View Full Version : Straps on trekking poles
sparky2009
02-27-2010, 19:33
I was wondering what everyone thought of the straps on trekking poles. Personally, I don't see the need and since they're in the way, I remove them. I just got a new set of Leki's and removed the straps such that they can be re-attached in the future if I ever change my mind about this.
Bags4266
02-27-2010, 19:37
Mostly not, big difference when I do though.
Mountain Wildman
02-27-2010, 19:44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaILfy0MsEI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skXVMA5nShA
I found these short videos really helpful.
white_russian
02-27-2010, 19:45
Are you sure you have seen the correct way to use the straps? When used correctly, straps are an integral part of how the trekking pole can work. Have you used them by putting the hand through the bottom so the strap is around the top of the wrist and coming up through the palm?
I love the straps because I don't have to have a firm grip on the handle.
The straps are an integral part of the trekking pole...without
you have to grip harder, hands are colder, you have to work more.
Done correctly they allow you to reach further and on the power side push further.
Your hands are mostly relaxed.
They are Lekis so I know the strap is good, learn to use it.
Oh, and don't be a gram weinie..leave the baskets on too!
Baskets protect the tip, the lower shaft and the trail, by limiting the little holes.
We didn't put straps on them for no purpose!!
Toolshed
02-27-2010, 20:21
Ditto on keepiung the straps on.
I sometimes see folks with the straps loosely around their wrists. When possible, I explain that you need to put your hand up throught the strap and then down onto the grip. The leverage is much greater,the grip is enhanced and the hand does not need to be clenched as much - In fact, I usually never grab the handles, just letting them rest against my palms using the strap as a lever. Enjoy your poles and put them back on....:)
Bags4266
02-27-2010, 20:46
I only use one pole and switch hands often, thats wht I usually don't strap in.
Are you sure you have seen the correct way to use the straps? When used correctly, straps are an integral part of how the trekking pole can work. Have you used them by putting the hand through the bottom so the strap is around the top of the wrist and coming up through the palm?
I love the straps because I don't have to have a firm grip on the handle.
My thoughts exactly. Use them correctly, & the straps can be a blessing.
I don't even hold on to my poles, my hands are just in a neutral position & swing naturally, the poles do help as I walk along, doing so with nearly no effort on my part.
The downside of all straps used around your wrist, regardless of whether you use them "correctly" or not, is that in a fall, they are apt to get entanglred with your arm and cause a fracture or serious strain. Why? If you use a strap around your wrist, it is not easy to get out of quickly. So an unexpected fall, is more apt to cause more serious injuries.
Because for many years I've hiked without a staff or a pole, I tend not to use a strap. If I keep it on the pole, it simply provides a better handgrip.
But, thanks to White Blaze instruction, I also know the "right" way to use a strap. But the right way doesn't lessen injuries, it just allows straps to be used with a minimal expenditure of energy.
Weary
tomsawyer222
02-27-2010, 21:12
straps also get really annoying the hotter it gets. i just remove mine i am used to using a plain old walking stick anyway so it dont matter too me. I dont really go around looking for the most effiecent way to hike
If straps around the wrist were so dangerous when falling, then nobody would snow ski due to all the broken bones from poles. I've skiied for ten years in my youth with pole straps around my wrist and you want to talk about some serious falls!!! never once did they cause me injury, and I fell every time I skiied, and I skiied a LOT. Put your hand up through the strap, from bottom to top and use your wrist to move the pole forward. You barely have to hold the pole. When faced with a climb they easily dangle from your wrist. I had an animal chew through one of my straps, and darned if I didn't drop that pole every time I used that hand to do something. Kept forgetting it wasn't attached to my arm. Drove me nuts!!
white_russian
02-27-2010, 23:13
straps also get really annoying the hotter it gets. i just remove mine i am used to using a plain old walking stick anyway so it dont matter too me. I dont really go around looking for the most effiecent way to hike
So do you carry cast iron to cook on since you don't go around looking for the most efficient way to hike?
Pretty much everybody thinks about pack weight and that is the heart of hiking efficiently, but things like wearing trail runners instead of boots and correctly using poles are really just an extension of that.
Use PacerPoles and you do not need to worry about straps or how to use them. Not necessary. Best poles out there, most comfortable by far and most efficient.
In 2002 a guy named Two Scoops fell off the trail near Clingman's Dome and dislocated his shoulder. He blamed the straps on his hiking poles, saying he wasn't able to brace himself for the fall. He left his pack and hiked down to Newfound Gap and hitched to a hospital...a few days later he hiked back up and his pack was still there, leaning up against a tree right next to the trail where he left it...had it happened a couple weeks later when the road to Clingman's Dome was open it might have gone missing.
I took the straps off my poles. I use them more like a walking staff and for setting up my tarp. The efficiency of using the straps weighed against how I hike just didn't add up. So off they came. To me they were more of a nuisance. If your pack is that heavy, or you are hiking that fast that a little extra push is needed, then they'd help. My pack is light, and I stroll along the trail so they aren't needed at all for me.
To each their own.
I have a pair of ultralight trekking poles that come without straps (as do other brands of ultralights) and I don't miss them. As a matter of fact on my AT thru-hike I removed the straps from my standard Lekis. But that's just my style. For some people straps are genuinely useful.
QuarterPounder
02-28-2010, 07:34
Good Stuff.
For years I used a 4 ft "stick". Now, I have a pair of Leki poles.
I've never used the straps and thought about taking them off. After reviewing these posts and the youtube, I'm leavin' them on... and may learn to use the things the correct way:)
Thanks
12 Days and counting.....
World-Wide
02-28-2010, 08:27
[QUOTE=white_russian;978459]Have you used them by putting the hand through the bottom so the strap is around the top of the wrist and coming up through the palm?
I use the straps this way also! Makes stepping down easy and places less stress on the wrist! JMHO :) World-Wide
The straps are very useful if you loose your balance and/or fall and are able to hold onto the poles. I've been in situations where a pole would have either floated away in a raging stream or fallen down a steep mountain. So I think that the straps help you hang onto the poles in certain situations.
climber2377
02-28-2010, 11:36
i like the straps, they give me support on my wrists and i find i can hold the poles loosely in my hands. i think its a big mistake to take them off.
I like useing the straps...But I do take my hands out of the straps on certain descents just incase I do fall.
I learned today that I have been using the straps on my poles incorrectly for over 15 years. Will start using them correctly henceforth. No plans to take the straps off. Even though I had my hand placed throught the strap correctly, there have been times the strap has kept me from losing a pole over a steep embankment or cliff.
Kerosene
02-28-2010, 12:41
Has anyone besides me had the tip of a pole get stuck (usually in a crack between rocks) while strolling along and then almost have the strap pull you backward onto your tush? Seems to happen to me almost every trip.
Skiing in Snowmass many years ago, I was traversing from the uppermost lift over to one of the bowls when the basket of one of my poles caught on a spruce tree. I was abruptly yanked backwards and down into the soft snow beneath the tree, from which it took me 15 minutes to climb out.
PacerPoles allow much more precise placement of the tip. Very rarely will you get one stuck in a crack in the rocks or roots. Another great advantage to this great design.
JonnyWalker
02-28-2010, 13:13
I've found that after a lot of practice with my poles any time the tip gets stuck I now instinctively jerk my wrist which normally unsticks it. I've also gotten pretty good at doing a 180 degree one footed dodo dance when that doesn't work. Haven't fallen down yet though*knock on wood*.
sparky2009
03-07-2010, 21:09
I appreciate all of the input from everyone. I started leaving off the straps on my old Swiss Gear poles because I couldn't make them comfortable no matter how I had my hand in them. I assumed it would be the same with the Leki's. I'll put the straps back on and try them for a while just to see how they'll do.
Sparky,
Give them some quality practice time with the straps installed, and fiddle fart around with the proper length of the strap. I am in the "I like them and use them" camp, for me, I think they help me hike faster on level ground, can actually let the pole go on the end of the stride, and having a light grip all the time limits fatigue.
The_Saint
03-08-2010, 11:04
Are you sure you have seen the correct way to use the straps? When used correctly, straps are an integral part of how the trekking pole can work. Have you used them by putting the hand through the bottom so the strap is around the top of the wrist and coming up through the palm?
I love the straps because I don't have to have a firm grip on the handle.
You'll really love them when you slip and fall that the pole locks your arm in place and it snaps like a twig. I know two people this summer that happened to. I don't use straps, none of the ridgerunners use straps. I don't recommend them at all.
traildust
03-08-2010, 11:08
Are you sure you have seen the correct way to use the straps? When used correctly, straps are an integral part of how the trekking pole can work. Have you used them by putting the hand through the bottom so the strap is around the top of the wrist and coming up through the palm?
I love the straps because I don't have to have a firm grip on the handle.
ditto. you'll miss them going down the mountains and make big steps when you ride the poles.
traildust
03-08-2010, 11:10
You'll really love them when you slip and fall that the pole locks your arm in place and it snaps like a twig. I know two people this summer that happened to. I don't use straps, none of the ridgerunners use straps. I don't recommend them at all.
If you use them correctly, when you fall your hands should release from the pole. My wife fell twice face first and her poles freed from her palms but stayed on her wrist and she had no injury. Then again, go ahead, hike without them and see how it goes. Each his own.
scottdennis
03-08-2010, 11:37
I have to admit that I didn't like straps until I saw a video on REI about how to wear them properly. Since then, my hands hurt less when I use them because I don't have a death grip on the poles and have support at the wrist.
So I fall in to the crowd that loves my strap now.
The Flatulator
03-08-2010, 12:51
I can't imagine hiking by NOT using the straps! You can relax your grip on the poles and not worry about losing them. If tightened correctly, they also aid in helping to push off while headed uphill. Make sure to come up through the strap from the bottom and then grip the pole with the strap between your pole/strap as you normally would; between your thumb and index finger with a lighter grip. Some of the weight/shock will be transmitted to your wrists and your efforts will be much more comfortable. For me...I only use one pole as hiking in Maine requires a lot of grabbing of rock and tree limbs and roots when ascending/descending. Best to have a free arm available. Of course, I have been hiking that way for over 35 years, so I am a little set in my ways....Use the straps!!
beakerman
03-08-2010, 13:02
I made my own walking stick/pole and I put a nice ropework strap on it. I have my hand up to my thumb through the strap and grip the pole. I find it much more stable when treading down into or up out of a ravine when that litle extra balance is nice. I have a much more stable grip this way.
The shaft is nicely carved to look like twisted rope too--quite nice what you can do on a rainy day in camp.
DrRichardCranium
03-08-2010, 13:10
No, I use the straps.
I used to do cross-country skiing, so I use my trekking poles the same way a skier does.
Cookerhiker
03-08-2010, 16:54
When I first began using poles in '04, I threaded my hand through the straps but don't know if I did it "correctly" or not. I stopped using the straps years ago and have never had sore wrists or hands. But based on what I'm reading in this thread, I'll give the straps another try.
Jester2000
03-08-2010, 17:35
Use them. There's a reason they're there -- it's not just so you don't drop them. If you have trouble figuring out how they're supposed to go, take your poles to an outfitter who sells them and they'll sort you out.
scottdennis
03-09-2010, 08:59
When I get really tired, I turn the poles upside down and slip the straps over my feet. Then I can use my arms to help my tired legs move. :D
anyone know where to get replacement straps?
Maybe try leki for replacement straps, but I don't know. Leki website also has good info on strap use.
thanks, i stopped by REI today (scratch and dent sale) they had a set of poles broken in half and gave me the 2 ends with the straps for free. Thanks REI. I was worried i was going to have to get new poles and then a new stickpic.
I set up my poncho-tarp today by running the guylines through the straps. It's quick and easy.
I teach cross country skiing. Every year I tell folks how to use their straps to push themselves and most of them are thankful for the tip.
Btw: If your straps are too loose, you'll end up with your hand on the wrong part of the grip. For XC skiing, I have my straps technically too tight, so I can put my thumb on the top of the grip for more push. I have Leki hiking poles with a nice broad flat top on the grip which I use when going downhill rather than lengthening the poles for short stretches.
sparky2009
03-19-2010, 20:01
Just got back from a 3 day hike with the Leki's outfitted with the straps. Even though they were a little on the loose side, I still could see the benefit of the straps allowing me to relax my grip a little. They were much more comfortable than the straps on my other poles (Swiss Gear's from Wally world). Tightening up the straps a little more will probably make them perfect. They are a pain to adjust but doable.
Just got back from a 3 day hike with the Leki's outfitted with the straps. Even though they were a little on the loose side, I still could see the benefit of the straps allowing me to relax my grip a little. They were much more comfortable than the straps on my other poles (Swiss Gear's from Wally world). Tightening up the straps a little more will probably make them perfect. They are a pain to adjust but doable.
Take them by Mahoneys and let them teach you how to adjust them.
They should be easy to adjust. :sun
When you learn how, you'll be able to adjust the straps faster than you can say "Jack Robinson".
sparky2009
03-20-2010, 10:50
When you learn how, you'll be able to adjust the straps faster than you can say "Jack Robinson".
Ok, maybe saying that twice but understand it now :o It's much easier than I thought.
Blue Jay
03-20-2010, 11:16
You'll really love them when you slip and fall that the pole locks your arm in place and it snaps like a twig. I know two people this summer that happened to. I don't use straps, none of the ridgerunners use straps. I don't recommend them at all.
Please don't say that. I really enjoy watching this, absolutely hilarious. I've seen it countless time on roots and never with an injury. Pole people forget their arms are connected to their legs thru their bodies. They truly think the force of gravity just goes away when they take the pressure off their poles. The pole catches and down they go. I used to try and warn them but they think physics does not apply to them, so I just enjoy it. Same with:banana
The straps are integral to the effectiveness of trekking poles. If you go through the strap from the bottom and put the handle between your thumb and fingers, it will provide sustantial assistance.. I have been using them soncxe 1998. Not keen pon twist locks-my Leki Makalu fail constantly.
Just got new Black Diamond sticks.---YEAH!!!