I recently took the Leki Makalu FX Carbon trekking poles out for a few hikes and my personal and honest review. The Poles were sent to me from Leki for review but have not impacted my opinion or suggestions below.
The Leki Makalu FX Carbon trekking poles are some of my lightest tracking poles. They fold into three pieces connected with a cable threaded inside the poles. This is a common design and alternate to a telescoping style pole. The Makalu also includes a small telescoping section to adjust the overall height of the treking poles.
At the collapsing points, there is an insert and a cable that make assembling and storing the trekking poles easy. They fold up into a small footprint that can be easily stored inside or on the outside of a backpack.
The internal cable keeping the pieces together is coated in a rubber sheath that keeps it quiet when moving around inside the poles and dampens the vibration you might feel as it moves around inside the poles. There are two levers on the trekking poles. The first silver one is to lock them into place after they have been extended. The other is to adjust the overall height.
Once the poles are fully extended, there is a locking button to keep them in place. To collapse the poles just push the button again and pull them apart.
This thumb lever opens the poles and allows for a few inches of adjustment to the overall height of the poles.
At the bottom of the trekking poles, you have a small basket that can be removed or replaced if needed. The tip is a Carbide flex tip that is pretty standard on trekking poles I’ve used before.
The Straps and grip on the trekking poles are easily adjustable by just pulling up on the strap to unlock and pulling back down to lock.
The entire shaft of the poles are constructed from lightweight and stiff carbon fiber. The flex is minimal when putting a lot weight on the poles.
Conclusion
The Leki trekking poles weighing in at just 254 g and a folded length of 40 cm make them light enough and small enough to take with you on any hike. They pack up small and are easily attached to a bag. They are more expensive than many other trekking pole options on the market, but they are some of the lightest and feature-filled poles that justify the price. If you want to check them out from our affiliate link that helps support our website please use the link below.