In August of 2017 we paid a visit the Komperdell headquarters in Mondsee, Austria. While there, we discovered that the on-site factory makes a staggering 23,000 pairs of poles a week (so 46,000 overall). We saw how their poles were put together, and had a guided tour from none other than the company CEO Thomas Roiser.

“We’d never want our employees to not be proud of what we do here,” Thomas told us, while showing off what he described as the most modern lacquering facility in continental Europe.

Seeing behind the scenes at Komperdell gave us an insight into how they make their quality products, and reinforced our feeling that here is an outdoor brand which cares deeply about what it does. This idea, we think, is perfectly underlined by the Carbon Trailstick Vario.

“…an extremely fast-folding carbon pole, perfectly suited to the needs of dedicated hikers and even trail runners.”

The Carbon Trailstick Vario from Komperdell is an extremely fast-folding carbon pole, perfectly suited to the needs of dedicated hikers and even trail runners.

At 231g each, they have a really nice lightweight feel. While the fact that they can break down to such a compact size is another significant win.

The Powerlock 3.0, which sounds like a film Vin Diesel would be in, is a super reliable mechanism that shouldn’t let you down when you’re on the hill. The lever, that locks in place once you’ve adjusted the pole length, is intuitive to use and holds steady even under high impact at regular intervals. With its reassuring strength, trusting this product to do its job never feels in doubt.