I have a pair of BD carbon z poles- great for trail running in the mountains- they fold and are very light; too light for hunting in the mountains however

I tried a pair of aluminum z poles for tougher duty stuff, broke one when fording a fast stream (and got to swim); sent into BD and they exchanged for their heaviest (thickest) z pole- the Alpine model; broke one of those this past winter snowshoeing

I love the foldability of the z poles, but there is a flaw in the design to cause them to break in the same place- two pairs, two different models- both broke in the same place

[Linked Image from imgur.com]

This time time I went with one of their aluminum two piece ski poles (Flicklock)- the Traverse WR- WR as in whippet ready; purchased the whippet head- they covered the poles under warranty

I have about 150 miles of snowshoeing/backcountry skiing with these and am confident these will do the trick. Not as handy as the fold up poles, not as light (not heavy though), but with they are stout and the whippet head will definitely come in handy at times.