Dynafit Broad Peak Carbon Ski Pole 2013
I’ve been toying with the idea of carbon poles for a while. With a gift card generously donated by Evo to the NSAS raffle burning a hole in my desk drawer, I finally gave in.
My original preference would’ve been the BD poles, on reputation alone, but they weren’t in stock for the season. A friend uses the Dynafit poles with gusto, adding a plus to the Dynafit column. This thread, however, makes me more than a little concerned for durability.
On to the real thing. With the usual concerns about extracting uncertainties from two measurements, the poles themselves weigh 180.9±2.4 g. The baskets are 13.5±0.4 g. In combination, they’re 194.4±2.4 grams. Dynafit’s claimed weight is 190 grams.
The Dynafit pole lowers aren’t round, they’re D-shaped, with notches cut in them to physically block the pole from slipping. The engineering and build quality feels very fine; time will tell if the complicated linkage will hold up to years of use. I’m rather partial to the BD flicklock system (why did BD move to something with more moving parts?!), but this system seems reasonable. Dynafit has a two-year warranty on the poles.
Review/more photos below the bump.
The grips are a soft neoprene foam. Not sure how it will hold up long term. Strap is comfy, but I rarely use them, on avalanche/skiers’ thumb concerns. Grip doesn’t feel optimized for strapless use.
Another view of the pole latch, showing notches in the lower.
Tips are aluminum, with tungsten (carbide? appears to be magnetic) inserts.
Reviews:
3/25/2013: Two (bluebird powder) days on the poles now. Poles seem solid, light, didn’t break. Pole grips are slightly small for me, but worked well-enough. At least with gloves on, the grips are fine. I had one pole collapse, pushing hard to plant the pole for safekeeping in crusty glop; I think the actuation lever may have been toggled by some tight trees?
4/3/2013: Two more days on the poles, making the Spearhead Traverse. Worked great. Our partner on the trip also had a pair of Broad Peaks, which he said he hadn’t had any durability problems with. They’re poles, they’re light. Palpably much lighter than my Whippet.
8/12/2016: After three winters of use, primarily in the backcountry and almost entirely on snow, one of the pole latches broke in a subtle but important fashion. Dynafit/Salewa doesn’t sell replacement parts nor replacement uppers, and the poles are warrantied for one year. I’m now on the hunt for a used upper.
Weight documentation photos follow:
Measured Mass 
How about deflection? I know these aren’t xc race poles, but curious if they’re closer to alu bc poles or xc cf poles in terms of stiffness as measured by the deflection stats I see for many xc race poles. Also, re your comment on BD poles, interesting how their 2012-13 models really don’t seem to save any weight by the use of cf — maybe their new goal was to maximize stiffness and/or durability instead of minimize weight?
They’re not quite as stiff as my one-piece budget Rossignol aluminum poles, but they’re _much_ smaller in diameter, so the elastic modulus of the carbon should be much greater.
I use my poles less for push than I do when skating, so I’m not sure how much stiffness plays into efficiency in the backcountry. Skating with these poles has been no problem at all, even with a full pack on the Spearhead. On the Spearhead, I took an aluminum whippet and a Broad Peak, and didn’t notice a functional difference in stiffness.
A little bit of compliance may help with durability/longevity in carbon poles, which cannot permanently deform. I’m not sure.
Another interesting tidbit: G3’s carbon 240 cm probe is only 5% lighter than their aluminum 240 cm probe. I haven’t fully pondered it, but it’s interesting.
Yes, agreed on the questionable advantage of low-deflection ski poles for backcountry skinning efficiency. (Although for “fitness” skinning on groomed trails at ski resorts, I suspect it might help a bit more.)
I suspect that G3 opted for lower deflection rather than weights savings for its cf probe? I have several cf probes — some ridiculously light and kind of flexy (though still meeting the ISMF reg), and some that are reasonably light for their length but very stiff (combination of thicker diameter and thicker walls).
One thing I keep reading is that these poles don’t separate into two pieces. Definitely not true. I had the misfortune of breaking the lower shaft of a Broad Peak (slipped on a steep icy kick turn and fell over backwards and stepped on the pole. It broke). Dynafit warranted it and sent me a new lower, so I know they come apart easily. I love the poles, in spite of the breakage.
Hi!! My girlfriend has these poles and we have been looking high and low for a replacement basket. Many baskets we’ve tried don’t fit the Dynafit ferrule. The only option is a $20 repair kit which includes one basket. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
Hi!
Alas, I haven’t yet encountered that problem, so I don’t know of a solution. Have you called up Saleway to see if they’ll send a basket?
Otherwise, I guess I’d scrounge through outdoor stores looking for a match on another manufacturer’s poles.
Just looked at mine: it’s not a match for any other pole we have.
Good luck! If you find a good solution, let us know!
Thanks!
Charlie
Can’t be that rare, because I immediately swapped in some random smaller disc-style baskets I found from my collection.