Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork WR Trekking Poles Review

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If you need poles to trek, you really ought to give these a look. The Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork WR Trekking pole (that name's a mouthful right?) is quite the standout in the trekking pole category. While the name is lengthy, I've endearingly referred to this piece of kit as the Cat-Hole Digger 3000 to my hunting partners.

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These trekkers are in a league of their own. While this 2020 version stems from previous models in Black Diamond's line of premiere poles, there are some key improvements that set it apart from the rest.

Starting from the top, you're connected to the Alpine Carbon Cork via the soft-touch ergonomic grip which includes an all cork material for comfort and moisture wicking. Below the cork, the grips are extended via a black foam handle that you can choke up on when the going gets steep.

The foundation of the Alpine Carbon Cork are the 3 all-carbon sections that are connected and secured via Dual FlickLock Pro locks that allow adjustments up to 130 cm. The all-carbon construction is important to note. These sticks are LIGHT! They come in at 1lb 1.6 oz for the pair.

While incredibly light, these poles have held up quite well. During the 2021 big game archery season, I used them for trekking way into the backcountry for an above timberline mule deer hunt. During the pack in I constantly pushed off of and leaned onto these poles for support with a loaded up Kifaru Muskeg 5000. Once I reached camp, that's when this set really starts to shine.

When you're looking for a camp spot in the back country, a couple features need to be met. Camp ought to be dry, near water, not too far away from a sweet glassing knob, and most importantly - flat. Unfortunately, when you're on the side of a mountain, flat spots to sleep in come at a premium. If that's something you can't find you're gonna spend your night sliding on and off your inflatable pad. Fortunately, this is where the WR portion of this lengthy name comes in. WR stands for 'whippet ready.' Black Diamond offers two different whippet options for this set of poles. One is the original whippet which acts more like an ice pick. The other has been dubbed the Alpine Whippet. It's flatter head is more conducive to digging and is the choice I opted for.

Simple yet critical tasks like digging out a mountain seep for water, leveling a spot to sleep, and digging cat holes is made possible with the Alpine Whippet head. At the top of of the grip is where attachments are inserted and are surprisingly sturdy.

Once camp chores were done, I flipped the poles upside down to set the foundation to my shelter - the Seek Outside Silex. While both pieces of gear impressed me through all the harsh weather, the Alpine Carbon Cork poles held up great while the Silex bucked the wind.

So yeah all this stuff seems great right? Don't get me wrong it is. But even the best pieces of gear have their drawbacks. As far as this piece, the ugly portion is the price. The poles alone will run you an MSRP of about $200 bucks. That's right. 200 dollars do make sure you can kick it in 4-wheel drive when you're trudging up the mountain. And I also wanna clarify, that's 200 smackeroos with no whippet attachments included. The whippet attachment will run you an additional $50 while the Alpine Whippet costs around $60. So you better hope that you don't snap one in half - they aren't sold individually.

Conclusion

For any job that requires a trekking pole for the backcountry, the Alpine Carbon Cork WR will get it done (and then some). This trekker is truly the Lamborghini of poles in both features and price. So if you're willing to spend the cash, you'll get some of the best poles money can buy.