Best hiking walking pole

If you aren't making your own as others have said, then may as well get the ultralight ones (carbon fiber or aluminum) = quicker reaction, easier swing, maybe a bit less fatigue over long distances.

For your mountain terrain I'd look for a good quick-adjustment for length, might be handy in steep ground (shorter for uphill, longer for downhill) -- lets you use the strap instead of adjusting the grip position.

Also, for taking pics, I've seen some with ultralight camera mounts to use the pole as a monopod.
 
I have an old Komperdell Titanal hiking staff and it was a godsend when doing descents with heavy loads in the Colombian cordillera.

It was cheap, light, locks very securely, has a shock absorbing head with a titanium spike (it broke after 5 years of torture) and I used it to ward off a large dog that attacked me in Nicaragua (he attacked from behind and I spun around and swung without looking and hit him square on the side of the face and the dirty cur ran off).

It packs down really small and short and fits in my small carryon roller.

I have the older model with the compass in the end of the foam handle that screws off and allows you to use it as a monopod.
 
Use old ski poles (tip is Ausi for the dump for the initiated) myself. They are light, cheap, float and have adjustable wrist straps.
 
I find the aluminum poles, ski, hiking etc, to be too noisy for my liking. I have a couple of nice saplings I cut a few years ago that I wrapped with paracord for the handle and on one installed a large spike for traction on snow and ice. I found the aluminum ones to clank and make "human" noise when contacting anything in the woods whereas the wood ones make a more natural noise when bumped or pushed through brush which doesn't scare game as much IMO.
 
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