I have done searches here and elsewhere and haven't found a lot of reassurance one way or another on the safety of carbon fiber trekking poles.

I'm looking for lighter poles. The ones I have now (Leki Makalu Ti) weigh 18.8 ounces. They are excellent poles, and I'll continue to use them for exercise walking and dayhiking, but I'd like to cut the weight for backpacking. I'm therefore looking at carbon fiber.

I have, however, read a number of tales about carbon fiber poles breaking. I use my trekking poles really hard. I rely on them to maintain my balance on rough terrain and to save my bum knee on downhills. The poles have saved me from a number of what could have been quite serious falls. I'm scared that if I go to carbon fiber poles I'm setting myself up for a possible serious injury (fractures at my age [72] take a lot longer to heal).

I have looked at a number of models. They have to be adjustable, because the pole length I use for hiking is shorter than what I need for my shelters. They must have straps, because without straps my carpal tunnel syndrome starts acting up. With straps, I hardly need to hold the pole at all--all my weight is on the strap and my hand and wrist are quite relaxed. Eliminating the frequently-snapping REI/Komperdell carbon fiber poles, about which I've heard from Sarbar and others, here's what I've found:

Black Diamond--even their carbon fiber poles are as heavy as or heavier than the poles I have, so forget those. Very nice poles, but I'm not looking for increased weight. I also had trouble working the flicklock mechanism in the store with my small hands and fumble-fingers.

Leki--their carbon fiber poles are lighter but are guaranteed for only one year. (My current Leki poles have a lifetime guarantee.) This makes me suspicious right there--what happens the second year? There are Leki aluminum pole models, also with lifetime guarantee, that are 3-4 ounces per pair lighter than mine, but cost divided by ounces saved is a bit steep. The "Thermolite" model is 15.0 oz. per the Leki website. I could go the "asking Santa" (aka my grown children) route, though.

Gossamer Gear Lighttrek--highly praised in reviews. They now have adjustable poles, but no straps and (per Grant) no plans to provide any as an option.

Titanium Goat Adjustable Goat Poles--also highly praised in reviews. They do have straps as an option. However, their poles have been out of stock for several months. As far as I can tell, the weight savings with these poles would be truly significant, on the order of 11 ounces. (I find it really difficult to decipher their website--their website software seems to be incompatible with my Mac.) That's really tempting!

I entrust my life, or at least my ability to hike (and that is my life!), to my poles. Do I go for carbon fiber, and if so, what model? Do I just get the lighter aluminum Lekis? (By the way, the Leki "Ti" models do not contain any titanium, per their website.) Or should I stick with the poles I have?

Thank you very much, in advance, for your comments!