Let me be the first to say I've never been a fan of trekking stixs, or hiking poles, or whatever the popular name is now. They got in the way, and really seemed to screw up my momentum on the steep uphills.

But sadly, we are all getting older, and my knees and arches of my feet started to feel the hurt, especially on a steep downhill. My hiking buddy swears by her stix and loaned me one when my legs weren't giving me the, ahem, stability, I required while navigating some downhill paths covered in scree.

That was last fall. Now with summer arriving and a gift certificate to my favorite outdoors shop burning a hole in my pocket (thanks Dad!), I finally picked up a pair of Komperdell collapsible trekking stixs. I knew I'd need collapsible because there was no way I could carry those suckers around for an entire hike.

So far, so great. The poles are strapped out of the way to my day pack and only come out when the downhill slope makes my knee hurt. Often I'll only use one pole as extra leverage.

My biggest concern about using collapsibles was that they would start to slip over time and lose tension. It's only been a handful of hikes, but I see no chance of that happening. The Komperdell has a twisting/tightening mechanism that locks the pole into place at the proper height. I picked this over the type that have a latch because it just looked like a more stable option over time.

I went with one of the lower-end models because I still wasn't 100 per cent sold. I figured if I really loved them I would simply upgrade next time. Well, assuming these last at least one season, I'll happily buy another set, but I'm still not convinced I need to drop $120 on poles. I actually really like the cork-handled grips, though surprisingly blistered starting to form on my thumbs right away. From talking to other hikers, this is fairly common with the trekking poles and not unique to this model.

Everyone seems to use these poles differently, but for $60, they're a great addition to have strapped to my backpack, and I don't worry about my knee becoming a problem on the way back down the trail. That's worth $60 right there.

For more info check out the Komperdell web site, or Mountain Equipment Co-op.