Jones Talon Splitboard Poles Review

Jeremy Jones has summited more epic peaks than you could summit in your wildest dreams, from Cali to the Tetons to AK to the Karakoram, so it makes sense that his company would roll out the Jones Talon Poles.

The Jones Talon is made for touring up, and splitting down when you want those poles, and even for skiing. From the handles to the body to the floating basket, these poles were made with everything an alpinist could want.

Jones Talon Poles Construction

The Jones Talons are strikingly perfect poles. They’re made of Recycled Aluminum 7075-T6 with a Powerlock 3.0 mechanism to allow their 3 parts to grow for touring and shrink for shoving in your pack. The dual density scraper grip is perfect for everything from knocking the snow off your boots to flipping up your heel risers, while its long foam grip allows for easy adjustments of your hand height mid hike or tour.

At the bottom there’s the ice-flex tungsten carbide basket tips. But what’s really cool are the snow claw baskets 2.0, super durable but also able to pivot to adjust to the snow angle, no matter how you’re punching in.

It may sound like I’m preaching about the Jones Talon Splitboard Poles but I can certainly testify.

How Do The Jones Talon Poles Perform?

There’s been a steady storyline in all my early season reviews: I’m recovering from an ankle I broke last February. Not only are my legs the weakest they’ve been at the start of a season since I can remember but balance and motion has all been off. My first tour found my stumbling a little, and putting more weight on my poles than usual.

Jones Talon Poles vs Black Diamond Carbon Poles

Unlike my Black Diamond Carbon Poles, the Talons were refreshingly strong. I never felt like I was about to break them even as I slipped to one side and all that was holding me on the track for a second was my firmly planted pole. And that’s all while using a pole that didn’t really feel that much heavier than Carbon.

No doubt the carbide tip and that moving basket helped as every pole plant just feels really solid. But then, even in a Thanksgiving tour where the snow was freezing to my pack like rime on an old British ship, not only did my Talons never get icy, they shrank small enough to fit in my pack with no problem.

So they did great on the up but when I spent a whole day skiing, I used them and they felt like any solid alpine pole. The locks didn’t slide, the pole didn’t buckle, even when pushing hard and doing some overly-aggressive pole plants. It’s a splitboard pole, sure, but the Jones Talon kills it going up and down, and fits in your pack when you need it to.

Jones Talon Splitboard Poles Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Durable Recycled Aluminum construction
• Powerlock 3.0 mechanism for easy adjustments
• Carbide tip and moving snow claw baskets

Cons:

• Powerlocks not as reliable as button
• May be slightly heavier than carbon poles

Overall Impression

While I love all the new Z-poles, I’ve run into enough issues with the little button not going in or the poles not getting locked that I miss the powerlocks that Jones uses in the Talons ($149.95). This is original tech, time-tested and still kicking while your kicking up the hill. The aluminum is just as time-tested and trustworthy, the long neoprene hand-seats give you more than enough grip options (remember when we used to duct-tape down from the grips on our touring poles?), and the bottom can grip about any surface.

For OG ingenuity, modern tech and strength, and some little innovative features, the Jones Talon is the splitboarding pole I’m gonna depend on the brain child of Jeremy Jones, so you know it’s good.

Related Ski Touring / Splitboard Poles

1. Black Diamond Expedition 3 Pole
2. Leki Makalu Lite Pole
3. Komperdell Carbon CXP Pole