a fan of Pacerpoles then you may be forgiven for being unimpressed with other designs of handle on the market. To say that the Pursuit's handle doesn't meet this gold standard isn't a criticism of this model alone, since nothing I've seen approaches a Pacerpole's efficiency and ergonomics.

When you're covering long distances there's no contest. But for me there is still a place for a non-Pacerpole in my gear cupboard, since one advantage of the straight-up design is that it fits more neatly inside a pack, and less obtrusively when strapped to the outside of one. In this case they're also about 150g lighter per pair than Pacerpoles. On a winter mountaineering or scrambling day, both weight and compactness matter.

Taking the anatomical shortcoming of all conventional handles as read, I'd say the Pursuit is one of the more effective among standard designs. Nicely sculpted and very slightly forward-tilted for a natural(ish) grip, the cork handle is soft and comfortable to the touch, and not prone to getting too sweaty if you're out in warmer weather. The addition of a foam extension down the shaft (made of algae!) allows you to vary the height of your grip - something I do all the time on undulating terrain.

To maximise the power of your push-off, and your control over the pole, a straight-up handle based on ski poles is officially meant to be used with the strap. Other opinions are valid too, but I'm no fan of wrist straps, finding them restrictive and fiddly, and annoying when you want to vary the height of your grip. Neither do I think they make a positive difference to the mechanics of it all. I also know of people who've suffered injury when falling with a pole strapped to their wrist. For these reasons I never use a strap, except for testing purposes, and generally remove them. That said, the Pursuit's strap is good as these things go, being easily adjusted and perforated for breathability. If you use a wrist strap then you'll probably like this one.

Spike/basket

The tiny basket fitted as standard is fine on dry summer ground, if prone to getting sucked into bogs. A much larger snow basket is also provided, which I'll be using next winter; there's no middle sized option, which is ideally perhaps what I'd have chosen for off-path Scottish hills outwith the snowy season. One feature I like is that the baskets come with cut-outs into which you slot pole sections for neater carrying when folded - by no means the only pole to do this, but always welcome.

Summary

Robust and comfy to handle, the Pursuit Carbon Z is a premium pole at a price to match. Far cheaper poles are available, but they're not going to match the quality or the balance of low weight and durability you get here. You could in any case spend more on a similar top-end carbon model from another brand such as Leki. If it offers years of service - as I suspect it would - then the Pursuit Carbon Z would prove a good investment. There's a lot to like here, and I'd say my favourite feature is the fixed length. Sometimes, less really is more.