Comments about Black Diamond Contour Elliptic Shock Poles (pair):

I get to hike and power walk a lot of steep rocky trails in my area and poles are essential for a fast strong stride, not one of my friends were able to keep up pace until they got poles. These poles are far superior to my old shock poles. The shock mechanism at the top of the pole absorbs all the shock that would be transmitted to the grip. The poles have never slipped once. The elliptical poles cut through wind better than the round and also are easier to extend and collapse as needed while hiking due to a better grip around a flatter object than round. I also own 2 other sets of Black Diamond poles for Telemark skiing and they all are of top quality.