Komperdell Carbon C3 Pro Trekking Poles | Tested and reviewed

Well-regarded Austrian brand Komperdell are trekking pole specialists and a safe pair of hands if you’re looking for a top-performing, reliable product. The Carbon C3 Pro is true to this modus operandi, albeit with some obvious pros and cons.

It’s a three-section, telescopic-style pole, with the two upper segments made from carbon and the lower third made from titanal (a titanium-aluminium alloy). These premium materials feel robust and strong, while Komperdell’s excellent aluminium Powerlock 3.0 lever clamp secures the sections in place solidly, further adding to the sense of sturdiness. It all works very well.

Furthermore, the extended 28cm-long foam hand grip is comfy with a beautifully-contoured shape, the tungsten-carbide tips deliver good “bite” and traction, and the leashes and baskets do their jobs admirably. You also get excellent length adjustability from 105cm to 140cm. But there are some big cons too. At 227g per pole, we’d have expected something lighter for £150 – it’s a little disappointing.

Plus, when folded away, the C3 Pro is 68cm long, which isn’t very portable and feels a tad unwieldy in a backpack’s side pockets. Are these issues a deal-breaker? It all depends on your priorities – and, despite these drawbacks, for many hillwalkers these trekking poles are still a great choice.

Design, locking mechanism, materials and durability

The Komperdell Carbon C3 Pro is – as the name implies – mostly made from carbon. However the overall build features a mix of materials. The upper part of the three-segment pole is made from 18mm-thick carbon, the middle section from 16mm-thick carbon and the lower segment from 14mm titanal (which is a “high-tech aluminium alloy that contains titanium, vanadium and other elements” and known for its “high yield strength”). The grip is made from foam and the tips are tungsten carbide.

The Carbon C3 Pro features the classic telescopic-style trekking pole design, which is proven to deliver excellent strength, durability and adjustability. It consists of three sections, with the lower two thirds sliding inside the upper part, in a similar style to the way a telescope folds away.

These segments are locked-in place using Komperdell’s aluminium Powerlock 3.0 lever-style clamps, which are top-tier components. Their design is premium and far superior to some other poles’ cheap-and-nasty hardware components.

The Powerlock 3.0s feel solid and secure, with good grip, and the locking tension and strength can be adjusted by turning the integrated screw with a screwdriver. This isn’t the best for adjusting on-the-go (unless you routinely carry a multi-tool), but it’s unlikely you’ll have to use this function often anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

Both the design and the materials hit the mark – we’re impressed. Austrian brand Komperdell are trekking pole specialists and their expertise is evident in the Carbon C3 Pro. It’s an excellent product. The design feels reassuringly solid and, in the hand, the materials feel robust, sturdy and mountain-ready.

This is refreshing, because sometimes carbon poles can feel a tad unstable and flimsy. While more time is needed to test the long-term performance, our initial impressions are that this pole is very durable and should last for several years of hillwalking adventures. Indeed, so confident is the brand in its products, all Komperdell poles come with a “no questions asked” 3-year free repair service.

Length, adjustability, weight and portability

Considering the premium price point of £150, this pole is quite heavy and long with poor portability – it’s all a little disappointing. Performance across these metrics isn’t as a positive as we’d have expected and, for some hillwalkers at least, these flaws may be a deal-breaker.

For others, however, they may not prove a big deal. If you tend to always use your poles, and rarely stash them in your pack, then the folded pole length and weight aren’t necessarily a big consideration.

By our measurements, the Carbon C3 Pro measures 68cm in length when folded down. This is not particularly compact, which means the poles can feel a tad long and unwieldy in the side pockets of your pack, protruding upwards too much. Portability is not this pole’s strong point, in other words.

For comparison, the Carbon C3 Pro poles are longer than all of the other poles we’ve tested recently. The two Z-shaped poles we tested are far shorter when folded away (the Leki Skytera FX Carbon SL and Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon Z are both 40cm long), while the three other telescopic-style poles we’ve tested are also shorter (the Fizan Compact is 60cm and both the Highlander Tiree Pro and Lomo Aluminium Walking Poles are 63cm).

The flip side is that you get excellent length versatility with a telescopic-style pole like the Carbon C3 Pro. Its length can be adjusted from 105cm to 140cm, which is a broad 35cm range suitable for users of almost any height.

In fact, it’s the broadest size range we’ve seen in the poles we’ve recently tested. If you’re the kind of hillwalker that likes to tinker around with your pole length, increasing it for the downhills and shortening it for the climbs, then the Carbon C3 Pro has the adjustability you’ll need.

However, you’re only ever likely to alter the length 5-10cm up or down, so having so much adjustability is perhaps a moot point – it won’t ever be that useful and, arguably, only serves to increase the overall weight.

Which is a perfect segway to analysing the the Komperdell Carbon C3 Pro’s weight. We’d class it as a mid-weight pole: neither ultralight nor excessively heavy. On our scales it clocks in at 227g per pole, which is 6g heavier than the official weight quoted on the Komperdell website.

Overall the weight is decent, but we’d have perhaps expected it to be slightly lighter considering the £150 price-tag. Having said that, a weightier pole has both pros and cons.

Some hillwalkers prefer a slightly heavier pole because it will feel stronger, sturdier and more reliable in the hand – a sharp contrast to ultralight poles which can feel flimsy, as if one wrong move or one awkward tip placement will cause them to snap in half. Other hillwalkers, however, will always favour a lighter pole, which is easier to wield and more energy-efficient for big mileage days.

At 227g per pole, the Carbon C3 Pro is quite a bit heavier than other poles, such as the Black Diamond Pursuit Carbon Z (208g), Leki Skytera FX Carbon SL (182g) and Fizan Compact (169g). But it’s considerably lighter than your cheap-and-cheerful poles, such as the Lomo Aluminium Walking Poles (248g) and Highlander Tiree Pro (244g).

Hand grips, leashes, baskets and pole tips

The hand grips of the Komperdell Carbon C3 Pro are top-notch. They are comfortable in the hand, with a nice ergonomic shape and contouring. There’s a well-shaped notch, above which your index finger sits and below which your other three fingers rest, while your thumb wraps around. It’s a hand position that feels natural and comfy, and just works very well.

The foam is relatively firm, with a touch of give. For descending there’s an egg-shaped extension to the top of the pole, which some hillwalkers will position in the palm of the hand during descending – I like to do this and it works nicely. For ascending, the C3 Pro’s foam handle is very long with an extended 28cm design stretching down the shaft of the pole.

This means you have loads of leeway for shifting the hand up and down the grip, thus effectively micro-adjusting the pole’s overall length to the terrain you’re encountering. Again, it hits the mark and delivers superb on-the-hill functionality.

Each pole also comes with an integrated hand leash. Its size can easily be adjusted and the fabric is comfy enough, although it’s a pretty standard design. There’s certainly nothing to offend anyone here, nor is there anything innovative or spectacular. It just does its job well enough.

The pole tips of the Komperdell Carbon C3 Pro are made from tungsten carbide. They are a premium part, delivering good traction and “bite” comparable to that provided by other top-tier poles from other brands. The tips can be exchanged once worn out.

The poles come with quite minimalist, trekking style baskets, sized 4.7cm wide by our measurements. These are effective at preventing the poles sinking too deep into the soggy ground of the UK’s mountains – but if you need something wider, Komperdell sells a variety of baskets of different sizes including wider ones for snowy days.

Verdict

An excellent telescopic-style, carbon trekking pole from a reputable brand – but it’s a tad heavy and doesn’t fold away very compactly.

About the author

James Forrest writes regular features and route guides for Trail and has been one of our main gear testers for the last few years. James is based on the edge of the Lake District so when he isn’t off on his latest crazy adventure or challenge, he’s walking in his local fells.

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