Trekking poles save your race, save your quads, and save your finish-line photo. Below: the five we'd actually use on a mountain ultra, ordered by overall pick. Carbon vs aluminum, fold vs telescoping, strap matters more than you think — answers below.
The picks
Black Diamond
Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z
The benchmark. Folding Z-design that deploys in three seconds, packs to 13 inches. The pole most race-day finishers actually use.
- Carbon shafts — under 290g per pair (110cm)
- Folds to 13 inches, fits in any vest
- Three-second deploy with FlickLock
- EVA grip with extended foam for choking up on climbs
LEKI
LEKI Cross Trail FX Carbon
If you climb a lot, the LEKI Trigger Shark strap is the difference. Let go of the pole entirely without losing it — drink, eat, blow your nose. Real upgrade for mountain ultras.
- Trigger Shark strap (proprietary)
- Carbon, 250g per pole
- Folding 4-segment design
- Push-button deploy
Black Diamond
Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ
Adjustable length (95-110cm or 105-125cm) lets you change pole length on the fly — useful for a course with both flat ridge sections and steep climbs.
- Adjustable length 15cm range
- Folding Z-design
- Carbon shafts — 280g per pair
- FlickLock Pro mid-shaft adjustment
LEKI
LEKI Ultratrail FX.One Superlite
The LEKI ultras runners actually pick. Sub-160g per pole, magnetic Trigger Shark strap, runs through the entire UTMB without complaint.
- 155g per pole — race-day light
- Trigger Shark Mesh strap
- Carbon HRC 100 shafts
- Strap detaches for mid-race use
Black Diamond
Black Diamond Distance FLZ (Aluminum)
If you're not sure poles are for you, start here. Aluminum, durable, fully featured at half the carbon price. Slight weight penalty per pole.
- Aluminum, 350g per pole
- Adjustable + folding
- Same FlickLock Pro as the carbon version
- Lifetime warranty on shafts
Carbon vs aluminum
Carbon is lighter (200–300g per pole vs 320–400g aluminum), and over 100 miles those grams add up. Aluminum is more durable when you fall on a pole — and you will fall on a pole. For mountain ultras with technical descents, aluminum or hybrid poles are a defensible choice. For runnable ultras with long climbs, carbon is faster.
Length: how to size your poles
Standard rule: pole length × your height in inches × 0.7, rounded to the nearest 5cm. For a 70-inch (5'10") runner, that's 70 × 0.7 ≈ 125cm. But ultra-specific advice: err one size shorter than the rule. Shorter poles let you climb steeper terrain efficiently and reduce shoulder fatigue over many hours. Most 5'10" runners do best on 110–115cm poles, not 125cm.
Strap design — the underrated decision
The strap holds your pole during normal use; you don't grip the handle hard, you let the strap do the work. After 12 hours, your hands are puffy and gripping anything is hard, so the strap matters. LEKI's Trigger Shark system lets you click out of the strap entirely (and click back in one-handed) so you can drink, eat, or fix a shoe without dropping a pole. Black Diamond's standard EVA strap is simpler but requires you to fully un-thread when you need a free hand. For mountain ultras where you'll fuel constantly, the LEKI strap pays for itself.
Carry: front beats back
Carry poles on the front of your vest. Front carry is faster to deploy, doesn't catch branches, and keeps weight near your center of gravity. Back carry is what most vest manufacturers default-design for; it's the wrong default. The Salomon Adv Skin and Black Diamond Distance vests both have proper front-pole routing.