The REI Co-op Flash Folding Trekking Poles are lightweight, z-style folding trekking poles with carbon fiber shafts, foam grips, adjustable straps, and non-interchangeable baskets. They are available in several fixed lengths, and weigh 14.1 oz (400 g) per pair at the 125 cm length. They collapse down quickly to a very short length and are relatively strong for their weight. They are manufactured by Komperdell and sold exclusively at REI, under the REI brand. They currently retail for $149 USD.
The following impressions are based on about 125 miles of day hiking, backpacking, and packrafting on hilly terrain in Indiana and Kentucky, and mountains and canyons in Zion National Park. The testing was done in snow, rain, rivers, and generally gloomy weather in December, January, and February of 2019-2020. About half of the hiking was on-trail, and half was off-trail. I bought these poles with my own money.
Quick Take
These poles are light, fast, and reasonably tough. However, I don’t recommend these poles for purchase, as I had to return 2 different sets to REI when the glue failed in multiple places. Read on to find out more.
Shafts
The shafts are made of carbon fiber, with a nice subtle black on black pattern applied, as well as some attractive blue and silver lettering. They taper down in diameter toward the bottom of the poles. The shafts are larger in diameter but smaller in wall thickness than Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z poles, which weigh 11.1 oz (315 g) in the 130 cm length, according to Black Diamond.
Like all carbon fiber poles, the shafts will quickly collect scratches if hiking off-trail. This is cosmetic only.
Collapsibility and Adjustability
The poles are not adjustable in length. They are sold in fixed lengths of 105 cm, 115 cm, 125 cm, and 135 cm. The poles in this review are 125 cm. This non-adjustability is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantages are lighter weight, less swing weight, no chance of collapsing in brush, simpler and tougher design, and a shorter collapsed length. The disadvantages are an inability to adjust the poles for different sized users or different angles of terrain, and increased difficulty in using them as shelter poles.
To deploy the poles from a folded position takes about 5 seconds per pole. Simply hold onto the handle, letting the rest of the pole dangle, and slide the upper section of carbon downward until you feel the click. The pole is now locked and ready to go. To fold it back up, depress the aluminum button and slide the top section of carbon up into the grip until it stops. Pull the bottom two sections downward to separate them, and everything can be folded up in about 5 seconds per pole. Both deploying and stowing are incredibly convenient and can be done without looking. After using poles like this, it will be difficult for me to go back to lever lock poles, let alone twist lock poles.
The tension on the interior cable that holds the pole sections together can’t be adjusted. Over the span of a hundred miles of use, the tension in my poles loosened slightly, causing a bit of a clacking sound between the sections as I planted the pole into the ground. I assume this would get worse over time, with pole sections eventually sliding on each other. The tension needs to be adjustable so that the sections act as one whole. Most Z-style poles offer this adjustment.
The poles when collapsed are about 17 inches long. This is a very short and convenient length to stuff quickly into almost running pack or day pack. They disappear into my pack when it’s time to strap it to the bow of my packraft. They also neatly stow into any number of exterior pole storage systems when it’s time to hike on a road, or run. My previous poles, the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork, needed to be strapped to the outside of the pack as they were too long to fit inside. There is a crescent-shaped indentation in the basket of the pole that would suggest that it locks onto the other shaft when collapsed, but this indentation isn’t the right size to grab onto anything. It looks to be vestigial, an abandoned feature that was never removed.
The poles come with a short section of velcro-covered cloth, similar to a cable tie, that holds the poles in a small package when they are collapsed. This cloth fits neatly into an indentation on the grip when not in use. Unfortunately, it is a thin piece of cloth and will not last the life of the poles. I would have guessed it was only for in-store display, if the grip wasn’t recessed the way it is to store the velcro. It works well though, and could easily be replaced by buying a velcro cable tie when it fails. It is a convenience only, and is in no way necessary for the poles to function. I removed both of mine and don’t miss them.
Grips and Straps
The grips are made of EVA foam, and extend down the shaft to allow for different hand positions. They are pleasantly contoured and comfortable. The structure underneath the grip does not ascend all the way to the top of the grip, so the very top section of foam will bend forward under hard downward pressure, the type that is applied by palming the top of the grip while descending a slippery slope. I’ve noticed this bending on several occasions, and it doesn’t bother me, but it is a potential longevity concern for those who palm the top of the grip often.
The hand straps are adjustable, using a method I haven’t seen before. To adjust, pull out the tail ends of the strap, move one relative to the other, and pull them back into place. There are plastic teeth that grip the strap to lock the adjustment in. The method takes 15 to 20 seconds per strap, but is secure afterward and does not slip. It takes long enough that adjusting several times per day, such as while donning and removing thick gloves, would be annoying. The straps are removable, but I can’t tell if they can be reinstalled easily afterward, so I haven’t removed them.
Tips and Baskets
The tips are made of tungsten carbide with a hexagonal pattern. They grip various surfaces, from dirt to moss-covered rock, with the same tenacity I have noticed in most other trekking poles I’ve used.
The tips have small baskets permanently attached. These baskets are not big enough to be used in deep snow, but will do a good job keeping leaves from stacking up, or keeping the poles from getting stuck in small holes between rocks and roots. Unfortunately, they cannot be replaced or removed, unlike REI’s other trekking poles. I would advise against buying these poles if you plan on doing much hiking in deep snow. Instead, find a pair that will accept large baskets.
They come with a pair of tip covers that you will want to remove before use. These are not rubber covers for indoor use, just plastic covers to keep the tips from cutting anything during transport. I use them to cover the tips when I have to stow the poles in my pack while rafting.
Durability
The worst thing that can happen to a trekking pole is bending or breaking. Carbon fiber poles tend toward the latter, and graciously absorb a certain amount of the former without damage. At $149, I hesitate to snap one of these intentionally, so I can’t say for sure how strong the shafts are. I have, however, done many miles of off-trail hiking with them. Falls on rock, in thick brush, and in rivers have not produced a break. The shafts seem to be very strong, and would probably last for thousands of miles of on-trail hiking, with durability similar to other carbon poles in their weight class.
The tensioning issue mentioned above hurts their durability, however. With no way to re-tighten them easily, the shaft tension would eventually become a problem, allowing pole shaft sections to slide against each other and reducing rigidity.
Fail: The Glue
While hiking, I happened to look down and notice that a small pin was sticking out of one of the poles. It was supposed to be glued in, but the glue had failed and the pin had almost fallen out. This pin is silver, and visible (not sticking out) below my wrist in the above photo. I was able to push it back in, but it came partway out again later. If this pin was lost, the shaft linkage would no longer stay attached to the shaft. Thinking it was probably a rare defect, I returned that set of poles to REI and exchanged them for the same model again.
Later, the new model developed another a different problem. The glue holding the blue shaft linkage inside the shaft failed. This is visible in the bottom center of the above photo. This upper linkage does not have a pin to hold it in place, and it then slipped out of place regularly. One time, when extending the poles, the aluminum slammed against the carbon shaft, nicking and weakening it. This was the last straw for me, and I returned the poles soon afterward.
Conclusion
I’d like to list the pros and cons here, but I won’t. While there is a lot to like about these poles, the glue failure in both my sets is not acceptable. The lack of tension adjustment is not, either. All the features in the world don’t matter if the poles fall apart and damage themselves during normal use. This should have been noticed during testing, and they never should have reached store shelves. I recommend buying other trekking poles.
A Couple Alternatives:
Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z -Lighter, probably slightly less durable in the shafts and grips, and more expensive.
Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Z – Heavier, more durable in every respect, and more expensive. I ended up buying these instead, and love them.