Originally Posted: June 2022
Updated: May 2024
Black Diamond Trail Shock Trekking Poles (First Generation)
Black Diamond Trail Shock Pro Trekking Poles (Second Generation)
Black Diamond Trail Pro Shock Trekking Poles (Third Generation)
Black Diamond Pursuit & Pursuit Shock Trekking Poles
General Comments
My wife and I began using trekking poles on all of our mountain trips in 2007 while recovering from separate injuries. It didn’t take us long to get hooked on the stability that they provide on steep trails, rugged terrain, and creek crossings. Over time, we even started using poles on Class 2 and Class 3 rock scrambles. When ascending, they assist us on big step-ups, and when descending, we use them as long arms that allow us to reach far down to ledges or footholds. It is essential to have sturdy and reliable trekking poles for these purposes, considering that an unexpected collapse of either pole could result in serious injury. I’ve always purchased Black Diamond poles for us because it was the brand that we trusted most.
Black Diamond trekking poles are available in one-section, two-section, and/or three-section configurations, depending on the specific model. We’ve found that three-section poles are by far the most appropriate configuration for general mountaineering purposes. There are many occasions when it has been necessary to collapse one or both poles and strap them on our packs, such as when holding an ice axe or when climbing rock. If using poles only for trail hiking, then a two-section configuration would be adequate. One-section poles offer the greatest opportunity for weight savings but are much more limited in their functionality.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve used our three-section trekking poles on hundreds of hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering trips. I have been especially tough on mine, and have worn through five pairs of poles as well as a couple replacement sections during that 15-year span. Now on my sixth full pair, I’ve come to view trekking poles the same way I view mountain boots: they are semi-durable goods that are expected to last for about three seasons of hard use and then get replaced. My wife gets about four or five seasons of use from her poles.
Aside from normal wear and tear, the real damage inflicted on our trekking poles has conformed to a consistent theme: they get bent or broken upon being torqued between boulders when traveling over loose talus slopes. Furthermore, the damage has always occurred on the bottom section, which is the narrowest (weakest) section and is subjected to the greatest torque. And it hasn’t been just my poles or my wife’s poles, either; I have observed numerous partners damage their own poles in the same manner. Without a doubt, talus fields are truly the bane and the kryptonite of trekking poles!
In the case of aluminum poles, the damage has typically consisted of a slight bend in the bottom pole section, such that the pole was still fairly functional but the bent section could not be retracted back into the middle section. Sometimes, it was possible to straighten the bent section by reverse-bending it against a tree trunk or boulder; other times, the section was too badly bent to be re-straightened and needed to be replaced (thankfully, Black Diamond sells replacement sections for all of their trekking poles). On a couple occasions, the torque was great enough to completely break the bottom section.
I have also seen several of my partners damage their carbon fiber poles on talus fields, and in each case, the bottom section snapped off rather easily. The brittle nature of carbon fiber poles always results in total breakage rather than bending, so there is never an opportunity to straighten a bent section. For this reason, I use only aluminum trekking poles for general mountaineering purposes. However, I do like carbon fiber for other purposes, having used carbon fiber ski poles for many years with no problems, and I would not hesitate to use carbon fiber trekking poles for simple trail hiking.
The following reviews trace the evolution of three successive generations of Black Diamond “all-mountain” trekking poles: the original Trail Shock, the second-generation Trail Shock Pro, and the third-generation Trail Pro Shock. (No, I did not mis-type those last two names; Black Diamond actually transposed the words “Shock” and “Pro” for their newest generation of Trail poles.) In 2023, they introduced a new line of Pursuit poles that incorporate the best aspects of the Trail poles. Although I have not yet had a chance to use the new Pursuit poles, I can say that they have sturdy three-section aluminum shafts and meet my basic requirements for general mountaineering use.
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Affiliate Disclosure: My gear reviews may contain affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something that I’ve linked to, I might get a small commission at no additional cost to you. Be assured, though, that my reviews are unbiased and involve only gear that I (or a mountain partner) have used extensively. For all items, I discuss the cons as well as the pros.
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Gear Review Summaries
BD Trail Shock Trekking Pole (gen-1) Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Comfortable composite foam grip and sewn wrist strap.
- Aluminum shafts are more reliable than carbon fiber shafts and can be field-straightened if slightly bent.
- Middle and lower shaft sections can be adjusted to any desired lengths.
- Small baskets can be replaced with larger baskets for snow use.
- Replacement shaft sections can be ordered from Black Diamond.
- Available in men’s and women’s versions, with slightly different lengths.
Cons:
- Slightly heavier than some other three-section trekking poles.
- FlickLock clasp is much bulkier and possibly less secure than some other clasps, such as FlickLock Pro.
Bottom Line: A very good basic trekking pole for general mountaineering use.
Product Link: This specific model is no longer available but could perhaps be procured from clearance or used gear sites.
Similar Products & Links:
Black Diamond Trail trekking poles (a newer and slightly lighter version of the Trail Shock, without the shock absorber)
Black Diamond Trail Sport trekking poles (a more economical version of the Trail, but performs essentially the same function)
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BD Trail Shock Pro Trekking Pole (gen-2) Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Comfortable composite foam grip and laminated wrist strap.
- Flicklock Pro clasp is compact, easy to use, and very secure.
- Aluminum shafts are more reliable than carbon fiber shafts and can be field-straightened if slightly bent.
- Middle and lower shaft sections can be adjusted to any desired lengths.
- Small baskets can be replaced with larger baskets for snow use.
- Replacement shaft sections can be ordered from Black Diamond.
- Available in men’s and women’s versions, with slightly different lengths.
Cons:
- Slightly heavier than some other three-section trekking poles.
- Shock absorber on handle requires periodic lubrication.
Bottom Line: A strong, reliable, and versatile trekking pole with an excellent locking mechanism.
Product Link: This specific model is no longer available but could likely be procured from clearance or used gear sites.
Similar Products & Links:
Black Diamond Trail Shock Pro trekking poles (a new version of the Trail Shock Pro, with a better FlickLock Pro clasp but a poorly designed SmashLock ferrule)
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BD Trail Pro Shock Trekking Pole (gen-3) Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Comfortable composite foam grip and laminated wrist strap.
- Flicklock Pro locking mechanism on upper joint is elegant, compact, easy to use, and very secure.
- Aluminum shafts are more reliable than carbon fiber shafts and can be field-straightened if slightly bent.
- Small basket can be replaced with larger basket for snow use.
- Replacement shaft sections can be ordered from Black Diamond.
- Available in men’s and women’s versions, with slightly different lengths.
Cons:
- Slightly heavier than some other three-section trekking poles.
- SmashLock ferrule on lower joint is finicky and unreliable, particularly under tensile loads.
- SmashLock ferrule design creates weak point in lower shaft.
- Lower shaft section has fixed length and cannot be shortened for use.
- Shock absorber on handle requires periodic lubrication.
Bottom Line: A disappointing revision of a formerly excellent trekking pole that now combines an industry-best FlickLock Pro clasp with an ill-conceived SmashLock ferrule.
Product Link: Black Diamond Trail Pro Shock trekking poles
Similar Products & Links:
Black Diamond Trail Pro Shock trekking poles (a women’s version of the Trail Pro Shock)
Black Diamond Trail trekking poles (a lighter version of the Trail Pro, with standard FlickLock clasps)
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BD Pursuit Trekking Pole Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Comfortable cork and foam grip with laminated wrist strap.
- Flicklock+ clasp is compact, easy to use, and very secure.
- Aluminum shafts are more reliable than carbon fiber shafts and can be field-straightened if slightly bent.
- Middle and lower shaft sections can be adjusted to any desired lengths.
- Small baskets can be replaced with larger baskets for snow use.
- Includes hidden wrench for adjusting clasp tightness.
- Replacement shaft sections can be ordered from Black Diamond.
- Available in men’s and women’s versions, with slightly different lengths and grip sizes
- Available with a shock absorber on handle.
Cons:
- Slightly heavier than some other three-section trekking poles.
Bottom Line: A strong, reliable, and versatile trekking pole with an excellent locking mechanism.
Product Link: Black Diamond Pursuit trekking poles
Similar Products & Links:
Black Diamond Pursuit Shock trekking poles (identical to the Pursuit trekking poles but shock absorbers built into the handles, making them slightly heavier)
Black Diamond Pursuit FLZ trekking poles (similar to the Pursuit trekking poles but with a folding lower section, making them lighter but less adjustable; more suitable for trail hiking than for mountaineering)
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Full Gear Reviews
BD Trail Shock Trekking Pole (gen-1 + gen-2 + gen-3) Reviews
I purchased the original model of Black Diamond’s Trail Shock trekking poles for both my wife and myself around 2010 after wearing out a pair of their basic-model poles. The Trail Shock checked all of my boxes for all-purpose trekking poles: comfortable molded-foam grips, hefty grip extensions, nice sewn-fabric wrist straps, three-section aluminum shafts, small baskets, and carbide tips. The baskets could be replaced with any other Black Diamond pole baskets, such as powder baskets, giving them four-season versatility. The carbide tips were replaceable and could be covered with rubber covers for use on paved trails or rock slabs. More importantly, replacement shaft sections could be ordered from Black Diamond (I have purchased several replacement sections over the years).
The three individual shaft sections were held together with Black Diamond’s venerable FlickLock clasps. These plastic locking mechanisms have been in production for several decades and have proven themselves to be quite effective. I have only two minor complaints about FlickLocks. First, they are relatively bulky compared to many other systems on the market, but this is just an esthetic gripe on my part. Second, they tend to loosen a bit during use and must be tightened occasionally to keep the poles from collapsing unexpectedly. Fortunately, the FlickLock clasps can be easily tightened using a Phillips screwdriver, so I got in the habit of carrying a small screwdriver at all times.
Another nice, but not essential, feature of the Trail Shock poles was the shock absorber built into each handle. In theory, these shock absorbers relieve some of the jarring applied to wrist joints during many miles of trekking. I honestly can’t say whether they really help, but I acknowledge that there could be imperceptible benefits, and I did like the feel. A disadvantage of the shock absorbers is that they tend to get stuck in a compressed state over time, such that the pole grips rattle up and down. It’s very annoying, but I discovered that a couple squirts of lubricant will effectively unstick the sleeve.
After using the Trail Shock trekking poles for several years, I upgraded to Black Diamond’s second-generation Trail Shock Pro trekking poles. This newer model featured a slightly more compact molded-foam grip, a less-useful grip extension (it is shorter and has an inverted taper), a nicer wrist strap, and anodized aluminum shafts. What really separated the Trail Shock Pro from the Trail Shock, though, was the FlickLock Pro locking clasps that held the shaft sections together. Each clasp consisted of a compact steel-and-plastic cam-action clamp that locked down super tight. In 10 years of hard use, I never once had the clasp fail to hold the pole sections in place, even when I put a lot of weight on the pole handle. Furthermore, although each clasp had a tightening screw, I never once found it necessary to tighten the screw. In my opinion, it was the best locking mechanism available on a trekking pole at the time.
Over the course of a decade, my wife and I wore out or broke several pairs of Trail Shock Pro trekking poles, so I bought us each a pair of Trail Pro Shock trekking poles in early 2021. These third-generation poles appeared to be pretty much identical to my previous model except for two important differences. First, the FlickLock Pro clasps that hold the upper and middle shaft sections together are now constructed of cast aluminum rather than steel and plastic. I didn’t think they could improve on the previous FlickLock Pro clasps, but they did; the new clasps are more elegant, more compact, and more durable. Black Diamond provides a tiny Allen wrench for tightening the clasps, but through a full year of hard use, I’ve never needed to do so.
The other important difference with the Trail Pro Shock poles is that the clasp holding the middle and lower segments together has been replaced with a SmashLock ferrule. This clever mechanism allows the lower section to be fully retracted by simply pushing or smashing the pole against firm ground. I was initially quite impressed by the engineering involved and was eager to try them out. Sadly, it didn’t take long to discover that the SmashLocks have three serious flaws.
Flaw 1: During my years of using other Black Diamond trekking poles, I continually adjusted the pole length to suit whatever situation I was in at the time. I preferred an intermediate length on trails, a shorter length on steep ascents, a longer length on steep descents, and sometimes uneven lengths on sidehill traverses. Typically, I made these pole adjustments while keeping the middle and bottom sections approximately equal in length as shown in the photo below. My reason for this is that the bottom section is narrower—hence, weaker—than the middle section, so I wouldn’t want it to be fully extended, thereby putting it in a more vulnerable position. However, with the new SmashLock mechanism, the only option is to have the bottom section fully extended at all times, as shown in the photo below. Sure enough, I bent one of those bottom sections on their very first climbing trip! I managed to re-straighten the section in the field but was very annoyed by the prospect of this happening frequently.
Flaw 2: During a springtime trip with the Trail Pro Shock poles, I was hiking up a snowfield on a sunny day. My poles penetrated several inches into the snow with every stride, just as normal. At one point, I pulled up on a pole and found that the bottom section had slid out of the SmashLock ferrule and remained embedded in the snow. I was able to reinsert the section back into the ferrule, but it happened again later that day. Over the next few weeks, it happened twice more. On the last occasion, the ferrule pulled loose from the middle section and could not be reattached. I contacted Black Diamond about this, and they promptly sent me two replacement sections. The problem has occurred only once or twice since then, but I’ve lost confidence in the poles on snow due to the low tensile strength of the SmashLock mechanism.
Flaw 3: The design of the SmashLock mechanism includes a locking pin in the ferrule and a matching hole near the top of the lower shaft. Because this hole is relatively large (about half the diameter of the shaft itself), it significantly weakens the lower shaft, which is already weaker than any other part of the trekking pole. I broke one pole at this weak spot in the first year of use, while skiing down a soft snowfield. A few months later, my wife broke one of her poles at the same weak spot while descending a steep heather slope. In both cases, we were surprised how little stress was required to break the shaft. I don’t believe that one of the older pole models would have broken at all. Clearly, the pin hole creates a major weakness in the entire pole.
Based on the three serious flaws described above, I have concluded that the new Trail Pro Shock trekking poles constitute an extremely disappointing revision to what had been an excellent product. It’s very frustrating that they chose to combine the best locking mechanism on the market (the FlickLock Pro) with what might be the worst locking mechanism on the market (the SmashLock). I can only hope that Black Diamond rectifies this situation before I need to buy my next pair of trekking poles, otherwise I’ll be looking at other brands.
BD Pursuit & Pursuit Shock Trekking Pole Initial Review
After being so frustrated with Black Diamond’s misguided decision to use the horrible SmashLock mechanism on their otherwise well-designed Trail poles, I was delighted to find that they introduced a new pole with all the best features of the Trail poles but without the SmashLock. Their new line of poles includes the Pursuit, the Pursuit Shock, and the Pursuit FLZ. The first two models are three-section aluminum poles, both of which I consider appropriate for general mountaineering use. The third model has an adjustable aluminum upper section and a folding aluminum lower section; as such, I regard these to be appropriate only for trail hiking.
In my view, the best feature of all three models is the FlickLock+ adjustment clasp. This is functionally identical to Black Diamond’s excellent FlickLock Pro clasp, which I consider to be the best locking mechanism on the market. The only difference is that the FlickLock+ clasp has a rubber “soft touch” cover. There are also two other improvements over my old Trail poles. First, all Pursuit models have a natural cork handle, which I have used on other poles and have found to be more comfortable in hot weather. Second, all Pursuit models have a small hex bit tool ingeniously hidden inside the shaft, so that you always have a way to loosen or tighten the FlickLock+ clasp.
I have not yet had an opportunity to use a pair of the new poles, but I can proclaim that my next pair of trekking poles will be Pursuit poles. Or maybe Pursuit Shock poles. In either case, kudos to Black Diamond for ditching the flawed SmashLock mechanism and introducing a new line of trekking poles that will no doubt prove to be the best on the market.
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