Unisex Touring Poles Escaper Tour Telescopic Carbon

The Rossignol Escaper Tour Telescopic Carbon is a two-piece adjustable touring pole built around a split carbon construction: the upper shaft runs 100% carbon fiber while the lower section blends in at 60% carbon, tapering from 16 mm down to 14 mm. That taper keeps swing weight low where it matters — on the uptrack when your arms are moving constantly — while the mixed lower section adds just enough durability to handle the occasional rock strike or hard plant on variable snow. The extended foam grip lets you choke up on the pole without unclipping the strap when the skin track steepens, and the wide top section makes it easy to flip a heel riser without taking your glove off. The 85 mm free basket floats well enough for typical touring terrain and light powder; it is not a dedicated 120 mm-plus powder basket, but it is not a pencil-thin race basket either. The telescoping adjustment runs 110 to 135 cm, which covers most adult heights, and it locks with an external clamp you can open and reset by hand — no tools, and quick to dial in even with gloves on. The tip is carbide, so it bites on firm, icy traverses.

These poles are for the backcountry tourer who wants a genuine weight reduction over aluminum without paying up for a top-tier ultralight pole. If you are spending serious days on steep technical routes and counting every gram, look at a true ultralight folding or fixed-length carbon touring pole — the Escaper Tour is not the lightest carbon pole on the market, and Rossignol's own Freeride Pro Telescopic actually uses a lower-carbon (40%) shaft, so it is not the lighter upgrade its name might suggest. If you are mainly resort skiing and only occasionally skinning, you do not need a telescopic pole at all, and a fixed-length alpine pole will be more rigid and more precise. One thing to know before avalanche terrain: the strap here is a standard light touring strap, not a quick-release safety strap, so if hand release in a slide is a priority for you, this is not that pole. But for a skier who skins regularly, wants to adjust pole length for rolling terrain, and is done hauling heavy aluminum up the hill, this is a well-priced way into carbon touring poles.