At £15 a pole these cork-handled trekking poles from Vango offer great value for money. At that price there are bound to be some downsides so let’s get them out of the way at the start.
At 640g per pair these are heavy poles, and you will feel the effects of using them in your arms after a long day’s walking. The anti-shock system is not as tight as the Fizans and I found the on-off mechanism tended to twist on rocky ground and switch itself on and off, a real nuisance. With a minimum packed length of 70cm these poles are awkward to stow away but they do stretch out to 140cm. The wrist straps are relatively simple – neoprene with a bit of cushioning – and the cork handles, the main feature of these trekking poles, are comfortable to use although it’s this element that makes the poles so heavy.
On the plus side this is a pretty robust pole, made from T-7075 aluminium alloy, and if you don’t feel you want to spend a lot of money on trekking poles then these would be absolutely ideal. You really can’t go wrong at £15 a pole…
First published: Sept 2013
