LEKI is a German brand specializing in sports equipment. Inspired by nature, the family business with headquarters in Kirchheim unter Teck manufactures ski, hiking and trekking poles as well as gloves, clothing and accessories for outdoor sports. Most of the products are produced in the LEKI factory in Tachov, Czech Republic.
“We provide you with an extra dose of speed, safety, comfort and support. We are the tailwind on your way to top performance and unforgettable outdoor moments,” says the manufacturer on the company’s website.
origins
In 1948, Karl and Gertrud Lenhart founded the wood turning workshop “Karl Lenhart, Plastik + Metall” and thus laid the foundation for what is now the internationally successful outdoor brand LEKI. After making wooden letters for bakery and butcher shops, Karl Lehnhart soon turned his attention to ski poles – driven by his enthusiasm for winter sports and the simultaneous dissatisfaction with the quality and functionality of the ski poles made of fragile bamboo shafts at the time.
With his experience in aircraft construction, the founder designed the first aluminum ski pole. He launched his innovation in 1970 under the name LEKI, which stands for the owner and the company headquarters – Lenhart in Kirchheim. After the great success of LEKI alpine poles, the range was expanded in 1973 to include cross-country poles.
evolution
Karl Lehnert later turned to hiking and in 1974 he developed the world’s first adjustable trekking pole LEVI Makalu. Four years later, it was precisely these poles that Reinhold Messner was the first person to use to climb Mount Everest.
Klaus Lenhart, the youngest son of the founder, took over the management of LEKI in 1984 and led the company to worldwide success with innovations such as the patented trigger system, which combines ski poles and gloves. In 2013, LEKI brought another revolution to the outdoor market with the versatile folding pole.
Current
The company is now being continued in the third generation by Friederike and Markus Lenhart, true to LEKI’s values of innovation, quality, enthusiasm, top performance, partnership and responsibility.
LEKI supports more than 1,000 athletes from the fields of alpine skiing, Nordic, trail running and mountaineering with a partnership, including Mikaela Shiffrin, Johannes Klaebo and Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, who was the first Nepalese on Makalu in 2019. Products of the brand are available from over 3,900 dealers in Europe and the USA, as well as from the company’s own online shop.