Komperdell Carbon FXP.4 Expedition Vario Trekking Poles

Pull the strap and the pole builds itself. Komperdell's FXP mechanism drops all four sections into place on its own, and you close one Powerlock to set your length. It is the fastest folding pole to get into action that we stock, and it packs down to 43 cm.

Self-deploying, and what that is worth

Most folding poles need a shake and then a firm pull on the top section to seat the cones. FXP does it for you - release it and the segments snap together. On a cold morning with numb hands, or halfway up a scramble where you want a pole out now, that is the difference between using the poles and leaving them on the pack.

The Rocksleeve

The lower section is wrapped in high-strength titanal. That is the part of an expedition pole that lives among rocks, and putting alloy there means you can drive the pole into a gap in scree without wincing. Carbon everywhere it does not get hit; titanal where it does.

Ice-flex basket

The basket pivots up to 28 degrees to follow the ground, so on a traverse the basket sits flat against the slope instead of levering the pole tip out. On steep sidehill that keeps the pole planted where you put it.

Weight

496 g the pair (248 g per pole).

Key features

• FXP self-deploying four-section folding mechanism
• Carbon shafts, 18/16 mm, with a titanal Carbon Rocksleeve lower section
• Powerlock 3.0 forged aluminium clamp for length adjustment
• Trek Pro 240 grip with extended grip zone
• Comfort padded strap
• Ice-flex basket - pivots up to 28 degrees to the slope