Leki Carbonlite Aergon Antishock

Love these poles. I've had them for just a short while and recently used them on a 5-day outing. That was the first time I've hiked with carbon fiber poles and they are very light. So light that it took some getting used to. They weigh just a few ounces less than the poles I had been using but those few ounces count a lot towards the pole's swing weight. Although light, they are very sturdy. It seems to me that they are more rigid than my old titanium-aluminum alloy poles and flex less which is more to my liking.

The new SAS-L anti-shock system is also better than the previous SAS system. The new system is better at dampening the feedback (vibration) that is inherent to poles with anti-shock systems. The new system almost completely eliminates the feedback and I didn't really notice it while hiking.

The Aergon grips are comfortable and didn't cause any fatigue in my hands. The new strap adjustment system is easy to use although I think the previous adjustment system (with the screw on top) was better at fine tuning the fit.

The locking system hasn't changed so you can expect the same reliability. As long as you keep the poles clean and dry and replace the locking expanders periodically there shouldn't be any problems with the poles collapsing. However, you can't use the Leki cleaning kit with the steel brushes. If you do you will shred the carbon fibers which is not a good thing. You should use the loop ended attachment that comes with the cleaning kit to get a piece of cloth all the way into the pole sections so you can clean them out without damaging the carbon fiber.

I recently retired my old trekking poles and the Leki Cabonlite Aergon Antishock poles are an excellent replacement.