Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are ultralight but durable carbon fiber trekking poles that can be used for backpacking and day hiking. Weighing 9.5 oz per pair, these adjustable three-section poles have simple EVA foam grips and carbide tips but do not have hand straps or summer or winter trekking pole baskets. The top two sections are telescoping, adjustable, and secured with a reliable lever lock, while the lowest fixed-length section snaps into place with an elegant push button mechanism.
- Weight: 270 g (9.5 oz) per pair
- Material: Carbon Fiber
- Hand straps: No
- Baskets: No
- Sections: 3
- Adjustment: Level lock and push button
- Collapsed Length: 49 cm (19.5″)
- Min/Max Open Length: 95 cm (37″) – 127 cm (50″)
- Upper / Middle / Lower Pole Diameter: 18 mm / 16 mm / 16 mm
Thicker Diameter Poles
The first thing I noticed when I received these Iceline poles was the diameter of the carbon fiber shafts. They’re noticeably larger in diameter than other popular ultralight carbon fiber poles I’ve used, particularly in the bottom-most section where poles tend to snap when they get caught between rocks or you fall on them. This is a welcome design choice because one of the biggest problems with ultralight carbon fiber trekking poles is their tendency to break and shatter. I’ve broken more than my share of ultralight carbon fiber poles, so much so that I avoid using very thin carbon fiber poles and prefer ones made with higher-diameter sections.
Lack of Hand Straps
As noted above, the Iceline poles don’t have hand straps, which will be a deal breaker for a lot of people because they lean their weight on them for added support. While that’s common practice with mainstream trekking poles, I think the omission of hand straps is justified in this case because ultralight poles serve a different purpose and require a different technique to use.
Rather than supporting your body weight, ultralight trekking poles are best used to extend your sense of balance and perception of your body in space (proprioception), similar to how a blind person uses a cane to perceive their surroundings. Rather than forcefully spearing the ground, one uses a much subtler flick of the wrist or forearm to move an ultralight trekking pole forward, lightly touching the ground on either side of your legs to maintain momentum and balance while moving forward along a trail. It would be nice if the Iceline handles came with a thin keeper cord so you wouldn’t lose the poles if you let go of them, but that’s a lot different than having a load-bearing hand strap.
No baskets
The poles also lack the ability to screw summer baskets or winter baskets onto the carbide tips. This can make them difficult to carry with the trekking pole holders of some backpacks that require the added width of a summer basket to use. This isn’t a problem for me since I never stow my poles and always have them in hand, but it could be an issue if you only use your poles part of the time.
The hand grips are made with contoured EVA foam that is quite firm and has little give. There is, however, no ability to choke up on the grip when climbing, another feature commonly found on many heavier-weight mainstream trekking poles.
Recommendation
Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are an exciting option if you’re looking for an ultralight and durable pair of carbon fiber trekking poles and understand how they differ from more conventional poles in appearance and use. Weighing just 9.5 oz per pair, these Iceline poles are adjustable-length poles with reliable lever locking adjustment and pin-based couplers that can be separated for easy air travel.
Disclosure: Durston gear donated poles for review.
{sc name=”affiliate”]
