Leki Mezza Race Pole

When I bought these the question I asked myself was: I wonder how long until I break these. The answer was about a year, and they broke right in the middle of my most competitive local race, because of course they would.

My previous pair of aluminum Trab racing poles had lasted about 6 years, but the straps were in a shambles and one had been bent by the nice folks at KLM in my ski bag. I picked these up as a replacement. Yeah they are super light and I love the carbide and the powder basket (extra $) is really nice too. So is the strap system, really comfortable and slick to use. After I broke these I pulled the picks and grips off them, straightened out my bent Trab pole and swapped the picks and grips onto to those poles. I've been using them racing and in the backcountry ever since without issue including a couple more flights.

I can see the distinct performance benefit to carbon poles for 0.5% of skimo's customers who are world class and for whom every minute performance gain is critical. I think for the other 99.5% of folks aluminum poles are just a much better bet. Leki even makes an aluminum version of this pole that doesn't appear to be available in the US. This opinion is also backed up by some very experienced US folks I was chatting with at the Pierra Menta who agreed that the potential for breaking a carbon pole during the race made aluminum poles a much better bet even though they are technically "lower performance."

I'll take a low performance pole that isn't broken over a broken high performance pole any day of the week.

Far from a skimo skier but also not opposed to saving some weight for AM "workout" skins in the backcountry and on the resort. Purchased these as a replacement for some older backcountry poles, figuring it would be fun to try something super light for the objective mentioned above. Have been really impressed with not only their weight (duh) but also their durability.

Have been a fan of the Leki strap system for years and these poles with any of the compatible gloves really make for a slick skinning setup.

I’m new to skimo but a long time XC skier so I love the Nordic Shark grips. I’m not sure if gripping a pole really uses significant energy but these make uphill more enjoyable for me. The only downside is that if my hands are very cold I struggle to release them one handed.

Does the listed weight include the hand strap or is it just the pole itself?
Thank you!

I’ve been using Leki nordic race poles with this same attachment system now for about a decade, both for nordic and skimo. The system works perfectly for either sport, whether you want to emphasize efficient power transfer for nordic or quick transitions for skimo. Unlike some other similar systems, don’t have to worry about snow clogging any parts. However, for skimo, you do have to worry about – at or least pay attention to – the potential for a runaway pole at a transition since your pole will have a bare grip (without any strap).
This past season I bought the skimo-specific Mezza model. Shaft weight and stiffness are comparable to a high-end nordic race pole (since it is of course exactly that). The cork grip extension is generously long, so works well for choking up during boot packs or ski descents, with only a trivial weight penalty. The basket is effective in any type of snow conditions.
Only minor quibble is that the length is measured to the top of the grip extension, not the top of the part of the grip where your hand actually grips. So the effective length is a couple cm or so shorter than a nordic race pole of the same advertised length.
Extra bonus points for using these with compatible Leki nordic gloves (alpine gloves have a slightly different interface), thereby foregoing the straps for both minor weight savings and massive shock & awe value.
(Durability, I’ve been using these mainly for racing, so haven’t been through extensive torture testing yet, although of course any carbon ski pole is inherently vulnerable in any non-nordic setting.)