RØDEBoompole Pro Ultra-lightweight Professional Boompole

Very light and bends only slightly when supporting a RODE Blimp and NTG4+ shotgun mic but quite how one threads any XLR lead I've seen down the inside of the pole as advertised without major surgery to the plug is beyond me. There's also no grip, probably in the name of weight-saving because the cheaper RODE boom pole has one. But carbon fibre is slippery, so I'll be adding some bicycle handlebar grips or something.

Initially thought this was a brilliant pole, wanted to invest in a pricier carbon fibre one, far lighter than anything I’d used before. Haven’t been out in the field with it yet, but was testing out a new mic at home for a shoot on Sunday and noticed a creak when extending anywhere past 2nd tier. Any movement at all with the pole produces this creak, very high pitched so it pretty much renders anything being recorded useless. Don’t think I’ll be using this one on Sunday, to be safe. It’s a real pity as I’ve enjoyed all my other RODE equipment. Maybe I got a dud, I don’t know. Will update review if anything changes.Update: received a replacement which had the same issue, to a smaller degree, but still noticeable and therefore useless. Have to return both now to await refund. Never again RØDE, never again. I really can’t believe how bad this product is.

The Rode Boompole Pro in carbon is a big disappointment. On paper it seems great and it is indeed one of the lightest options available at 3M full extension. It is however extremely noisy, the joints and locks make all sort of squeaky and crackly noises and each time you tilt the boom slightly you can clearly hear noises from the joints. The microphone, even mounted inside a blimp picks all these noises. This happens even with very gentle manoeuvring. It does not matter how tight you close the joints, they still make noises. Will submit now a request to return the product. This is simply not fit for purpose.