A Sustainability Pole

Yes, I know, you will have to forgive me for the dreadfully tenuous play on words, but this is a topic that I think is worthy of mention, particularly as we all should be a little more ‘considered’ in our purchases, recycling and the ‘end of life’ extensions we can make to prevent waste!

In this instance I wanted to talk about the very excellent Mountain King walking poles, and how they fit all the above criteria and more.

The first point is that are manufactured within the UK, in Newcastle upon Tyne, which is great. It supports the local economy, it also means that once manufactured they are not ‘transported’ for thousands of miles around the globe, producing no end of harmful emissions, all for the sake of saving a couple of quid at point of purchase.

If you read some of their customer endorsements, one from Jon in particular, they have served him for over 8 years, across a multitude of outings and alternative uses (poles for his bashsa), which is testament to their bomb proof build quality.

It’s become custom and practice to buy on ‘price’, which, if it’s the first purchase, you’re a novice walker or for whatever (strange!) reason you’re not sure the fabulous outdoors might not be for you, then you could forgive that purchase decision.

However, for the seasoned professional in the outdoors, and in fact everyone else, its eminently far more sensible to ‘Invest’ in a quality product, which naturally you will need a to pay a little more for.

Better than ‘buy cheap, buy twice!’

The next point for the enthusiasts amongst you is the choice of pole. There are three that I wanted to highlight for differing reasons:

· Trailblaze (Aluminium alloy) – This is an ultra-light weight Aluminium pole that is a 4 section Z fold type, weighing a substantially less thanthe SuperTrekker at 130 Grams (subject to the length you need).

· Skyrunner Ultra (Carbon Fibre) – if you are absolutely driven in reducing your load weights to the absolute minimum, these are a must! The mid-range length of these is a measly 105 grams, this coupled to the exceptional build quality these are a ‘no brainer’ for the athletes among you.

So there you have it, an excellent range of poles for differing requirements, they may not be the least expensive pole on the market but the ‘cost in use’ based on a lifetime of value (versatility, robustness, ethical sourcing, UK manufacturing) is an investment that will ‘wash its face’ many time over!

Oh, and last but by no means least, the lovely people at Mountain King have a brilliant additional service that will ‘extend the life’ of your poles should you lose a section, or they become damaged in any way, for a minimal cost they will repair your poles to keep you out in those brilliant UK National parks.