CaT,
Because I do find them to be beneficial, I own a multiple pairs.
As stated, I owned a pair of Leki Super Maks for over a decade and every winter they would collapse all to frequently. About 4 years ago, I decided on a pair of BD Ellipticals with flick locks and have never looked back.
It seem Leki in their infinite wisdom and, most likely, loss of market share to Black Diamond have gone the flick lock route.
For noobs, there is a lot to learn and buy in very little time before they head up the MMWT. If I knew then what I know now, I would have delayed my first trip up the mountain by a year...and I was successful.
