Gear Review: Gossamer Gear Carbon Trekking Poles [LT4S]
Basic specs:
Gossamer Gear, LT4S Trekking Pole
- Custom-manufactured carbon fiber for optimum strength to weight ratio
- Spiral Wrap at the tip section for added durability
- Carbide tip
- Small trekking baskets included
- Small spectra core loop below handle for attaching a “keeper” cord
- Floats, in case you drop it in a stream
- 4.6 oz/pole with straps and baskets
- $103/pole
Circumstance of review:
These poles were broken in on a 20ish mile section of the AT in Virginia. The weather was cold and windy but dry so tolerable. The ground was littered with slick leaves. Also the trail was pretty rocky in some areas that the poles helped me navigate. The poles also saved me from falling and breaking assorted body parts. The also saved my knees which have a few miles on them due to a last luster high school cross country stint. I also took the poles with me on several day hikes in Alabama. They really helped me move across flat land and also helped me make a few climbs by really getting my upper body into the game.
Pros:
Weight
To me the thing that really stood out was the weight of the pole for how sturdy they are. The few tumbles I almost had the poles had not issues keeping me upright even with a large portion of my weight resting on them.
These American made trekking poles weigh in at 4.6 oz per pole and are very sturdy for that w.eight thanks to the carbon fiber material. I took these on several shake down hikes and they saved me from several falls while saving my knees on down hill sections without tiring me out along the way. At this weight I think they wouldn’t be too much to pack away but once you hike with them you will not want to quit using them.
Manufacturing
These trekking poles are hand made in Austin, Texas. Throughout my entire through hike planning I have strived to support companies at home in the good ole USA. This may not be a huge selling point to most but anytime I can support an American company and/or a smaller company even if it costs a little extra I always go for it.
Customer Service
If there is one area that Gossamer Gear stands out it is customer service in my opinion. On one of my hikes I decided to poke the tip of one of the poles between two boards of a bridge and torque the pole enough to snap half of the tip off. Just to be clear this wasn’t an issue with the pole it was operator error that caused this. So there I was months into my thru hike shakedown with a broken trekking pole. I decided to cut my losses and order a new tip. Their website didn’t have any in stock so I inquired about when they would be in stock at about 9 pm on a Saturday night expecting to hear back from them on Monday. The very next morning, Sunday, I got a full response from their customer service, an apology for the tips not being in stock, and an offer to fix the pole if I would pay for shipping. Even with large companies I usually have not gotten this kind of response and support for their product. I ended up sending in the pole and they fixed it and send it back to me quickly.
Cons:
The only slight issue is you have to pay attention to not stick theses between two stationary objects and put a torque on them, see customer service above. That is really the only con of the poles I found while testing them but it definitely is not a deal breaker in my opinion.
Overall:
If someone stole the trekking poles tomorrow there would be no question deciding to buy another pair of these LT4S from Gossamer Gear. I have heard they don’t always have the poles in stock but they are definitely worth the wait.
Shop the GG LT4 Carbon Trekking Poles
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Comments 2
I absolutely love my Gossamer Gear treking poles. Definitely worth the investment.
Yeah I just got the repaired pole in the mail today. I have no intentions of looking at other trekking poles after using the gossamer gear ones.
Happy Hiking. -Chris G.