Poles
Product 2020
Woman, Man
We tested the Leki Carbon 14S, but we could have looked at the plethoric range of Leki ski poles equipped with the Trigger S system. This means you don’t need a wrist strap because you clip your gloves (Leki), or a strap fixed on your glove, directly on the pole.
Leki’s reputation for poles is well-established, the best athletes in the world wear the brand’s colors on most podiums. Superior manufacturing quality, and we have been able to verify with these Leki Carbon 14 S. But what’s this Trigger S system worth? Let’s find out!
Coming from the “traditional” world of poles with wrist straps, it took us a while to get used to them. If you don’t have Leki Trigger S gloves, you have to kit yourself out with Trigger straps that goes over your gloves. They are fast to fit and the few adjustments are easy. Overall comfort is not hampered.
Then you have to get used to clipping the Trigger strap loop into a notch in the pole. Once you’ve done it, the pole is secured to the glove and therefore to your hand. When you want to take the glove off, for example, when you take the ski lift, you simply press down with your thumb on the top of the handle and it opens it up to allow the loop out.
At first it seems strange: it’s not easy to feel “attached” to your poles, even if Leki says that if you fall, the pole is released (an accidentology study proves it?). Then you get into the habit of handling them. Snapping on your poles requires a little care: the looping operation is quite precise and requires you to look at your poles, unlike poles fitted with wrist straps. NB, for ski instructors who use this type, it is not as easy to tow students on flat parts because they can’t grab the pole’s strap.
Over time, the practicality, simplicity of use and the aesthetics of the Trigger system make you look at traditional poles like a vintage yesteryear! Be careful, however, not to drop your poles when on the ski lift. Another comment/question: in the event of an avalanche, do the poles also unclip?
The four-finger grip is very comfortable, perfect and not cold. The pole’s “swing” is also very good, great inertia, and the pole’s tip grips in any situation. The base of the Leki Carbon 14 S withstands knocks from ski edges well and after an intensive season, the poles didn’t break. This beautiful carbon object also has a very well-balanced weight: neither too heavy nor too light.
The major problem with these top-of-the-market poles is that they tend to disappear from the terraces of altitude restaurants: watch them very closely. We did note some downsides: the white on the handle goes yellow and the look of the Trigger strap, which has a hard time getting rid of looking slightly “orthopedic”. We’re joking! Honestly, we had a hard time finding any negative points about these poles.
The Leki Carbon 14 S are very aesthetic and effective poles. Equipped with Trigger technology, they clip directly onto your gloves without needing wrist straps. When you have tried this system, it is becomes very difficult to do without it …
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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