The Gossamer Gear LT5 trekking poles are lightweight 3-piece poles designed to be adjustable to various heights using a twist lock mechanism. These poles eliminate the need for tent poles and are perfect for backpacking, as they aid in pitching most ultralight tents, making them a must-have for any outdoor enthusiast.
Product Overview
Gossamer Gear LT5
Price: $195
✅ Light as a feather
✅ Comfy EVA foam grip
✅ Sleek look
✅ Excellent “dig in” on steep terrain
❌ Not indestructible
❌ Metal toggles on hand straps could chip a tooth
❌ No markings for measuring length on the bottom-most segment of each pole
KEY SPECS
- Maximum Length: 51" / 130 cm
- Minimum / Fully Collapsed Length: 23.5" / 60 cm
- Weight: 4.9oz / 139g each
- Weight with rubber boot + basket: 5.5oz / 159g each
- Materials: EVA Foam Grip, Carbon Fiber, Carbide Tips
*It is recommended to read Gossamer Gear’s Warranty for the LT5 prior to purchasing.
Gossamer Gear LT5 trekking poles truly are, as GG promises, “some of the lightest 3-piece poles on the planet”—as a dedicated pole user, I can vouch. I am nothing without a pair of trekking poles. The poles can be adjusted to a variety of heights with a twist lock mechanism, which tightens when you turn either of the bottom two segments clockwise. Backpacking with LT5s eliminates the need to carry tent poles, as these trekking poles are designed to aid in pitching most ultralight backpacking tents.
To compare with other trekking poles, see our post for the best trekking poles.
Performance Test Results
What We Tested:
How We Tested:
I took the Gossamer Gear LT5s off trail and deep into one of the many Wilderness Areas surrounding Crested Butte, CO, on an overnight backpacking trip, across steep snow and shifting scree. The same pair of trekking poles aided me in completing the 164mi Collegiate Loop in the Sawatch Range in just under 4 days.
Then, later that same month, the LT5s kept me upright on the rugged 40mi Teton Crest Trail, in Wyoming. Finally, these superlight poles accompanied me east, to the Appalachian Mountains, where they proved invaluable to me in setting a new, overall unsupported FKT on the 288mi Benton MacKaye Trail.
Durability
Okay, no piece of gear is perfect, right? I know this, you know this, we all know this, and yet, as I suffered in the cold dark, descending along one of the little trafficked “old roadbeds” so classic to the Benton MacKaye Trail, I subconsciously expected perfection from my trekking poles.
My feet were killing me after pounding out 134 miles in just 3 days, carrying a pack that weighed 30 lbs. at the start. It was cold, it was damp, and I swore as my left big toe struck yet another moss-covered baby head. My swollen feet stumbled, my ankles rolled, and I dug my trekking poles hard into the rocky ground for balance.
As I took my next step, I wrenched on my poles in frustration and heard a rather disconcerting noise. I paused in the pitch black, swinging the beam of my headlamp down to illuminate the bases of my trekking poles. I tested each one tentatively against surrounding rocks and then—pop! The lower portion of my righthand pole just sheared right off, leaving a jagged tear in the carbon fiber right above where the basket would have been, had I thought to use one.
Oh my god, what was I going to do with just one trekking pole!? I was not a one-trekking-pole-kind-of-person. I collected the irreparably broken tip from the mud stuffed it and the rest of the maimed pole into the tall outer pocket of my pack and continued my trudge down to Sycamore Creek.
Though circumstances felt dismal at the moment, the beauty of this experience was that I learned a rhododendron branch weighs the same as an LT5, if of a similar height and width, and serves as the perfect stand-in for a busted pole. A kind soul had unknowingly left the ideal branch for my purposes leaning up against a trail marker, which I found midway through my next day. And I must admit, I felt pretty badass using one stick and one pole for the next 150 miles.
Comfort
Despite abusing the LT5s horribly—I definitely did—they survived and supported me for quite a lot of miles. They were light in my hands and kept me upright on my feet, allowing me to cover great distances on gnarly terrain in very little time.
I would recommend a pair of LT5s to any backpacker—overnighter, thru-hiker, or FKTer—with the disclaimer “they are not indestructible”. Gossamer Gear admits as much if you visit their warranty page and read about the LT5s; in order to make the poles super light, some durability had to be sacrificed.
Whether you're an FKTer, thru-hiker, or overnighter, I'd recommend investing in a pair of LT5.
Repair and Maintenance
Gossamer Gear makes it easy to repair and keep using the same set of poles by selling each of the 3 sections for just $35 apiece. I ordered the necessary replacement part as soon as I got home from hiking the BMT, and I plan to take these same trekking poles with me to New Zealand to tramp all 3000km of Te Araroa next month.
Each of the three sections is sold by Gossamer Gear for around $35, making it simple to maintain and repair the same set of poles.
Material
Another consideration when it comes to the LT5s is the metal GG emblazoned toggles at the ends of each of the hand straps—yikes—I almost cracked a tooth swinging my hand up, still holding my trekking pole, to clear one of thousands of spiderwebs from my face on the BMT. I personally think a sown-on, fabric logo would be a better choice, but the metal toggle is easy enough to remove if a user chooses to do so.
The Gossamer Gear LT5 is priced at $195.
Adjustability
Finally, while there is a measurement system for adjusting the middle portion of the 3-piece telescoping LT5s, the lowest portion does not have any markings with which to gauge length, so you must eyeball it. I do not personally find this bothersome, as the length I set my trekking poles up to hike with is the same length I need just one of them for pitching my tent, so I am not adjusting them very often.
It could become a tiring element to gauge, though, if you are often having to collapse or adjust your poles; in which case, you could simply make a mark on each of the lowest segments with a silver sharpy to remind you of the length you need them for hiking.
To gauge pole lengths, mark the lowest segments with a silver sharpy to remind you of the required length for hiking.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I am happy with the Gossamer Gear LT5s. They are feathers in my hands compared to the Back Diamond poles I used to hike with, and they are easier to pick up and put down than my carbon fiber Leki poles, bearing the Nordic-style Velcro hand straps—poles I use mostly for trail running and racing when I don’t need my hands free every other minute to stuff food in my mouth.
My one surviving LT5 and my oh-so-fancy Rhododendron hiking stick got me to the finish line of my unsupported BMT FKT effort in just 6 days and 18 hours, achieving my goal of completing the trail in under 7 days. And of course, my broken pole completed the journey, too, watching the trees wiz breezily by from the comfort of my pack.
No piece of gear is perfect, and when we ask the most from the things we carry, something is bound to crack under pressure; I’m just glad it was my hiking pole and not my ankle, you know?
I'm satisfied with my Gossamer Gear LT5 overall. Compared to the Black Diamond poles I used for hiking, these feel like feathers in my palms.
650-Calorie Fuel
