All poles in our review are top-of-the-crop from their respective producers, all are made of 100 % Ultra High Modulus Carbon Fiber – and all are World Cup quality ( the fact that reflected in many a model’s name)
We don’t differentiate among Classic and Skating poles – we simply see no reason as models only differ in size, not in construction.
Some skiers in our photos have changed poles’ sponsors since but all the sticks pictured are still produced & sold. Except for one model that we have doubts about – of which more later.
As with the skis, there are two distinct categories: poles used by many a top skier – and those used by only a few or even one WC-class athlete. The amount of photos will reflect that.
So, here they are in alphabetical order:
Laura Mononen here – with her 4KAAD Blackcode X World Cup. We expect more athletes running with black & yellow Finnish poles in the upcoming season as 4KAAD was busy signing promising athletes…Another Finnish brand, storied Exel, seems to be disappearing from xcskiing world once again – their website is dead and Instagram had no new posts in months. Laurien vad der Graaff was the most recognized name to use Exel World Cup XR-100 last seasonKV+ Tornado Plus are the Top League poles used by many a star – like world champion Sjur Roethe hereKV+ foray into “collectibles”: Tornado Plus Limited Gold Edition are often used by Martin Sundby himself!Most famous skier of our days – and his no less famous sticks, Leki HRC MAX Klaebo Edition. Most desired poles in the known universe by the army of Johannes’ fansIt would never be known to what extent Johannes owes his victories to these German-design poles – but it is clear, that HRC MAX have received a following no other poles ever had.For those who have outgrown pink ( or never grown into them) , technically identical HRC MAX in red are on offer – like those seen here, being used by Simen KrugerMadshus Nano Carbon Race 100 UHM are helping to propel Hailey Swirbul of Team USA – but we don’t have pictures of her doing so yet. Here instead is a close-up of the Norwegian brand’s top sticks, held by the company’s racing manager Martin Galleberg
…In part 2 we’ll show you how the top models from One Way, Rossignol , Salomon , SkiGo and,last but definetely not the least, Swix look this autumn – and who gets to use them at the very top of skiing elite. Stand by
