Komperdell FX Lite Ti Vario Walking Poles
2nd Oct 2024
I've now had a few different sets of Komperdell walking poles. They have been consistently well made, with little or nothing to complain about. The FX Lite Ti Vario are aluminium as opposed to carbon which the previous ones have been. So far I am impressed. They are still light, and have a degree of robustness to them which I think puts them a little above the carbon on the longevity front (I did have a pair of non Komperdell carbon poles, one of which snapped at the beginning of a long run in the Italian Dolomites a few summers back - I slipped, weighted the pole and it shattered into deadly shards).
As with quite a few modern poles these can be very quickly deployed with an exaggerated flick of the wrist, the sections connecting thanks to the strong elastic chord inside, and staying engaged thanks to spring loaded buttons. To reverse the process is a two handed job which requires the buttons to be pressed back into the pole sections before pulling apart and folding.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the poles is that the height adjustment clamp (which allows lengths from around 110-130cm, needs tightening before you set off to use them for the first time. This requires a screwdriver to tighten the clamp to the required setting so that it can be easily closed and opened. Failure to set this before heading out may result in a frustrating first run where the pole kept sliding back on itself (yes, that's what happened to me!). You've been warned.
The wrist straps are a fairly standard ski pole style, adjustable simply by pulling the required strap smartly through the hole in the cushioned handle. Once set to the right length they are comfortable around the wrist.
If I had one niggle it would be that the neat Velcro straps that come with the poles to keep them stowed tightly in three sections when not being used, do have a habit of becoming clogged with dirt and / or delaminated over time. I think supplying the poles with some spares would be a good thing to do. They work well until they don't.
The poles retail at £129.99 which is well worth not twisting an ankle or going down heavily with a pack on in my book.
More details on the Komperdell website