I shopped for quite a while for a trekking pole that would double as a mono-pod. I chose these because they are from a USA based company. From an Amazon fine print "All products are designed and manufactured in the US with US made and imported components. Final assembly is done in Portsmouth, NH." (Kind of like everything else.) As an American worker "Made in America is important" assembled in the USA is a close second.

The poles are very lightweight and thin. They seem quite sturdy but I would hesitate to put a lot of weight on them for support. I'm old school and still equate strength and sturdiness with some heft and density so take my thoughts as merely an opinion. I'm not going to try and bend the poles to test the strength.

The threaded stud for the camera doesn't inspire confidence for me. It feels like it was added as an afterthought and selling point. The **** appears to be aluminum and that metal won't take repeated changing of cameras and ball heads with steel inserts before the threads start to deform. There is a looseness of the studs themselves which makes me want to keep tightening the head down but that won't solve the problem, the stud itself is loose in the top of the pole. I'm not at all comfortable putting an expensive camera on a mount that wiggles around. I have no idea when that wiggle would become a separation from the pole and my camera along for the ride if I don't have it tethered to a wrist strap of it's own.

My wife likes the poles so they won't go to waste. I'll hand them off to her. I'm still not sure what I'll do for a mono-pod but it seems like I'll be back to shopping.

About four years ago I bought York Nordic Trekking/Hiking poles. They have been all over the world with me. I use them for balance.
I love how versatile they are. I lost the top of one of the poles. I contacted the company and got a real live person on the phone. When
I told her what I used the poles for, she not only sent a new top for the pole but a set of tips she felt would give me better balance.
On a recent month-long trip to eastern Europe, I lost one of the tips. Again, I contacted the company and new tips are on the way.
The products and customer service of this company is OUTSTANDING.

Just got them, so I have barely used them, but I thought I would clarify some earlier comments and answers to questions. When fully collapsed, this is 24" long. However, the 4 segments can be easily pulled apart and the longest of the pieces is 18-3/4", or 18-1/4" if I remove the rubber tip. (my Carry-on suitcase accommodates 22"). That's where the bag comes in handy - you can keep all 8 segments together when they're loose.

I plan to buy a pan-head and quick-release mount for a camera. It would be nice to have a tether on the removable knob so that it doesn't get misplaced while the camera is mounted.

Update: I applied my MacGyver skills. I melted a hole into the nylon strap, using a flame-heated phillips screwdriver, then inserted a short 1/4" bolt through the hole, locked it on with a nut, and now I have a place to screw on and store my removable know while the camera is mounted.

I was looking for a hiking pole that I could use for my go pro (versus having a separate stick) These are great. very sturdy and I like the twist locks I can really make them tight.

Sturdy and stayed in extended position through entire day of crossing river multiple times with relatively heavy leaning to stay upright in moderate rapids. The extension allowance fits a 6'6" man. Only downside was that the black cap came loose the very first time one of the poles was used by my wife and was never found. Seems like the caps ought to be secured tightly at the factory and it is not clear from their website that the manufacturer has replacement parts available