Cork stays cooler than rubber but is heavier and sweatier than foam. 'The first thing you see everyone do, without fail,' he said, 'is pick one up, give it a squeeze, and then nod-sometimes satisfied, sometimes not.' Cork is generally a favorite grip material because it breaks down over time and slowly shapes to your hand. One tester-a physical therapist-gestured toward a clutter of poles in the corner of the office, where patients had been trying them out.

Grip shape and texture: One of the factors that most immediately determine whether someone will connect with a pole is how it feels in their hand. Afterward, however, set them up-that’s the best and surest way to make sure you use the poles. Despite all this, I spent several hours on several hikes swapping between pole sets, collapsing and adjusting, collapsing and adjusting, knowing in my heart of hearts that were I not researching these poles for review, I would not have been engaged in such mid-hike foolishness. Note that you’ll probably have to check your trekking poles in your luggage, regardless of size, due to TSA carry-on restrictions keep that in mind if you’re planning on flying with them. Not one of our 30-plus testers had much of anything to say about how packable any set of poles was, because, of course, they were busy using the poles. We realize some hikers have some extreme portability needs for which these highly collapsible poles are ideal, but for most hikers we think our picks are perfectly portable during travel. Portability: A lot of trekking-pole reviews heavily weigh how quickly and well the poles collapse for packing.

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