Black Diamond Distance Z

Our take With the Distance Z’s featherweight construction, tiny collapsed length, and durable aluminum shaft, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better set of folding poles for less. Rubber tips are interchangeable with the standard metal-carbide, allowing for greater traction on rocky surfaces. After a wet night, the mesh-fabric wrist straps dried quickly and lacked the clamminess of padded straps. Check fit: One tester couldn’t get the straps cinched down tight enough.

Trail cred “They’re so light and simple to stow that I could put them in my pack when biking to the trailhead,” says a Washington-based tester. These were our favorites for international travel for the same reason.