Durston Gear Iceline Trekking Pole Review
Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are ultralight but durable carbon fiber trekking poles that can be used for backpacking and day hiking. Weighing 9.5 oz per pair, these adjustable three-section poles have simple EVA foam grips and carbide tips but do not have hand straps or summer or winter trekking pole baskets. The top two sections are telescoping, adjustable, and secured with a reliable lever lock, while the lowest fixed-length section snaps into place with an elegant push button mechanism.
- Weight: 270 g (9.5 oz) per pair
- Material: Carbon Fiber
- Hand straps: No
- Baskets: No
- Sections: 3
- Adjustment: Level lock and push button
- Collapsed Length: 49 cm (19.5″)
- Min/Max Open Length: 95 cm (37″) – 127 cm (50″)
- Upper / Middle / Lower Pole Diameter: 18 mm / 16 mm / 16 mm
Thicker Diameter Poles
The first thing I noticed when I received these Iceline poles was the diameter of the carbon fiber shafts. They’re noticeably larger in diameter than other popular ultralight carbon fiber poles I’ve used, particularly in the bottom-most section where poles tend to snap when they get caught between rocks or you fall on them. This is a welcome design choice because one of the biggest problems with ultralight carbon fiber trekking poles is their tendency to break and shatter. I’ve broken more than my share of ultralight carbon fiber poles, so much so that I avoid using very thin carbon fiber poles and prefer ones made with higher-diameter sections.
Lack of Hand Straps
As noted above, the Iceline poles don’t have hand straps, which will be a deal breaker for a lot of people because they lean their weight on them for added support. While that’s common practice with mainstream trekking poles, I think the omission of hand straps is justified in this case because ultralight poles serve a different purpose and require a different technique to use.
Rather than supporting your body weight, ultralight trekking poles are best used to extend your sense of balance and perception of your body in space (proprioception), similar to how a blind person uses a cane to perceive their surroundings. Rather than forcefully spearing the ground, one uses a much subtler extension of the forearm to move an ultralight trekking pole forward, lightly touching the ground on either side of your leg to maintain momentum and balance while moving forward along a trail. It would be nice if the Iceline handles came with a thin keeper cord so you wouldn’t lose the poles if you let go of them, but that’s a lot different than having a load-bearing hand strap.
No baskets
The poles also lack the ability to screw summer baskets or winter baskets onto the carbide tips. This can make them difficult to carry with the trekking pole holders of some backpacks that require the added width of a summer basket to use. This isn’t a problem for me since I never stow my poles and always have them in hand, but it could be an issue if you only use your poles part of the time.
The hand grips are made with contoured EVA foam that is quite firm and has little give. There is, however, no ability to choke up on the grip when climbing, another feature commonly found on many heavier-weight mainstream trekking poles.
Trekking Pole Comparison
| Make / Model | Grip | Shaft | Locks | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Diamond Pursuit | Cork | Aluminum | Flick | $170 |
| REI Traverse | Cork | Aluminum | Flick | $119 |
| Leki Khumbu Lite | Cork | Aluminum | Flick | $130 |
| Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork | Cork | Carbon Fiber | Flick | $230 |
| Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ | Foam | Carbon Fiber | Flick/Folding | $240 |
| REI Trailmade Trekking Poles | Foam | Aluminum | Flick | $80 |
| Durston Gear Iceline | Foam | Carbon Fiber | Flick/Pin | $189 |
| Leki Legacy Lite | Cork | Aluminum | Flick | $110 |
| Fizan Compact | Foam | Aluminum | Twist | $70 |
| Pacer Pole Duolock | Plastic | Carbon Fiber | Flick/Pin | $172 |
Recommendation
Durston Gear’s Iceline Trekking Poles are an exciting option if you’re looking for an ultralight and durable pair of carbon fiber trekking poles and understand how they differ from more conventional poles in appearance and use. Weighing just 9.5 oz per pair, these Iceline poles are adjustable-length poles with reliable lever locking adjustment and pin-based couplers that can be separated for easy air travel.
Disclosure: Durston gear donated poles for review.
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Dan said the next batch will have the option of straps. The poles are made by Komperdell and their Vario baskets & 8mm rubber tips are compatible. REI also have a 8mm version of compatible baskets.
Always bad when you can’t buy the “complete” product from one source.
Fair point about not coming with baskets, but I took baskets off an old (broken) set of poles and added them to my new Durston Icelines with no problem. I like that breaking them down into three pieces allows them to fit easily in the small gym bag I use as checked luggage for airplane trips. The DCF carrying bag they come in is also helpful for this. They are the envy of all my hiking buddies, since they are so light. As far as I know, only the Gossamer Gear poles really compare. I hope you’re right that the “elegant” design features will make them durable. I’ve only taken mine on a few short trips, but I’m leaving today for a long/hard trip where I expect to rely on them extensively. One other note: Only having one adjustment point is still ample for use with trekking pole-supported tents.
These poles look great and personally, I don’t use the straps. But what I do use and these poles lack, is the handle foam extension. It actually makes much more sense without the straps because the grip point becomes flexible. For me it has become a must have feature. It’s just such a hassle to readjust the length every time you start ascending/descending. I’ve found that many people simply don’t adjust because it’s so damn annoying. And then they just walk with the wrong length. The foam extension is such an easy and useful solution.
I never adjust my poles. I just change my forearm angle mostly.
I don’t plan to, but you could add a little of the foam-padded grip tape used for hockey sticks, baseball bats, hand tools, etc.
Maybe you can but it is much easier to buy poles with long handles.
Don’t understand how it’s so annoying to adjust length. Unflick, adjust, flick. With a single adjustment point, it’s even easier. Takes 2 seconds. These poles inspired me to try mine existing poles without straps, and adjusting length is less annoying than adjusting straps. I find that without straps, I prefer to “palm” the top of the handle when both descending and climbing. It’s the best way to get some weight through your pole.
Was looking forward to this review, thank you!
Definitely will upgrade to these once they add straps. I have used both strapless ultralight poles and poles with straps. I find using straps reduce sweating hands, and a lighter grip to, as you so perfectly state “extend your sense of balance and perception of your body in space (proprioception),” not to transfer weight. For air travel I use the folding BD Distance Carbon FLZ, they have a well designed lightweight strap which has a unique attachment that is light and keeps the straps oriented correctly. I also like the extended grip on my heavier poles, one of these days I might try some bicycle handlebar tape on poles lacking it, but it’s not a high priority.
Nice review Phillip. Based on the comments from Joe, baskets can be added, but that could only be accomplished via a friction fit, as the poles are not threaded. Having hiked in some extremely muddy conditions (Canada’s famous West Coast Trail, VT’s Long Trail and numerous milti-day hikes in NY’s Adirondacks, I can attest to the utility of baskets in muddy conditions.
Seems to me that with just a friction fit that baskets would easily become “disappeared”.
I’ll stick with my trusty BD Alpine carbon cork poles, or my Pacer poles, which are great, especially for winter hiking with their neoprene mitts.
I love the neoprene mitts on my Pacerpoles. I have Renaud’s and they really help save my hands when hiking in cold weather. Normal gloves just don’t cut it. My hands are never cold in the mitts.
I’ve had several hikers ask me where I got them. Some have taken a picture of the mitts along with the Pacerpole name so that they can remember where to order them.
The basket attachment uses Komperdel’s ‘vario’ system. It is a positive connection and not a friction fit. The basket clicks on, and then rotates a 1/4 turn, so even pulling directly down on it can’t pull it off.
It would be useful to know how short one can make these when using them. As a very short person, I have had to return poles I couldn’t adjust enough to fit.
95 cm (in the specs above)
With hand straps and basket for winter, plus a bit of foam extended onto the handles, these would be perfect trekking poles.
The idea that trekking poles aren’t supposed to be useful for bearing load sounds like someone who never treks in nontrivial terrain. YOU walk down Asgard Pass with an overnight pack without putting any weight on your trekking poles.
It they’re not useful for that sort of insanity, they’re not trekking poles.
I’m very much a fan of Durston’s gear, but that is a fatal oversight.
Because of my back issues, I likely put more weight on poles going downhill than I should. I worry about snapping one but so far it hasn’t happened to me, although there’s been a few times I was amazed it didn’t happen. I do like baskets because they help keep the poles from sinking too deeply in crevices between rocks, etc., which I think would make it easier to snap one.
I also like hand straps because they keep me from dropping a pole down a slope and having to go down to retrieve it. When I’m using my Pacerpoles with the mitts, I don’t really need the strap because the mitts act as one, although I usually have my hand through them anyway.
Before I switched to Pacerpoles, I used Lekis and always used the straps according to the “proper” method. Using the straps that way made a noticeable difference to me.
A friend did mangle a set of my Lekis while we were hiking together. Amazingly, they didn’t snap but the tube was so bent it couldn’t be adjusted anymore, even after my attempts to straighten it. I later scavenged the tip off it to replace a worn out tip on one of my Pacerpoles.
I’ve found that I snap fewer poles by keeping the snow baskets on year round too.