The lone voice?

Black Diamond Traverse Ski Poles

Black Diamond Traverse Ski Poles

Rating for this product: 4 January 9, 2009

Great poles, with caveats. FlickLock rocks, period. I had a pair of Adjustable Probe poles, circa '05, made in Italy, that were bombproof, period. Left 'em on the mountain last winter (sob, whimper...). Bought a pair of Traverses, made in Taiwan. Excellent poles, with one noteworthy exception: the ferrules (the things that hold the baskets) keep coming off! I use my poles year-round, for skiing, trekking, et cetera, so I don't always need the baskets. The ferrules have come off from screwing or unscrewing the baskets from the ferrules, which are now (why???) threaded. The older poles' ferrules had no threads - the baskets simply pressed on and off. Never a problem. In total, I've had five ferrule ejections by now. A couple of ferrules came off from brushy bushwhacks - baskets were in no way involved. BD tech support dude was super nice, but suggested applying epoxy when putting ferrules back on after they've come off. Thanks, but I wouldn't exactly call that standing behind the product. Oh well - judging by the reviews, I'm the only person who ever has this problem...on both Traverse and Expedition poles.

Nailed It? 1 Yes

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Simply mahvelous!

Black Diamond Ascension Nylon STS Skins

Black Diamond Ascension Nylon STS Skins

Rating for this product: 5 January 9, 2009

I've got two pairs, and both have been great! They peel easily, thanks to the non-adhesive center strip (had G3s previously, which were a great workout to peel...). The adhesive has been bombproof, though both pairs have been soaked repeatedly each spring season. One pair is on fat Volkl Gotamas - monster kick tails are no problem! Watch BD's trimming video (looks reeeeaaaalll easy, don't it???), be gentle (don't twist!) with your trimming tool, and I'd recommend tossing the mesh that's intended to be used for storing your skins. I simply fold each skin in half, fur side out, which protects the adhesive by having it stuck to itself. A buddy used the mesh, and it came apart and left a bunch of residue in/on the adhesive. I'd buy these skins again with no second thought.

Nailed It? 1 Yes

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Black Diamond Ascension Nylon STS Skins

January 8, 2009

Get the 130's.. Due to the weight..I say go "Glidelite"no no no no no get the 140's ALWAYS go bigger----The amount of coverage that you'd lose at the skis' tips by using 130mm skins is arguably insignificant. With 130mm skins, you get the ease of not having to trim the very tail of the skins - they'll fit the skis' 133mm tails perfectly.

Nailed It? 0 Yes

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