Aonijie Trekking Poles
Younger me was amused by trekking poles, but, this is a great example of youth being wasted on the young. These things are great! I resisted trekking poles for long enough that when I tried them it was an absolute revelation and I wish I had tried sooner. I have climbed mountains with the use of poles to reach summits at pre-dawn and credit this image exclusively to the use of poles:
Without poles, I would not have made it to the top of Mt Taranaki for that surreal experience of catching the pre-dawn lightshow while looking at Mt Ruapehu (another I’ve had the pleasure of summiting). I would have been slower. I probably would have cramped on the climb. I certainly would not have been able to bound down the scree back to my car with the fresh legs I had.
Lightweight trekking poles are a game-changer. This offering from Aonijie is classic for this brand: premium feel without the premium price. I own Black Diamond carbon and Leiki Carbon poles, and these are nearly on the same level. I would say they’re a little lighter, and that’s likely a result of the mechanism to get these rigid is dyneema, an incredibly strong cord, with a simply knot at the top. I’m actually a fan of the simplicity, as I find the more complicated mechanism on my go-to Black Diamond Distance Z Carbon poles can get a bit jammed, especially if I’ve had some massive days and have not been fastidious in cleaning them - it seems to be a salt build up from the sweat that has once seen me struggling to open the poles while mid-race in the throws of brutal cramp. not a problem with the cheaper lighter version. (still, I love my Black Diamond ones and if you want a premium product at a premium price you can find them here: https://geni.us/BDZtrekkin)
If you want to buy a pair of the slightly less-premium product at a better price point, please use this link so I can earn a small commission and keep buying and testing more gear, getting into the wild, and finding you the gear to fuel your adventures and go further faster:
Highly recommend also getting one of these bags to attach them to your running vest. Same design as the Salomon quiver system, which I absolutely love.
