Hiking Pole(s), Your Thoughts?

[fiddlehead]

When I found out how much impact is reduced on the knees and hips, and then multiply that by how many miles you go on the AT, it's remarkable how anyone would want to do it without them. I know that purist will disagree, and that's fine. I keep the rubber tip covers on mine, keep a spare set in the pack, and they keep ya' truckin along.

I really don't think it's a matter of being a purist or not.
It's more like: someone dreamed this up and has marketed it so that most hikers have bought it hook line and sinker.
You won't see ultra runners use them and they put in a lot more miles than thru-hikers generally.
When i am training for a hike, i am doing about 25 miles per day but i come in in the middle of the pack. My teacher runs about 25 mpd when he is just maintaining himself and adds another half again when training. He wins races. He carries a small day pack when training.
He is about 6'4 and weighs about 220. His knees are fine. He's been running like that since way before i met him in 97.
It's all in your head. I will admit they are good for a ford but unless you are in Tibet where there are hardly no trees, you can find a stick or piece of tree to use. Same for your tent pole.
I've tried them, they are a crutch for me. My balance is much better when i don't have anything in my hands. I can go much faster if i want and can keep my hands warm. Leather boots, hip belts, water pumps, extra shoes, poles, are in the same category as snake bite kits, hatchets, big knives, and guns: don't need them out there.
But of course, bottom line: HYOH and most importantly: Have Fun!

[fiddlehead]

I really don't think it's a matter of being a purist or not.
It's more like: someone dreamed this up and has marketed it so that most hikers have bought it hook line and sinker.
You won't see ultra runners use them and they put in a lot more miles than thru-hikers generally.
When i am training for a hike, i am doing about 25 miles per day but i come in in the middle of the pack. My teacher runs about 25 mpd when he is just maintaining himself and adds another half again when training. He wins races. He carries a small day pack when training.
He is about 6'4 and weighs about 220. His knees are fine. He's been running like that since way before i met him in 97.
It's all in your head. I will admit they are good for a ford but unless you are in Tibet where there are hardly no trees, you can find a stick or piece of tree to use. Same for your tent pole.
I've tried them, they are a crutch for me. My balance is much better when i don't have anything in my hands. I can go much faster if i want and can keep my hands warm. Leather boots, hip belts, water pumps, extra shoes, poles, are in the same category as snake bite kits, hatchets, big knives, and guns: don't need them out there.
But of course, bottom line: HYOH and most importantly: Have Fun!

miss that edit button again.
line 6 should say: when i'm training for a run
sorry. I don't know why i get the edit button sometimes and other times i don't? ??? ??

[Ridge]

I guess folks weren't using them much back when you thruhiked. How many years ago was that??

It was before your stay in the Alachua County Jail.

[Skidsteer]

miss that edit button again.
line 6 should say: when i'm training for a run
sorry. I don't know why i get the edit button sometimes and other times i don't? ??? ??

Fiddlehead,

You're probably seeing an edit button if you try to edit within a few minutes of posting. The permanent edit button is only visible to members who donate.

[Alligator]

It was before your stay in the Alachua County Jail.

Nope, that inmate you were playing wife for was somebody else.

I didn't think you could do the math anyway. Apparently, you seem to think that 2005-1996=5.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=101261

4-19-2005

It's 11:50 on my watch, my wife has just told me some crap about this is the surprize birthday present she has been dieing to give me. I am now somewhere 405 miles from the PCT trailhead I don't know if I going to hike or to view. I've just been told I'm hiking the entire PCT or its a divorce for me. Hum, I got to think about this one. After I hiked the ATC 5 yrs ago I promised the world to conquer, well I think, I think, she's trying to make me do it. I've been influenzed by heineken all the way. Her brother has access to a lear jet and this crap has been planned for months. Im on my pc with my usual modem/verizon connection... I need all the help I can get from the whiteblaze.net crowd to get me thru this. I need my sierra zip woodburning stove and all my other stuff. I'll never make it without it. help // later

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=101266
4-19-2005

My soooo beautiful wife has arranged a PCT hike for me. This is so great, I think, I will let you know in a few days when I'm out of water and shi# out of luck. The ATC thru hike will always be number 1 when it comes to hikes. I live near it and its always been like a "Moon Shot" for me. I made it 5 yrs ago and itl seems my bug ass mouth has gotten me into a PCT hike. Im ready damn it. I can do it. I just want to know where to start. Point me in the right direction. Ridge out,

It's amazing the level of detail your wife knows about your thruhike, but she thinks you thruhiked in 1995.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=106386

Shelters seem to be my husbands biggest concern when it comes to hostility on the trail. He will no longer stay in one because of all the bad stuff that happened during his 95 hike. You get all kinds of hikers in them and all sorts of stuff happens. He says it wouldn't hurt his feelings if all where torn down, stacked up and used for fire wood. He claims the bad outweighs the good in the case of shelters. He may be correct. hikerwife

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=102725

I would like to say as the wife of a 95 thru-hiker that the habits he picked up in the aprox 2200 miles are possibly the nastiest, obnoxious known to womankind. I'll mention a few that he calls "trail law"

1. "never, but never, wash your socks"

2. "take a shower only when your hiker friends can no longer id you."

3. "Always eat any food left behind by women you would go to bed with, after all you gotta kiss her".

Just SICK,SICK, signed: discussed hikerwife ps: He may wish he hadn't given me his WB log-in info before its over. But as slow as they are hiking the PCT I'll be a widow.

<!-- / message -->or was that 1994?
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=125324

Sent my husband a bottle when he made the 1/2 way point of his 94 thru-hike. Its very pricey but then a thru-hike (at least half of one) is worth it. He drinks Guinness and Heineken mostly but occasionally will hit the hard stuff.

[Skidsteer]

It's amazing the level of detail your wife knows about your thruhike, but she thinks you thruhiked in 1995.

And her grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation seem eerily familiar.

Righteous bust, Alligator. Again.

[hopefulhiker]

On trekking poles, At first I really didn't see the need for them.. but I thought I would try them out and I liked them...
I used the Leki Makalus almost the whole way. Tried to get them replaced in Gorham but their was the outfitter there was lousy and wouldn't replace.. I had to buy a brand new set to replace one bent pole.. This is the exception, Leki is a good company and the company helped me out later... I would like to see a lighter pole still..
I used the poles to set up the tarptent. I used the "blind man" style with the poles, putting one pole out at the same time as the opposite foot.. On down hills I took the straps off. Sometimes on long ups or downs I would change the length to match the grade.. They saved me from bad falls many times. Only rarely did I collaspe them and put them away..Sometimes this was easier than trying to climb with them.. On retrospect I would have left them behind going up the Big K...
My thinking is to reduce pain and injury while still having a good time.. I took lots of Ibuprophren too.. I think overall if one is willing to carry the poles then one has every right to use them without being degraded for it. I would say 90% of the thru hikers had poles or sticks last year..

[opqdan]

I go on a day hike just about every weekend during the summer, and this last weekend was the first time I had used poles.

I had previously avoided them due to the price. What if I bought them and decided I did not like them? Sure, I could sell them, but not for what I paid. I was in Target the other day and noticed that they were selling trekking poles in their camping/outdoors department. They were marked as Eddie Bauer brand (blech!), but they seemed pretty good quality. Nice angled handles that don't slip when moist, aluminum shafts, carbide tip (I assume), removable baskets and rubber tips, anti-shock, and only weighed a couple ounces more than other sets. Best of all, they were less than $15 each, so I could almost get 5 pairs for the price of some Lekis. I figured that they were worth a try at that price, so I bought them.

I tried them out on sunday on a 9 mile hike in the North Chagrin Reservation in NE Ohio, and I must say that I am impressed. As I said, I started assuming that poles were going to offer no difference, and I have hiked without poles for my whole (short) life, so I don't think "brainwashing" and Backpacker magazine (which I've never read) had anything to do with it.

I liked the advantage that they gave me when trying to balance, and they were especially usefull when going downhill as they kept me from pitching forward. I can't really comment on the anti-shock feature as I never notices it. Unless I try a pair without the feature, I suppose I won't really know whether it is worth it though.

I found that the biggest advantage was that they gave me something to do with my hands, and kept me from constantly fiddling with the straps on my pack.

The only negative was that I would sometimes kick the basket and cause the shaft to rotate, which would then collapse when I put any sort of weight on it (much to the amusement of my hiking partners). This was fixed by adding a little more torque when tightening the sections.

Overall, I liked using them, but more testing is in order. I can't comment on the knee issue, as my young knees are in fine condition (here's hoping I cant keep them that way).

[soulrebel]

F U and your F'ing leki poles. take that

[Time To Fly 97]

For me: required gear. I NEVER home without them:

15% of weight off knees - great for downhills
Promotes more upright posture - more air in lungs
Full body working instead of just legs - great for uphills
More points of contact - great for snow, slippery sections
River fording - added safety for underwater slippery rocks
Use as tarp poles if tarping
Checking to see if there is solid ground in front of you
etc.
etc.

I use LEKI hiking poles and probably always will: replaceable carbide tips, lifetime guarantee, shocks, every outfitter carries them, parts easy to find, absolutely reliable. I still have the ones I thru-hiked with in addition to a another set. The paint is long gone, but they work fine!

Here is how I use them while hiking:

Lekis height to my arms at 90 degree angle.

FLAT trail: I grip the handles in the normal position with my arms pretty straight. I hold the lekis low, and they hit the ground a couple feet behind me. I use them push myself forward, like cross country skiing. This is almost the same motion as your lower armwhen stiff arming a canoe stroke (for any canoers out there). I can easily add speed this way, or just transfer some of the effort to my arms.

HILLS: I drop my grip to lower portion of handle and pole itself, which is lower down, and put all my weight on the straps which are adjusted so that about 2 inches is below the handle. This allows me to use the straps to absorb a lot of weight without having to grip the handles so tightly. On hills, I push down on the lekis rather than pushing back - I plant the leki in front of me and kind of walk past it while resting weight on it. On downhills, the lekis stay in front of me and I use them as brakes, being careful to lean forward to keep my weight on my full boot instead of just my heels.

Over time, I have developed about six different walking/pole combinations that I use depending on terrain, switching to a different muscle group if I am getting fatigued, etc.

I bought my first pair at Walasi-Yi in Georgia, thanks to some great advice. Now, I'm happy to enthusiastically pass that advice on to anyone who is considering them for their hikes. Hope your "aha" moment puts a big smile on your face too!

Happy hiking!

TTF

[Big Dawg]

F U and your F'ing leki poles. take that

Nah, we'll pass.

grow up.......

[fiddlehead]

Fiddlehead,

You're probably seeing an edit button if you try to edit within a few minutes of posting. The permanent edit button is only visible to members who donate.

I donated $40.
Maybe that's not enough???
sometimes i see it right after i post but usually not.
(perhaps 5% of the time)
I donated back in April. maybe that was too long ago now?

[saimyoji]

And her grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation seem eerily familiar.

Righteous bust, Alligator. Again.

Well, I couldn't access the first three links. I must not be priveledged enough, or maybe I pissed of DC at some point.

About hiking poles: I've never used them nor really spoken with anyone about them. What are the specific techniques you use to make them most effective? How much do they REALLY help you?

[saimyoji]

Well, I couldn't access the first three links. I must not be priveledged enough, or maybe I pissed of DC at some point.

About hiking poles: I've never used them nor really spoken with anyone about them. What are the specific techniques you use to make them most effective? How much do they REALLY help you?

Oops. The quote wasn't supposed to be there.

[Skidsteer]

I donated $40.
Maybe that's not enough???
sometimes i see it right after i post but usually not.
(perhaps 5% of the time)
I donated back in April. maybe that was too long ago now?

Check with Attroll, Fiddlehead. For some reason your name isn't on the list of donating members.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showgroups.php

[Alligator]

I donated $40.
Maybe that's not enough???
sometimes i see it right after i post but usually not.
(perhaps 5% of the time)
I donated back in April. maybe that was too long ago now?

FH, the sponsor block is different from donating members. I remember Attroll mentioning this somewhere.

[Alligator]

Well, I couldn't access the first three links. I must not be priveledged enough, or maybe I pissed of DC at some point.
...

My links? They should pop up, maybe you have a popup blocker set? I will edit my post and add his posts.

[nicodemus]

I really don't think it's a matter of being a purist or not.
It's more like: someone dreamed this up and has marketed it so that most hikers have bought it hook line and sinker.
You won't see ultra runners use them and they put in a lot more miles than thru-hikers generally.
When i am training for a hike, i am doing about 25 miles per day but i come in in the middle of the pack. My teacher runs about 25 mpd when he is just maintaining himself and adds another half again when training. He wins races. He carries a small day pack when training.
He is about 6'4 and weighs about 220. His knees are fine. He's been running like that since way before i met him in 97.
It's all in your head. I will admit they are good for a ford but unless you are in Tibet where there are hardly no trees, you can find a stick or piece of tree to use. Same for your tent pole.
I've tried them, they are a crutch for me. My balance is much better when i don't have anything in my hands. I can go much faster if i want and can keep my hands warm. Leather boots, hip belts, water pumps, extra shoes, poles, are in the same category as snake bite kits, hatchets, big knives, and guns: don't need them out there.
But of course, bottom line: HYOH and most importantly: Have Fun!

Hey sorry, it took so long for my reply to this. I would love it if the use of hiking sticks was all in my head. Sad to say it's not. 15 yrs ago I was in a head-on car crash and both of my knees got pretty mashed and the lower back right along with it. Walking around the grocery store can be a true pain. But if I keep going it's gets better, that's why I hike with them. And I did ask a friend of mine who is a physician and hard core cyclist and runner about them. She agreed that it takes at least 20% of the impact off of your knees using the poles. But I do agree with you that I do like my hands empty while walking, but the physical recovery time, for me, is better with poles.

[highway]

I do see the need, for me at least, for one hiking pole. But I just cannot see my using two, as in skiing. I use my single pole as an extra foot print/balance when walking fast over rocky but level ground to keep from slipping and can't see how two poles would make me move faster. It would appear, again to me at least, that two poles over one would be just one more item to keep track of.

The single pole works great for the obvious uses: support for those first few steps in the morning before the feet become loosened, going up/down talus, fording streams, balance on footprint width, angled ledges around mountains, etc. I have foot damage and i really would use two if I saw the value. I must be missing something, I guess

[Jaybird]

I do see the need, for me at least, for one hiking pole. But I just cannot see my using two, as in skiing. .........................................etc,etc,e tc,............................................... ................................... I have foot damage and i really would use two if I saw the value. I must be missing something, I guess

Yo Highway:

dont know your age...but, if you have foot problems...then theres a real NEED for two hiking poles.
i began section-hiking the A.T. in 2002 with 1 trekking pole...& quickly found out that i'd get stressed shins & feet & knees with only 1 pole...consider two...

good luck with yer hike!