Basket at a glance
- Trekking basket
- About 1 to 2 in
- Snow basket
- About 4 in and up
- Swap
- Usually unscrews by hand
What a basket stops
Plant a bare pole tip in snow or deep mud and it goes straight down until the shaft stops it, which is both useless and tiring. The basket is a plastic disc a couple of inches above the tip that spreads the load and gives the pole something to push against.
Trekking baskets and snow baskets
Two sizes cover most needs. The small trekking basket, an inch or two across, is what poles ship with and it handles dirt, mud and shallow soft ground while staying out of the way. Snow baskets are much wider, often four inches or more, and float the pole on powder. They swap in seconds, usually by unscrewing, and are worth having in the winter kit.
The job people forget
There's a second job people forget: the basket stops the tip going down between rocks and jamming. A pole wedged in a crack while you're moving is a fast way to bend a shaft or fall, and the basket catches most of those before they happen.
What this means when you're choosing
- Snow baskets if you hike in spring snow, which trekking baskets will not handle
- Whether they swap without tools, since you will change them at a trailhead
- A basket at all, which some ultralight poles omit
The common mistake
Leaving trekking baskets on for spring snow
A small basket disappears into soft snow and the pole goes down to the grip, which is exhausting and puts a bending load on the shaft. Snow baskets are an ounce and they turn poles from a hindrance into the thing keeping you upright.
Common questions
Do I need baskets on trekking poles?
On dry hard trail you can manage without, and many trail runners remove them to save a few grams and stop them catching in brush. Anywhere soft, snowy or rocky, they earn their place.
Can I use trekking baskets in snow?
Only on firm, consolidated snow. In anything soft the pole sinks past the basket to the grip, which is exhausting. Snow baskets cost very little and take seconds to fit.