Black Diamond is the brand most other pole makers get compared to, and there is a simple reason for that. They developed the FlickLock lever, the external clamp that is now the standard locking mechanism on quality trekking poles, and they have spent three decades refining it. When a review of a rival pole says its lock is "FlickLock-style", that is Black Diamond being paid a compliment.
I have put real miles on the Black Diamond Trail Explorer 3, on the chalk descents above Lulworth Cove and on long training days across the Purbeck Hills, so this is not a range I am guessing about. The FlickLock, the aluminium build, the foam grip and the interchangeable carbide tip all carry across the wider line, which makes the rest of the range easy to read once you understand the one pole I know well.
The line splits cleanly. There is the Trail family, which is telescopic aluminium and covers most UK hikers, and there are the folding poles, the Trail Vista FLZ and the carbon Pursuit FLZ, which pack down small for mixed and fast routes. This guide explains what makes a Black Diamond pole good, then walks the whole range so you land on the right model rather than the most expensive one.
What makes Black Diamond poles good
Three things, mainly, and they run through the whole range.
The first is the FlickLock lever, covered in detail below. The second is build quality that is obvious in the hand. The 7000-series aluminium shafts are a clear grade above the cheap aluminium in supermarket poles, the sections slide cleanly, and the levers hold under body weight without creeping. The third is that everything is repairable and backed. Tips, baskets, levers and grips are replaceable, the poles carry a two-year warranty, and Black Diamond has been in the outdoor game since the 1990s, so spares are not going to vanish.
None of that is glamorous. It is the reason a pair of Black Diamond poles tends to still be in use five seasons later while cheaper poles have been binned with a slipped lock or a snapped section.
The FlickLock lever explained
The FlickLock is an external cam lever. You flip it open, slide the section to your length, and flip it shut. It clamps the shaft from the outside rather than expanding a plug inside the tube the way a twist lock does.
Two things make this the right mechanism for UK conditions. It works with gloves on, which matters far more here than it does in a catalogue photo, and it does not seize or slip when wet and cold the way twist locks are prone to. A twist lock relies on a small internal plastic expander that gets less reliable with grit, damp and age. A FlickLock is a metal lever and a screw. If it ever loosens, you tighten the screw a quarter turn and it is right again.
The current poles use FlickLock or FlickLock+, the plus being a slightly larger, easier lever. The practical upshot is the same: fast, secure, glove-friendly length changes, which means you actually adjust your poles for the descent instead of leaving them at one length all day.
Aluminium vs carbon
This is the first real fork in the Black Diamond range and it is a trade-off, not a ranking.
Aluminium bends before it breaks. Jam a pole in a rock gap and lean the wrong way and an aluminium shaft takes a set you can often straighten by hand in the field. It is heavier, but it shrugs off abuse, and for most UK hiking that toughness is worth more than saved grams. Every pole in the Trail family, plus the Trail Vista folders, is aluminium.
Carbon is lighter and damps trail buzz better over a long day, which your hands notice on hard chalk and rock. The catch is that carbon can crack or snap under a sharp sideways load rather than bending, and a snapped pole on a remote section is a bigger problem than a bent one. Only the Pursuit Carbon FLZ in this range is full carbon.
For a first pair, or a do-everything pair, aluminium is the sensible call. Carbon is the upgrade for hikers chasing low weight who look after their kit.
Z-fold vs telescopic
Telescopic poles collapse by sliding sections into each other, held by the FlickLock levers. They give you the widest length range, they are cheaper, and the Trail Explorer 3, Trail, Trail Back and Trail Vista Shock all work this way. They collapse to around 60 to 63cm, which lives on the outside of a pack rather than inside it.
Folding poles, the FLZ designs, break into three segments joined by an internal cord, like a tent pole. A push-button Speed Cone snaps them rigid, and they pack down to roughly 36 to 40cm, small enough to go inside a daypack or lash tight to a running vest. The single FlickLock on an FLZ pole still gives you around 15cm of fine adjustment on top of the fold. The trade-off is a narrower length range and a slightly higher price for the same material.
If you want poles out most of the day, go telescopic. If you scramble, travel, or want them stowed fast and often, go folding.
Cork, foam or both
Cork moulds to your hand over time, wicks sweat and stays comfortable on warm days. It is the pick for long summer mileage and in this range it appears only on the Trail Vista and the Pursuit Carbon FLZ up top.
Foam is lighter, warmer to hold in the cold and cheaper. It picks up grime and wears faster than cork over years, but it is comfortable and perfectly good for most hiking. All three aluminium Trail poles, the Trail Explorer 3, Trail and Trail Back, use foam.
Most Black Diamond poles, whichever grip they have on top, add a foam extension down the shaft. That lets you choke down without regripping on short steep climbs, which is more useful in the real world than the top grip material for a lot of UK terrain.
The range at a glance
| Model | Material | Lock | Fold | Grip | Weight (pair) | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Explorer 3 | Aluminium | FlickLock | Telescopic | Foam | ~530g | ~£70 | All-round day hiking |
| Trail | Aluminium | Dual FlickLock | Telescopic | Foam | ~485g | ~£85 | Lightest aluminium Trail |
| Trail Back | Aluminium | FlickLock | Telescopic | Foam | ~510g | ~£60 | Best value / first poles |
| Trail Vista FLZ | Aluminium | FlickLock | Z-fold | Cork | ~510g | ~£120 | Packable all-rounder |
| Trail Vista Shock | Aluminium | FlickLock | Telescopic | Cork | ~540g | ~£110 | Hard ground / sore joints |
| Pursuit Carbon FLZ | Carbon | FlickLock+ | Z-fold | Cork | ~490g | ~£150 | Fast and light, packable |
1. Black Diamond Trail Explorer 3 (top pick, tested)
This is the Black Diamond pole I own and the one I recommend to most people first. Three-section 7000-series aluminium, FlickLock levers, EVA foam grip with a foam extension, and a carbide tip that swaps for rubber or snow baskets. Nothing exotic, everything dependable.
On the Jurassic Coast, where the descents are loose chalk and the drops concentrate the mind, the FlickLock lets me lengthen the poles at the top of a hill in a few gloved seconds and shorten them again for the climb out. The aluminium has taken knocks against limestone without complaint. It is not light at around 530g the pair, and the foam grips get a little sweaty on a hot day, but as an all-terrain do-everything pole at this money it is very hard to beat.
If you only read one section of this guide, this is the pole to start with. The full Trail Explorer 3 review goes into the on-trail detail.
Read the full Black Diamond Trail Explorer 3 review →
2. Black Diamond Trail (the lightest aluminium Trail)
The Trail is the most refined of the three aluminium Trail poles and the lightest of them at around 485g the pair. Like the Trail Explorer 3 and Trail Back it runs an EVA foam grip with a foam extension down the shaft, so the step up here is not the grip material but the finish, the weight and the extras.
You get dual FlickLocks, both trekking and snow baskets in the box, a recycled-aluminium shaft and a 100 to 140cm range that suits taller hikers well. It shaves a little weight over the Trail Explorer 3 and feels the most polished of the aluminium trio in the hand. For someone doing long mileage on the South Downs or across the Brecon Beacons ridges who wants the lightest, best-finished aluminium Trail with the full basket set, this is the pick.
If foam grips have never bothered you, save the cash and take the Trail Explorer 3. If your hands run hot on long days, this is the one.
Read the full Black Diamond Trail review →
3. Black Diamond Trail Back (best value)
The Trail Back is the value entry point to the range and, for a lot of people, all the pole they will ever need. It keeps the parts that matter: 7000-series aluminium, real FlickLock levers and a carbide tip. It trims the extras, with a single foam grip, simpler straps and no snow baskets in the box.
What you are buying here is a proper Black Diamond FlickLock pole at close to budget-pole money, without the slippery twist locks and vague build that come with cheap aluminium poles. For a first pair, for lending to walking partners, or as a knock-about set you are not precious about, the Trail Back is the sensible spend.
The only reason to move up is weight and the extras. If you want the lightest, best-finished aluminium Trail with snow baskets in the box, look at the Trail. If cork grips matter for hot hands, look at the Trail Vista or Pursuit Carbon FLZ. If you just want reliable poles that lock and hold, this is the value pick of the range.
Read the full Black Diamond Trail Back review →
4. Black Diamond Trail Vista FLZ (folding)
This is where Black Diamond's aluminium poles learn to disappear. The Trail Vista FLZ is a three-section Z-folding pole that breaks down to around 40cm, small enough to slide inside a daypack or clip to a vest, and snaps rigid with the push-button Speed Cone. A single FlickLock gives roughly 15cm of fine adjustment on top of the fold.
You get a cork grip with foam extension and the same tough aluminium as the Trail line, so it is a folding pole that does not feel fragile. It weighs around 510g the pair, close to the telescopic Trail. The trade-off versus a Trail Explorer 3 is a narrower length range and a higher price for the packability.
This is the pole for mixed days that swing between walking and scrambling, for travel where pack size matters, and for anyone who wants poles stowed inside the bag rather than flapping on the outside. The general trekking poles guide covers where folding beats telescopic in more detail.
Read the full Black Diamond Trail Vista review →
5. Black Diamond Trail Vista Shock (anti-shock)
The Trail Vista Shock is the anti-shock member of the family and it is telescopic rather than folding, despite the shared Vista name. Inside the shaft is a spring mechanism that absorbs some of the jolt each time the tip lands on hard ground. It keeps the cork grip, the FlickLock levers and the aluminium build.
Anti-shock divides opinion. On soft UK ground, earth and grass, you will barely feel it working, and it adds a little weight, around 540g the pair. On sustained hard surfaces, long stony descents or paved trails, and for hikers with sore wrists, elbows or shoulders, the damping is a real comfort. The spring can be locked out when you do not want it.
Buy this one if hard ground or joint niggles are your reason for using poles in the first place. If not, the standard telescopic poles are lighter and cheaper. It is covered alongside the folding FLZ in the same review.
Read the full Black Diamond Trail Vista review →
6. Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon FLZ (carbon folding)
This is the top of the Black Diamond pole range and the only full-carbon model here. The Pursuit Carbon FLZ folds down to around 36cm, deploys with the Speed Cone, and locks with the larger FlickLock+ lever. The carbon shaft is noticeably stiffer and quieter than aluminium underfoot, damping the trail buzz that tires your hands on a long hard-ground day, and the pair comes in around 490g with an ergonomic cork grip and Bloom foam extension.
It comes in two length ranges, so pick by height. The 125cm version (110 to 125cm usable) suits most hikers up to around 6ft. The 135cm version (120 to 135cm usable) is the one for taller walkers or anyone who likes long poles for descents. Same pole, same price, two sizes.
The carbon caveat applies. Look after these and they are a superb fast-and-light pole. Wedge one in a rock and lever hard and carbon is less forgiving than aluminium. For weight-conscious hikers who treat their kit with a bit of care, this is the Black Diamond pole to want.
Read the full Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon FLZ review →
Black Diamond poles at Blacks
Prices pulled live from Blacks, updated daily. Links are affiliate links.
Black Diamond Distance LT 1100 Headlamp
£94
Black Diamond Trail Vista Shock Walking Poles
£121
Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon FLZ 135cm Walking Poles
£160
Black Diamond Trail Trekking Poles
£84
Black Diamond Trail Back Trekking Poles
£69
Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon FLZ 125cm Walking Poles
£160
Black Diamond Distance 1500 Head Torch
£169
Don't forget spare tips
Carbide tips wear down. If you do serious mileage on stone and chalk, the tips on any pole will eventually round off and lose their bite, and a worn tip on a wet descent is exactly when you want grip. Black Diamond's Tech Tips carbide replacements are a couple of quid of insurance and fit poles from spring 2012 onwards plus all Z-poles, so they cover the whole current range.
Keep a set in the drawer. Swapping a tip takes a minute and brings tired poles back to life for far less than a new pair.
Buy Black Diamond Tech Tips Carbide at BlacksHow to choose a Black Diamond pole
Work through it in this order and the choice falls out quickly.
Start with fold type. If you want poles out most of the day and stored on the outside of your pack, go telescopic: Trail Explorer 3, Trail, Trail Back or Trail Vista Shock. If you scramble, travel or want them packed away small and often, go folding: Trail Vista FLZ or Pursuit Carbon FLZ.
Then material. Aluminium for toughness and value, which covers almost everyone. Carbon only if low weight is a priority and you look after your gear, which points at the Pursuit Carbon FLZ.
Then grip. Foam is fine for most and is what all three aluminium Trail poles use (Trail Explorer 3, Trail, Trail Back). Cork is the pick for hot hands and long summer days, and in this range that means the Trail Vista or the Pursuit Carbon FLZ.
Then budget. Trail Back at the bottom, Trail Explorer 3 as the sweet spot, Trail and the folders in the middle, Pursuit Carbon FLZ at the top.
For most UK day hikers the honest answer is the Trail Explorer 3, which is why it is the tested top pick. Move up to the Trail for the lightest, best-finished aluminium option with snow baskets, the Trail Vista FLZ for packability and a cork grip, or the Pursuit Carbon FLZ for carbon weight and cork. If you want to see how Black Diamond stacks up against the other big name in poles, the best Leki walking poles guide covers that range, and the general best trekking poles guide pulls both brands together with budget options.
Frequently asked questions
FlickLock or twist lock, which is better?
Aluminium or carbon Black Diamond poles?
Are Black Diamond poles worth it?
Which Black Diamond pole should I buy?
Z-fold or telescopic Black Diamond poles?
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