Black Diamond Boundary Ski Poles

www.blackdiamondequipment.com,1 pound, 5 ounces
Try hard enough and you could blow your entire winter budget on one pair of perfect ski poles—but you still need to afford things like lift tickets, lunches, and après cocktails. The Boundary Ski Poles offer the perfect solution. The price isn’t too dear, but you don’t sacrifice much performance for wanting to earmark some dinero for the slopes. And for novices to high-quality ski poles, these are legions beyond the typical rental options. Rather than the stiff, bent versions parsed out at the rental shop, these aluminum poles flex with each turn, making aching wrists and “pole thumb” a thing of the past. The soft-to-the-touch hand-grips only increase the overall comfort, and the adjustable padded straps slide easily over even the puffiest of gloves. The four-inch powder baskets screw off and on. We also love the variable length options afforded by Black Diamond’s proprietary, no-slip “FlickLock” adjustment. Fix the length to accommodate whatever steep backcountry slope you’re ascending—and snowboarders can also fully collapse the poles and strap them on the sides of a daypack for an unencumbered descent.