When the heavy snow arrived in December I packed up my nice light Grivel Trail poles and looked for a sturdier pole that could cope with deep snow, a heavy rucksack, skiing and generally, lots of punishment in the winter hills.

This is exactly what the Black Diamond Contour Elliptic Compact is supposed to do; an all round pole that can cope with the roughest terrain in winter and summer.

I chose the compact version (there is a longer 140cm version), to save some weight and gain a few centimetres in pack down size. The reduced handle volume wasn’t noticeable and if you are a bloke I wouldn’t worry about it being too narrow unless you have very big hands.

The Grip
The handle is tilted forward at 15 degrees to increase biomechanical efficiency. It was certainly more comfortable than my old Rock + Run poles. The dual density wrist loop is backed with absorbent mesh which does not offer any advantage in winter but will not doubt offer greater comfort on a bare sweaty hand in summer. The loop is quick and easy to adjust by directionally pulling the tape through a locking bar in the top of the grip.

The Shaft
The pole gets its name from the elliptic cross section shape of the shaft sections. This is supposed to offer greater strength although it's difficult to make that comparison in use. The elliptic shape is definitely better to handle (more ergonomic), especially when wearing gloves. The other advantage is that any rotation of the pole sections in the flick locks is eliminated making the pole less likely to collapse when suddenly shocked, in the event of a trip for example. The sections are marked up at 5cm graduations which is handy for getting both poles the same length and you might even remember the optimum length to use in varying terrain. The internal ends of the poles have finned stops which help prevent corrosion and ease re-assembly.

The Flick Locks
Black Diamond (and others) have been using various versions of the flick lock for many years. The big advantage over the more common twist system is that they can be easily operated with gloves and don’t rely on gaining a good grip on a wet or icy shaft. The stronger elliptical shaft shape works with a flick lock where it would obviously not work with a twist pole. Cleaning and maintenance is easier because all the mechanism is on the outside of the shaft and not berried inside where it can corrode or cease up if not cleaned regularly. Flick locks are not maintenance free but at least you can see what’s going on. A quick spray with WD40 on the mechanism and inside the shaft sections will avoid corrosion. Sections may also need cleaning with a cloth after use in very dirty of dusty conditions.

The flick lock itself has a short rotation so you will need to adjust the screw at the back of the mechanism to your required compression; not so tight that they are difficult to push over yet tight enough to ensure the sections don’t collapse on themselves.

The Tips
The Contour Elliptic is supplied with two sets of baskets. Low profile trekking baskets and powder baskets. No guesses for which ones I was using. You can swap the baskets as required but I wouldn't bother mid season. The tip itself has a narrow carbon steel head which worked well on ice and rock alike.

Length and Weight
The Contour Elliptic Compact which has a maximum usable length of 125cm which worked well for me, walking and ski touring. I’m 6’ tall. The pack size 65.5 cm. Weight 532g. This compares with a pack size 70cm and weight of 564g for the longer 140cm version. The Contour Elliptic Compact is lighter than the Grivel Tech Pole and has a better handle shape and smaller pack size.

Conclusion
A robust do it all pole for winter and summer.

View our range of poles here.