Trekking Pole Length and Locks, Explained
Set a trekking pole so your elbow bends at a right angle with the tip by your foot; Leki's starting point is your height in centimeters times 0.68.
By Adolph GreenContributing writer.
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The short answer
Stand on flat ground, hold the grip and put the pole tip on the ground next to your foot. If your forearm sits level and your elbow makes a right angle, the length is right. Hand too high: shorten the pole. Hand too low: lengthen it.
For a first setting before that test, Leki suggests multiplying your height in centimeters by 0.68. A walker who is 175 cm (about 5 ft 9 in) lands near 120 cm.
Pole length by height
Leki publishes this chart as a starting point, to fine tune with the elbow test:
| Your height | Suggested pole length |
|---|---|
| Under 150 cm | 100 cm |
| 150 to 160 cm | 100 to 110 cm |
| 160 to 170 cm | 110 to 115 cm |
| 170 to 180 cm | 115 to 125 cm |
| 180 to 190 cm | 125 to 130 cm |
| Over 190 cm | 130 to 135 cm |
Other brands print their own charts, and the numbers can differ by a few centimeters at the same height. If you buy a fixed-length pole, use the chart of that exact brand.
Change the length with the ground
The right length on flat ground is not the right length everywhere. Leki's advice:
- Long climbs: shorten each pole by 5 to 10 cm so you can push down into the slope.
- Long descents: lengthen each pole by 5 to 10 cm so you can plant the tip ahead and below you without bending forward.
- Flat ground: go back to the right-angle elbow setting.
On mixed terrain you may adjust several times on one hike, and that is exactly the job an adjustable pole does.
Fixed, adjustable or folding
Trekking poles come in three basic builds. Black Diamond sorts its own range the same way: fixed length, FlickLock adjustable and Z-Pole folding.
| Build | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed length | One length, no lock to adjust | Runners and hikers who know their number; Leki calls these the lightest and stiffest |
| Adjustable (telescoping) | Sections slide inside each other and a lock holds them | Changing terrain and sharing poles between people |
| Folding | Sections fold into a short bundle, often with a little adjustment | Travel and carrying the poles on a pack; Leki's folding Vario poles adjust by around 20 cm |
How the locks work
- Lever or clamp locks wrap around the shaft and close with a small lever. Leki calls its version Speed Lock; Black Diamond calls its version FlickLock and describes it as giving strong clamping force while still being easy to adjust.
- Folding poles trade some of that range for a short pack size; Leki's Vario models keep around 20 cm of adjustment.
Whatever the lock, check it before you lean on the pole, and follow the maker's care advice. Leki, for example, says to rinse the sections after wet walks, dry them fully and not oil the locking parts.
Tips and baskets
The tip is the part that touches the ground, and on many poles you can change it. Black Diamond sells interchangeable rubber and carbide tips so you can switch to suit the terrain, along with 38 mm trekking baskets and tip protectors. Leki stocks tips, pads and baskets as spare parts too.
How we count
Wiki Shopping lists 66 trekking poles under sports and outdoors as of October 27, 2026, from our read-only listing data; 11 of them list aluminum as their material. Listings that do not state a material are left out of that count, and the counts change as listings are added or removed.