Trekking Poles for Ultras: When They Help and How to Carry Them

Poles earn their weight when a course averages roughly 150 feet of climbing per mile (about 30 metres per kilometre) or more, or has sustained climbs steeper than about 15 percent that last 20 minutes or longer; below that they are 300 grams of carbon you carry for nothing. For racing, a fixed-length Z-fold carbon pole such as the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z is the standard, because it deploys in seconds and stows across the front of a vest. For training, sharing, and courses that mix steep climbs with long descents, an adjustable folding carbon pole such as the WindQuester ultralight lets you shorten for the up and lengthen for the down, at a fraction of the price and with a lock that needs checking. Carry them on the vest, not in your hands, on any section where you are not planting them, and keep the tips down and behind you around other runners.

Vert thresholds: when poles earn their weight

The case for poles is arithmetic. On a steep climb, poles let the arms and shoulders take a share of the work, cut the peak load on the quads and calves per step, and give a rhythm to a power-hike; on a steep descent they add two points of contact and take some braking load off the quads. Their cost is fixed: 250 to 350 grams per pair of carbon poles carried every mile, a small aerobic tax from arm swing, and occupied hands, which slows eating and drinking.

A rule of thumb that matches most coaching guidance:

Course profile	Poles?
Under 100 ft/mile (about 20 m/km), rolling	No; the weight costs more than the climbs give back
100 to 150 ft/mile, a few real climbs	Optional; helps if the climbs are long and you power-hike them
150 to 250 ft/mile (30 to 50 m/km), sustained climbs	Yes for most runners, especially at 100K and beyond
Over 250 ft/mile, alpine, hands-on-knees grades	Yes; this is the terrain they were designed for

Distance moves the threshold. At 50K a strong runner may run everything and never want them; at 100 miles, where even the leaders hike the climbs, poles pay off at lower vert because the fatigue they defer is the fatigue that ends races. A 100-miler with 20,000 feet of gain (200 ft/mile) is pole territory for nearly everyone; a flat 100 is not.

Terrain modifies it too. Steep, smooth, hikeable grades favour poles; technical scrambling with hands on rock does not, because the poles need stowing and deploying every few minutes.

Where poles do not help

• Runnable rolling trail: they interfere with arm swing and add weight.
• Rocky, technical descents where you need your hands for balance: stow them.
• Muddy or rooty ground where the tip skates: worse than nothing.
• Crowded early miles: dangerous, and rude.
• Any race that prohibits them. Rules vary: some North American 100s ban poles outright or in specific sections, most European mountain races allow them, and UTMB-group events have typically required that if you start with poles you carry them the whole way rather than picking them up mid-race. Read the rulebook for the specific year.

Z-fold versus telescoping

Z-fold (folding) poles break into three or four sections joined by an internal cord; pull the top section and they snap straight. They are lighter, faster to deploy, and collapse to 35 to 45 cm, short enough to sit across the front of a vest. Most race Z-folds are fixed length, so you buy your size and cannot change it.

Telescoping poles slide inside each other with flip or twist locks; they adjust over a range, pack longer (often 60 cm or more), weigh more, and take longer to deploy. Their advantage is adjustability, which matters for descents (lengthen 5 to 10 cm) and for sharing a pair.

Folding-adjustable hybrids are Z-fold poles with a short flip-lock adjustment in the top section, usually a 15 to 20 cm range. They are the compromise most budget carbon poles use, including the WindQuester below, and they are a little heavier and slightly less rigid than a pure fixed Z-fold.

For racing: fixed Z-fold. For training on varied terrain, or if you are between sizes: folding-adjustable.

Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z versus WindQuester budget carbon

	Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z	WindQuester ultralight carbon
Design	fixed-length three-section Z-fold, carbon	folding carbon with an adjustable top section
Weight	roughly 260 to 320 g per pair depending on length, per BD's listings	listed at about 198 g; confirm whether that is per pole or per pair, listings vary
Sizes	100, 110, 120, 130 cm	adjustable within a range; check the listing
Collapsed length	roughly 33 to 43 cm depending on size	typically 35 to 40 cm
Tips	carbide, with interchangeable rubber tips	carbide; rubber tips usually included
Grip and strap	foam grip with extended lower grip, lightweight strap	foam or cork-style grip, padded strap
Typical price	roughly $170 to $200	roughly $50 to $80

The Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z is the pole that shows up in the most mountain-race photos, and the reasons are boring in the best way: the sections lock with a rigid, rattle-free joint, the shaft is stiff enough to lean on hard, and the folding is fast enough to do without stopping. The costs are price and the fixed length; choose wrong and you own the wrong pole. Carbon also fails by cracking rather than bending, so a pole jammed between rocks at speed can snap, and BD sells replacement sections.

The WindQuester ultralight carbon poles are the budget answer, and an honest one: carbon shafts at a quarter of the price, a folding design, and an adjustable section that lets one pair fit two runners or one runner on two kinds of terrain. What you give up: the flip-lock needs checking before each big descent because budget locks loosen; the joints are less rigid than the Distance Carbon Z's, so there is some play when you lean hard; the grips and straps are heavier and the strap padding absorbs sweat; and the long-term durability of the cord and tips is less proven. For a first pole-legal 50K or for training, the trade is fine. For a mountain 100 where a failure at hour twenty has consequences, buy the Black Diamond or carry the budget pair as the spare.

Sizing

The standard fit is a 90-degree elbow with the tip on the ground beside your foot, which for most people works out to about 0.68 times height in centimetres. A 175 cm runner lands near 119 cm, so a 120 cm fixed pole. If you are between sizes, round down for a running-focused pole (you will be climbing steeply, where a shorter pole is better) and consider the adjustable option if the course has long descents.

Carry systems

The thing that decides whether poles help or hurt in a race is how quickly they go from stowed to planted and back.

• Front vest loops, horizontal across the chest. Most 12 L race vests, the Salomon ADV Skin 12 included, have elastic loops low on the front. Fold the poles, slide them through, and they ride across the top of the flasks. Fastest deploy and stow, and the reason Z-folds dominate. Downsides: a longer pole can brush the arms, and the carry is untidy at a run.
• Rear quiver. A tube on the back that takes folded or collapsed poles, drawn over the shoulder. Salomon's Custom Quiver attaches to the ADV Skin; other brands sell similar. The cleanest running carry, slightly slower to stow, and telescoping poles fit where front loops will not.
• Rear diagonal bungees. Many vests have a diagonal pair on the back; they hold well but need another person or an awkward reach.
• Pole belt or holster. A waist belt with a pole tube, useful for runners who race without a vest. Good on the run, less integrated with fuel and fluid.
• Hand carry. Fine for a short technical section, poor for anything longer: you cannot eat, and folded poles in a fist on a fall become a splint you do not want.

Whichever you use, practise the transition on training runs until it takes under ten seconds without stopping. Runners who stop to stow poles at every change in grade give back the time the poles earned.

Technique, briefly

On climbs, plant the poles alternately with the opposite foot for a walking rhythm, or plant both together and step twice on the steepest grades; keep the elbows close and the tips behind the body's line so you are pushing back, not lifting up. On descents, lengthen if the pole adjusts, and plant ahead as a third and fourth point of contact rather than as brakes. Use the strap: hand up through the loop from below so the strap takes the load and the grip stays loose. That is the whole of it; the rest is training volume with the poles in hand.

Etiquette and rules

• Tips down and behind you whenever a runner is within a pole length.
• No poles out in the first crowded miles or in a conga line on singletrack; wait until the field strings out.
• When passing or being passed, tuck the poles tight to the body.
• Never lean poles on an aid-station table, and never leave them at an aid station unless the race allows a drop.
• Carbide tips on rock are fine; on boardwalks, paved sections and some park trails, rubber tips are required or courteous. Carry them in a pocket.
• If a race requires carrying poles the whole way once you start with them, decide before the gun and stow them properly rather than handing them to a crew.

Training with poles

Poles change the load on shoulders, triceps and the upper back, and those muscles need weeks, not days, to catch up. Add poles to one hill session a week, then to the long run, over at least eight weeks before the race; blisters between thumb and forefinger and shoulder fatigue at hour six are the signs you skipped this. Do the long runs with the poles stowed on the flats and deployed for the climbs, exactly as you will race, so the transition becomes automatic. For the structure of those hill sessions inside a full plan, Jason Koop's Training Essentials for Ultrarunning is the reference most coaches point to.

Buy the poles when you enter the race, not in race week, and the first thing they will teach you is whether the course needs them at all.