Black Diamond Razor Carbon Ski Pole Review

I've been avoiding adjustable poles for quite some time. To me they shouted "hey look I'm skiing the resort but an over prepared for a simple backcountry trip". That, and more importantly, my first generation adjustable poles from Lifelink were what I called "Self Adjusting", as in, they would collapse whenever they damn felt like it... even if you're in the middle of an off-piste skier-cross race. Ya, so um, it was bye bye to adjustable poles for about a decade.

After recently scoring the Razor Carbon poles from Black Diamond, I'm back on the band wagon. I've taken them resort and backcountry skiing, and these poles held their own in both domains. They survived a couple powder days without breaking, and came in pretty damn handy in the backcountry.

The lightweight grip extension is admittedly pretty handy for steep side-hilling, the swing weight feels balanced, and the FlickLock hasn't failed me yet. That said, they've improved the FlickLock even further for next year, check out the video featuring the Compactor Pole.

If I had it my way, I'd prefer these poles with a half moon basket like those on the Whippet pole, and a soft plastic area on top of the hadn grip which would make it a bit easier to work with G3 Onyx bindings. The existing hard plastic top is probably more durable, but like I said, if I had it my way...

All in all these poles are pretty sweet so far, and I'm looking forward to using and abusing them even more on an upcoming Chamonix sojourn. If you were an adjustable pole hater like me, it might be time to give it a second chance!

The FlickLocks

The lower grips

The hard plastic that I'd rath have as soft plastic, but it's probably a durability thing.