I've never used trekking poles before, but I'm sold after one trip into the Black Range (very rocky, steep trails). I found the strap-length adjustment difficult to understand (the function of the adjusting cam is still not clear to me), and the anti-shock features is also quite complex. Since I was using the poles for my Trekker Tarp Tent, I wanted to eliminate the anti-shock, but wasnt able to do it (it worked fine in the reduced anti-shock setting). They are very well-made poles with comfortable grips. It kind of feels like crawling up hills, but that seems to be what I need to do these days. The poles really helped going down hill, and prevented me from taking a number of tumbles.