Easton is a name straight from my childhood when I played baseball from little league through high school. Turns out the company has been making much more than just aluminum bats over the years, and have notably been behind the scenes manufacturing all kinds of products for other outdoor recreation companies, like tent poles (and they’ve been doing it since 1922!) Well Easton Mountain Products is breaking out into the outdoor rec world with their own line of tents, snowshoes and poles, like the CTR-70 trekking poles.
The Easton CTR-70 trekking poles are adjustable, durable, and lightweight due to being made of carbon. Other features include Rock-Lock™ clamps to lock in the tiered segments, a large grip constructed with EVA foam, and a really thick wrist strap that is downright luxurious. The CTR-70 poles are even included with powder baskets so they can be used for both summer hikes as well as winter snowshoe adventures.
So how do the Easton CTR-70 trekking poles stack up? I took them out on desert hikes in southern Utah, mountain jaunts in the Wastach, and while snowshoeing with the dog in Mill Creek and Neffs Canyon. Overall, I’d say they are rock solid, despite a few minor hiccups along the way.
The best thing about these poles that make them stand apart from the rest is the cushy grips and wrist straps. I’ve used poles for most long-distance or steep hikes because of poor knees, and it’s been medically proven that poles take something like 30% of the weight off your legs (don’t recall the actual figure.) In any case, poles do make the body feel more balanced, especially when coming back down a steep trail. But what you gain in support, you lose in comfort through the hands and wrists. But with the Easton CTR-70 poles, my hands felt totally comfy on the grips, and the wide, cushioned wrist straps never chafed, which was always the curse of old ski poles re-purposed as hiking sticks.
That foamy grip doesn’t just live on the handles either. It runs halfway down the main shaft, so you have even more grip if you find yourself side-hilling or practically crawling up a boulder-strewn mountainside and suddenly need a shorter poles without going through the effort of collapsing them.
Another nice feature of the CTR-70 poles is the sturdy lack of vibration that runs through them. Pole plant onto a rock, and the shock is absorbed by the carbon construction and those awesome EVA foam grips. This results in a more pleasant feeling all around when hiking, reducing fatigue and allowing you to hike longer.
Easton has also come up with their own bomber way of locking the poles segments. Their Rock-Lock™ clamps are adjustable, and totally prevent slippage so you’re not readjusting them constantly throughout the day. To really make them work, however, you have to spin the locking mechanism until it’s hard, but not impossible to lock. I didn’t discover this until I was struggling with slippage (my fault for not reading instructions.) So I twisted with the locks like I would to tighten a ski-boot buckle until the right setting was found. Viola! The poles never slipped again and the Rock-Lock™ clamps proved to be solid.
All of these features add up as proof that the Easton CTR-70 trekking poles are some of the best in the outdoor market. Aside from the adjustability issues (again my fault) with the clamps, the only other issue I had was losing one of the powder baskets. It happened when I was running through deep snow with the dog in Neffs Canyon along the creek bottom on the way back down to the car, when I noticed a basket was gone. I went back up to search for it, but the piles of lake effect blower covered my pole tracks and the basket never turned up.
The snow baskets snap on easily after removing the summer basket, but it seems you have to be sure they’re on very tight before taking them out in deep powder. In any case, I chalk up the loss of a basket as operator error (once again, my bad.)
Here’s all the product info straight from Easton Mountain Products:
- Product Features Rock-Lock™ Features Warranty
- CTR-70 Performance Features
- Rock-Lock™ Clamp System
- Three-tier Adjustability
- Extended EVA foam gripping area
- Dura-Light Webbing Strap
- Winter and Summer Baskets Included
- Full Carbon Construction
- Fully extended length: 55.12 in (140 cm)
- Collapsed length: 25.25 in (64.1cm)
If the CTR-70 trekking poles are any indication of the quality that Easton Mountain Products will be putting into their gear, then I’m likely going to become a big fan. Keep you eyes peeled for Easton’s stuff as they hit store shelves. In the meantime, if you’re looking for trekking poles that are durable and comfortable, then I would totally recommend the CTR-70.
You can purchase the Easton Mountain Products trekking poles locally at the following locations:
Wasatch Touring in Salt Lake City
Campsaver in Logan
OutnBack in Orem
Ruby’s Inn at Bryce Canyon
For more information, visit Easton Mountain Products online.
I had the same snafu with the powder basket and lost one too. I have been unable to find any replacements as the Wasatch model has been discontinued by Easton. They had no replacements in stock and I can’t seem to find any anywhere else. Were you able to replace yours and if so, where did you locate replacements?
Thank you,
Mark Espin, Warren, PA
Mark,
I didn’t replace the errant basket, but a good option may be these Black Diamond powder baskets… I use them as replacement baskets on my ski poles. Here’s the link:
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/trekking-poles/powder-basket/