Fixed, folding or telescopic walking poles?

Fixed, folding or telescopic? This is one of the first questions you ask yourself when choosing hiking poles, Nordic walking poles or trail poles. Here is our advice along with a comparison table to help you decide.

First and foremost, it is more accurate to talk about single-section or multi-section poles rather than fixed or telescopic poles. As the name suggests, single-section poles consist of a single section. It is therefore impossible to adjust their length, which remains the same — fixed — no matter what. Multi-section poles, on the other hand, consist of several sections, which makes it possible to stow them and reduce their bulk by folding or retracting them. They can therefore be folding or telescopic. Note that not all retractable poles are folding, and not all folding poles are retractable.

Nordic walking is practised on easy terrain — relatively flat, neither steep nor rough. The walker uses their poles for the entire duration of the walk and never sets them aside. There is therefore no need to equip yourself with folding or telescopic poles which, on the contrary, tend to be heavier and above all offer neither the powerful, straight thrust of a single-section pole nor its optimal absorption of ground vibrations.

When hiking or trail, it is generally worth being able to stow your poles in your backpack or clip them to your hip belt for certain sections, keeping bulk to a minimum. It is therefore better to opt for poles with a storage system, whether folding or telescopic.

Telescopic or folding poles?

When hiking and trail, if you opt for multi-section poles, you will need to choose between two storage systems: telescopic or folding. Both options are equally valid and will allow you to stow your poles in your backpack or clip them to your hip belt for minimum bulk.

Please note, before making your decision:

• While it is always possible to adjust the length of telescopic poles, this is not necessarily the case with folding poles. If you are out on terrain with significant elevation changes, make sure to check whether the pole length is adjustable.

• While telescopic poles are generally made up of two or three sections, folding poles have at least three. The more sections they have, the more compact they become once folded.

• There are two types of telescopic poles based on their locking mechanism: twist-lock telescopic poles and clip-lock telescopic poles. In the table below, we do not include twist-lock telescopic poles, as they can come loose during a hike or become too difficult to unscrew. They are inexpensive, but frankly not comparable to folding poles. That said, they are perfectly suitable for short, occasional outings on easy terrain.

Let's now compare the different characteristics of fixed-length single-section poles, multi-section telescopic poles and multi-section folding poles in the comparison table below. Our scoring system runs from 1 for the most advantageous option to 3 for the least advantageous.

Please note that the weight and durability of trekking poles depend not only on the number of sections or the storage system, but also on other factors such as the material they are made from and the locking mechanism. In this table, we assume we are comparing poles made from the same shaft material and belonging to the same quality range.