By Jennifer Lu’Becke
I’ve been a skeptic of trekking poles. In the past, I had made the assumption that poles would be too clunky and too heavy to bother to bring on a hike. I am now a strong believer!
Testing Grounds
I tested these lovely Legacy Lady poles in the Olympic Mountains and also when summiting Mt. St. Helens. I can honestly say, I would not have made it back down from Mt. St. Helens without trashing my legs if I hadn’t used these poles. They reduced the stress on my knees by supporting and stabilizing while going through the boulder field. I am very thankful I had the Legacy Lady in my hands.
Points For Good Looks
Plus—I must admit—I squealed with delight when I opened the package and saw that the Legacy Lady poles are greyish-purple with a bright purple swirl! With that said, I know color is not as important as form and function, but I am happy with the artistic appeal of these poles.
High-End Form And Function
The shaft is high tensile strength aluminum—they are so lightweight (16.6 ounces per pair) that I felt like I was carrying toothpicks, yet they held my weight when I tripped. I found the locking lever easy and quick to adjust even with gloves on, and the poles have a compact grip, which felt very comfortable on my ten-mile testing trek through the mountains.
The streamlined SpeedLock 2 is 33 percent smaller, 25 percent lighter, and 20 percent stronger than the original SpeedLock system. SpeedLock 2 also features a machined aluminum clamp ring, which prevents the mechanism from stretching and significantly decreases any chance of lock failure.
The Legacy Lady features the PAS Compact Thermo Grip, which is 15 percent smaller than the original Thermo Grip, and is adjustable from 25 to 49 inches to fit into women-specific packs.
Leki’s Legacy Lady Trekking Poles will be available in starting this spring (February 2015). They will be $99 and worth every penny! I highly recommend them.