How to Choose Hiking Poles?

Whether you're tackling the rocky switchbacks of the Dolomites or following the long balconies of the Tour du Mont Blanc, the right pair of poles changes how your legs, knees, and back feel at the end of the day. At Grand Angle, our guides have watched thousands of hikers cross finish lines on multi-day treks, and the difference a well-chosen, well-adjusted pair of poles makes is one of the most common pieces of feedback we hear. This guide walks through the technical choices — material, grip, locking system, length — so you can pick poles that actually suit your trips, not just your budget.

• Why hiking poles make a real difference
• Anatomy of a good pole: grips, shafts, locks, tips
• Aluminum or carbon: which shaft material to choose
• Getting the length right
• Telescopic or folding: which format for which trip
• Choosing poles for your type of trek
• Care and maintenance on the trail
• Ready to put them to use

Why hiking poles make a real difference

Poles aren't just for balance on loose ground. Used correctly, they transfer part of the load from your legs and lower back to your arms and shoulders, which matters enormously on long descents — the kind you'll find on the Courmayeur to La Fouly stage of the TMB or the steep paths dropping into the valleys around Cortina. They also help set a walking rhythm on long days, which our guides rely on to keep a group moving steadily over 20+ km stages.

Anatomy of a good pole: grips, shafts, locks, tips

Before comparing models, it helps to know what you're actually comparing.

Grips

Cork grips mould to your hand over time and wick away sweat well, which is why we favour them for warm-weather routes like the Cyclades island trails. Foam grips are softer and lighter, absorbing moisture but drying out slower, better suited to cooler climates. Rubber grips insulate your hands from cold and vibration, useful on alpine routes, but they can chafe on hot, sweaty days.

Locking systems

Adjustable poles use either a twist-lock (an internal expander screwed tight) or a lever-lock (an external clamp, sometimes called flick-lock). Lever-locks are easier to operate with gloves and are more visibly reliable — you can see at a glance whether they're closed — which is why most guided groups we run in the Alps use them.

Baskets and tips

Small baskets suit dry trail hiking; wider snow baskets are needed for early or late-season routes with residual snow patches, common on high passes such as the Swiss Haute Route. Tips are usually tungsten carbide for grip on rock and should be checked for wear before any long trek.

Aluminum or carbon: which shaft material to choose

This is the choice that most affects weight, price, and how the poles behave underfoot. Aluminum poles, typically built from 7000-series alloys, are heavier — a full pair usually weighs 500 to 650 grams — but they bend rather than snap under sideways stress, which makes them more forgiving if a tip gets jammed between rocks. They're also unaffected by cold, an advantage on early-morning starts in the mountains.

Carbon poles weigh notably less, often between 380 and 480 grams a pair, and dampen trail vibration better, which reduces fatigue on long days. The trade-off is fragility to lateral impact: a carbon pole is more likely to crack outright than bend. For multi-day self-guided treks where every gram in the pack counts, such as the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites, many of our travellers opt for carbon. For rockier, more technical terrain or via ferrata approaches, we generally recommend aluminum for its resilience.

Getting the length right

An ill-adjusted pole works against you rather than for you. The standard starting point is a simple formula: multiply your height in centimetres by 0.68 to get an approximate pole length. Alternatively, hold the pole with your arm hanging naturally and your elbow bent at roughly 90 degrees — the handle should sit at that height with the tip resting on the ground.

This is only a baseline. On sustained climbs, shortening the poles by 5 to 10 cm improves leverage and stops you overreaching with each plant. On long descents — a defining feature of stages like Argentière to Chamonix on the TMB — lengthening them by a similar amount helps absorb impact and keeps you from leaning too far forward. Our guides typically encourage a short test walk before setting off, since personal proportions and stride length shift the ideal setting slightly from the formula.

Telescopic or folding: which format for which trip

Telescopic poles slide and lock in sections, offering the widest adjustment range and generally the most robustness — a sound default for most hiking trips, including guided itineraries where poles need to suit a range of heights across a group. Folding (Z-pole) models collapse into short sections joined by an internal cord, packing down small enough to strap to a daypack or slide into carry-on luggage. They're popular for fastpacking or trips combining hiking and travel days, though they typically offer less length adjustment. If you're combining trekking with flights, as many travellers do en route to the Dolomites or Crete, a folding pair is worth considering for the packing convenience alone.

Choosing poles for your type of trek

The right pair also depends on what kind of trip you're planning:

• Day hikes and half-day outings: a simple, mid-range aluminum telescopic pole is more than sufficient — see our day hike packing list for what else to bring along.
• Multi-day self-guided treks: weight starts to matter over consecutive days; carbon poles with reliable lever-locks are a strong choice, whether you're walking the Tour du Mont Blanc self-guided or the Vercors plateau.
• High alpine or technical routes: aluminum's resistance to lateral stress makes it the safer option on routes with scree, snow patches, or via ferrata sections.
• Guided group trips: our guides often suggest bringing your own poles set to your measurements rather than relying on rental gear, since a properly fitted pole makes a noticeable difference on demanding stages.

Care and maintenance on the trail

A little upkeep extends a pole's life considerably. Rinse tips and lower sections after muddy or dusty days, dry telescopic sections fully before storing to prevent internal corrosion or seizing, and check tungsten tips for wear before any big trek. If you're heading out on longer expeditions, packing a spare rubber tip protector is a small addition worth including alongside the essentials on our packing guides.

Ready to put them to use

Once your poles are chosen and adjusted, the only thing left is the trail. Whether you're drawn to the high balconies of the Tour du Mont Blanc, the dolomitic spires above Cortina d'Ampezzo, or the island paths of the Cyclades, our team at Grand Angle can help you match a route to your pace and experience, guided or self-guided. Get in touch with our advisors to talk through your next trek — poles included.