# Gossamer Gear FT3

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/products/gossamer-gear-ft3
- Category board: https://stierproducts.com/categories/trekking-poles
- Placement: #11 of 17 in Trekking Poles, C tier
- Brand: Gossamer Gear
- LP on this board: 435
- Last researched: 2026-09-23T20:52:58.752Z
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

## Verdict

The thru-hiker's folding pole. Treeline Review's tested review concludes the new FT3 is the best trekking pole for thru-hiking, especially on long trails like the PCT.

## For

- Best folding pole for thru-hiking
- Best for thru-hiking according to Treeline Review
- Strong design for long trails
- Simple button that springs three segments into place
- Extremely lightweight (just over six ounces per pole)

## Against

- New design lacks long-term field history
- Newer model with limited long-term field record.

## Evidence

Consolidated from 3 cited sources across 2 outlets

| Outlet | Said by | Stance | Link | Link status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Treeline Review | Liz Thomas | B | https://www.treelinereview.com/gearreviews/gossamer-gear-ft3-folding-trekking-poles-review | fetched and confirmed |
| Treeline Review | Amanda Jameson | B | https://www.treelinereview.com/gearreviews/best-trekking-poles | fetched and confirmed |
| WanderPole | Trekking Poles for Knee Pain & Joint Support | B | https://wanderpole.com/buying-guides/trekking-poles-for-knee-pain/ | fetched and confirmed |

## Nearest alternatives on this board

| Rank | Product | Tier | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 6 | Durston Iceline | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/durston-iceline |
| 7 | MSR DynaLock Ascent Carbon | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/msr-dynalock-ascent-carbon |
| 8 | Leki Makalu Lite | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/leki-makalu-lite |
| 9 | REI Co-op Traverse | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/rei-co-op-traverse |
| 10 | Gossamer Gear LT5 | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/gossamer-gear-lt5 |
| 12 | Komperdell Cloud Compact | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/komperdell-cloud-compact |
| 13 | Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/black-diamond-trail-ergo-cork |
| 14 | Retrospec Solstice | D | https://stierproducts.com/products/retrospec-solstice |
| 15 | Leki Cressida FX Carbon AS | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/leki-cressida-fx-carbon-as |
| 16 | Black Diamond Trail | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/black-diamond-trail |

The full board is at https://stierproducts.com/categories/trekking-poles.

## What this tier means

- C: Fair. Acceptable in the right situation, outclassed at its price.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is this product's points on its own category ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Link status reports what our pre-publication link check found when it fetched the cited URL. It says nothing about the quality of the review.
- A citation with no usable link is listed rather than dropped, and is excluded from the counted total above.

## Image

https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/gossamer-gear-ft3.webp

Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.