Paria Outdoors Tri-Fold Carbon Cork Trekking Poles are adjustable-length, folding (z-style) trekking poles that fold away for easy packing or travel. They’re much more affordable at just $60/pair than other folding carbon trekking poles with cork handles and are a great alternative to much more expensive Black Diamond or Leki poles. It’s worth emphasizing that these are adjustable-length poles since many folding poles available today are fixed, making them difficult to use for hiking and setting up a trekking pole tent if the required lengths don’t match.
- Adjustable length: Yes
- Handles: Cork
- Shafts: Carbon fiber
- Locking mechanism: Flick-lock and pin
- Sizing:
- 100 cm Model: 39 to 47 inches (100 to 120 centimeters) – Recommended for persons 5’8″ or shorter
- 120 cm Model: 45 to 53 inches (115 to 135 centimeters) – Recommended for persons 5’9″ or taller
- Collapsed length: 15 inches /38.1 cm
- Weight: 16.8 oz/pair (476.3 g)
- Includes: rubber tips for pavement, carbide tips for trails, trekking baskets for 3 season use
- Pros: Cork handles with EVA extensions, hand-adjustable flick locks, rubber tips included
In addition to their adjustability and foldability, the Paria Tri-folds have cork handles and carbon fiber shafts, a combination that is still pretty rare. Each pair of poles comes with carbide tips, trekking baskets, and rubber tips for walking on pavement, while replacement tips are available if you wear yours out. Snow baskets are also available for an additional $10, a great add-on for 4-season use.
Folding trekking poles are a great option for people who travel or use them occasionally and want the option to pack them out of the way when they’re not needed. For example, these Tri-fold poles collapse to 15 inches, making them easy to pack in airplane luggage or stuff into a backpack when you want them out of the way. I like that I can collapse them and stuff them into the side pocket of my pack when I don’t require them. It’s very convenient.
The Paria Tri-fold poles actually have five pole sections that fit together, not three. The bottom four are connected by an internal cable that keeps them together when the pole is folded. When the bottom four are linked, they form a fixed-length pole that locks in place using a pin stopper so the pieces can’t separate. The top fifth section has a cork handle and slides over the fourth section, providing 20 cm of adjustment, which is why two pole sizes are available, 100-120 cm and 115-135 cm in length. The top fifth segment locks in place with a flick-lock style lever adjustment (that Black Diamond popularized), and you can adjust the lock tension by hand with a small screw.
The carbon fiber segments of these Paria Tri-Folds are surprisingly thick and durable as carbon-fiber poles go, unlike ultralight carbon fiber trekking poles that break if you blink at them the wrong way. I’m quite impressed that I haven’t snapped a pole yet since I mainly use them when wading in freestone mountain streams or hiking in mountainous terrain. I’ve previously broken many aluminum and carbon fiber poles in these circumstances.
The Tri-fold handles are made with cork grips with EVA extensions if you want to choke up on them (i.e. grip them lower down) when hiking up hills. I don’t get excited about cork grips, but many people like them because they supposedly mold to your hands with extensive use. However, I like these handles because they have a small ridge for my index finger and a pronounced top pommel, which lets me exert more downward pressure on the poles when climbing and provides a larger surface to rest the palm of my hand when descending. The Tri-folds also come with hand straps, but they are unpadded, which makes them much easier to adjust.
Recommendation
These Paria Tri-Fold Carbon Cork Poles are an outstanding value for the money ($60) if you’re looking to buy a pair of affordable carbon fiber trekking poles or if you want folding ones for convenience or travel. They’re durable, and the parts are low maintenance and easy to use. Honestly, you can pay much more for big-brand folding carbon fiber poles and not get much more value. These poles are a steal for the price. Highly Recommended!
Disclosure: Paria donated poles for review
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