View Full Version : Everyone using trekking poles?
BobbyNoel
05-18-2007, 09:07
Does everyone use trekking poles or are folks still walking without? Useful?
Rob
Does everyone use trekking poles or are folks still walking without? Useful?Rob
on my recent section hike....i encountered probably 50 hikers....all but 2 hikers used trekking poles....does this tell u something?:D
good luck with your hike!:D
atmooney
05-18-2007, 09:13
My wife and I just started to use them. Good on hills, especially up them. Not sure what to do with them at other times. Overall, I think we both like them. -----Al
Swiss Roll
05-18-2007, 09:21
Only one of the thrus I met on my section last week was pole-less. Useful? I would much rather be a four-legged goat than a two-legged stork on the trail.
Rain Man
05-18-2007, 10:41
Does everyone use trekking poles ...
If everyone jumped off the roof, would you?-- My mama used to ask me. ~wink~ I think you just have to make up your own mind. HYOH, so to speak.
My wife and I really believe in trekking poles. My personal belief is that they are wonderful about a third of the time, somewhat helpful another third of the time, and not needed or actually in the way a third of the time. Your fractions may vary. LOL Truly, they are not equally good (or bad) uniformly throughout a trail or even a day. I actually find they I appreciate their function of helping the "sway" factor, the side-to-side stability problem with a pack on my back on uneven ground.
Rain:sunMan
.
Does everyone use trekking poles or are folks still walking without?
Although I am not qualified to speak for "everyone," I personally use hiking poles, as does my wife, our son, and my hiking partner and his boys.
Useful, you ask? Why do so many people use them if they weren't?:-?
Useful when:
-fording streams
-setting up tents
-scaring away bears
-going up hills (adds an extra gear)
-going down hills (saves your knees)
-impressing the ladies
-pole vaulting
-marking an ultimate frisbee field
-cuddling
-fighting the persians (or spartans)
-cooking
-splinting a broken limb
-making a stretcher
Spcshiznit
05-18-2007, 10:56
Alrighty... another newb question. What exactly are the benefits of the $150 poles compared to the $10 swiss army ones you can find at walmart? I know you get what you pay for, but what exactly would I be getting?
Darwin again
05-18-2007, 11:02
Don't spend the denero on the lekis, because...
Pacerpoles rock:
http://www.pacerpole.com/
Ergonomic grips so you never have to hang your wrists in straps again.
~~Darwin
Footslogger
05-18-2007, 11:15
Wouldn't think of hiking without them ...plus I use one as the upright for my tarp/tent.
'Slogger
Only one of the thrus I met on my section last week was pole-less. Useful? I would much rather be a four-legged goat than a two-legged stork on the trail.
I find three legs are plenty. This also has the advantage of leaving one arm and hand free for taking photos, identifying unfamiliar trees, grabbing handy trees in emergencies, slapping obnoxious bugs, greeting friendly hikers, eating GORP ....
Weary
leeki pole
05-18-2007, 11:35
I find three legs are plenty. This also has the advantage of leaving one arm and hand free for taking photos, identifying unfamiliar trees, grabbing handy trees in emergencies, slapping obnoxious bugs, greeting friendly hikers, eating GORP ....
Weary
and the infamous umbrella when drenched by the rain:) concur, weary!
saimyoji
05-18-2007, 11:47
Useful when:...-cuddling
Explain? :-?
Swiss Roll
05-18-2007, 11:54
I find three legs are plenty. This also has the advantage of leaving one arm and hand free for taking photos, identifying unfamiliar trees, grabbing handy trees in emergencies, slapping obnoxious bugs, greeting friendly hikers, eating GORP ....
Weary
Good points, Weary, but I like the symmetrical motion of having a pole in each hand. Besides, all the tripods in nature haven't been treated very well by Mr. Darwin's hypothesis.;)
NICKTHEGREEK
05-18-2007, 12:19
Explain? :-?
Rumor has it that they can provide that extra, but absolutely necessary bit of traction necessary for "cuddling" on satin sheets.
Footslogger
05-18-2007, 12:27
Rumor has it that they can provide that extra, but absolutely necessary bit of traction necessary for "cuddling" on satin sheets.
=================================
Is that with or without the rubber tips ???
'Slogger
Brrrb Oregon
05-18-2007, 12:40
Rumor has it that they can provide that extra, but absolutely necessary bit of traction necessary for "cuddling" on satin sheets.
Traction? I thought dirty and sweaty was traction enough on any surface.
I recently decided to switch to adjustable 6.4 oz (per pair) carbon fiber poles. Prior to making the switch, I began using the old Leki Super Makalu Cor-Tec's (used for almost 4 years) without the wrist straps. This method makes any pole so much easier to use in a natural motion that I'm sorry I ever used the straps to begin with. I couldn't picture being without poles on any hike.
Brrrb Oregon
05-18-2007, 12:45
Although I am not qualified to speak for "everyone," I personally use hiking poles, as does my wife, our son, and my hiking partner and his boys.
Useful, you ask? Why do so many people use them if they weren't?:-?
What kind of poles did they get for the boys? Do these come in kids' sizes?
My kids both love to hike with at least one stick, so I'm sure if we get these things that they'll want some, too.
floyd242
05-18-2007, 13:01
What kind of poles did they get for the boys? Do these come in kids' sizes?
My kids both love to hike with at least one stick, so I'm sure if we get these things that they'll want some, too.
Yeah they make Leki Jr's they're relatively cheap too.
tekiechick
05-18-2007, 13:08
I've started using them and find them extremely helpful. They help me balance in tough terrain, assist on ups and downs, I move branches with them, remove spiderwebs, etc. At first, I thought they'd just get in the way and be nothing more than extra weight. I've since gotten used to having something in my hand (didn't take long) and they are now more of an extension. I call them my bionic arms. :)
My husband and father-in-law, however, have been section-hikers for years and don't use them. In fact, they both look at me (and my poles) suspiciously - naysaying skeptics that they are.
BigwaveDave
05-18-2007, 14:19
Not everyone. I prefer my trusty hiking staff thats been with me for 10 years. It works for me and I keep one hand free. It didn't cost anything as it was laying on the a trail that a fire crew had cleared.
What kind of poles did they get for the boys? Do these come in kids' sizes?
My kids both love to hike with at least one stick, so I'm sure if we get these things that they'll want some, too.
The boys got their first set of poles when they were around 11. Their father got them "regular" Lekis', which they were able to adequately adjust to their height. They are now 15 and the poles are still working for them.
I don't think the weight of a regular pair vs. a junior pair is significant enough to buy the juniors. However, if your kids are new to hiking and may not stick with it or they are prone to losing stuff or breaking stuff, then you may want to go with the juniors. YMMV.
Poles for kids: while REI and Leki make Jr. versions, just buy them adult ones in this case. They don't weigh much more, and you will get years out of them.
The cheapie poles at Walmart? Ford needed a new pair so I bought him a set for $20. And they have survived so far, even with him using them as swords in camp. So yeah, for $20 you can't go wrong.
One thing to watch though: if you coastal hike, always, always!, wash your poles after the trip. I forgot after the last coastal trip...and well, my old REI poles? They are pitted now with corrosion. Lesson learned. They were old to start off with, so no issue. But it would have sucked for my new Leki's to get trashed!
Forgot to add, if you also snowshoe, they are dual purpose. My son, Ford, had trekking poles at age 6 due to the snowshoeing.
In the years since then, he trips a lot less when he has poles when we hike. He somehow gets his feet tangled up when walking.
tekiechick
05-18-2007, 18:35
Useful when:
-fording streams
-setting up tents
-scaring away bears
-going up hills (adds an extra gear)
-going down hills (saves your knees)
-impressing the ladies
-pole vaulting
-marking an ultimate frisbee field
-cuddling
-fighting the persians (or spartans)
-cooking
-splinting a broken limb
-making a stretcher
Cuddling? LOL!
Good points, Weary, but I like the symmetrical motion of having a pole in each hand. Besides, all the tripods in nature haven't been treated very well by Mr. Darwin's hypothesis.;)
That's because two legs are all us "higher" creatures really need. Somehow, however, before the invention of milking machines, three-legged stools did evolve as the stool of choice for dairy farmers.
The reason, I suspect, is pretty obvious. In the rough floors of 19th century barns, three legs never wobbled. Those who walk only on smooth trails will certainly benefit from four poles. Us thinking folks that walk rough trails like the AT, will usually find three legged walking preferable. :-?
Weary
cimmeronranch
05-18-2007, 22:51
I use a cheap $25 pair of Swiss poles and they have held up and performed just as well as all of the Lekis I see. Concerning straps.... There have been a couple of times I would have been climbing down a steep incline to recover a pole if it wasn't for the straps.(or waving goodbye to it).
Useful when:
-fording streams
-setting up tents
-scaring away bears
-going up hills (adds an extra gear)
-going down hills (saves your knees)
-impressing the ladies
-pole vaulting
-marking an ultimate frisbee field
-cuddling
-fighting the persians (or spartans)
-cooking
-splinting a broken limb
-making a stretcher
Could you elaborate on the proper method for using your poles for " Impressing the ladies"
I believe the above would be in reference to not just one instance but the culmination of all the uses with emphasis on fighting the Spartans (or persians).
I personally am working on selling my soul or my left nut so I can afford the Komperdell C3's or I might get the Gossamer Gear Lighttrek's.
On guard! (insert swashbuckling here<=)
Lone Wolf
05-19-2007, 00:52
Does everyone use trekking poles or are folks still walking without? Useful?
Rob
never have, never will
fiddlehead
05-19-2007, 01:04
Wow, I find it hard to believe that no one was anti pole on this thread, especially as the original post asked for pros and cons.
I have tried them and they are something that gets in my way. I will admit, they are nice for setting up my tarp tent and fording high water streams and rivers. But I can't hike with them, they get in my way, are a crutch i don't need and slow me down and they make my hands cold. I prefer to walk fast and trot downhills, (the technique that i use i have posted on whiteblaze before) I have excellent balance without them and as soon as i try to use them (i've tried more than once) i tend to lose my natural balance instincts and rely on the poles. I have also fallen and had the pole narrowly miss my face. I do run some ultra's now and then and out of the 550 runners in the last race i was in, one 65 year old used hiking poles for the race. (he finished but was near the end) If nothing else that tells me that they slow you down. I know speed is not a concern out there for many, but crutches are something i am not old enough to want in my life.
Out of all the triple-crowners i've hiked with, 3 use poles and 4 don't and 2 use them sometimes.
i like to do things with my hands while walking like: get my water bottle, camera, map, adjust my straps (i change the height of the pack on my back many times thru-out a typical day), I like to carry a camera sometimes especially when i am filming video, you never know when an elk or moose is going to be close and I like to be prepared. (or grizzly) How many hikers that use poles have a video shot of a grizzly bear in action, on the trail!
Like my buddy Ramblin, always says about poles: "make something, and they'll buy it"
I thru hiked last year (2006) and found almost everyone using trekking poles..maybe 90 % plus?
As for me..there is NO WAY I would do the trail with out them.
Trekking poles help support, give balance, and are helpful crossing streams. On some tents (like tarp tents) they can double as poles.
David
Not strictly necessary, but mostly useful, IMO. These days I prefer to hike with them rather than without. On certain terrain I find them less useful: on flat, smooth sections of trail (where I can easily do without them) or on extremely steep sections (e.g Lehigh Gap), where I want my hands free. No point spending big bucks. I use a $50 pair of generic Lekis from Campmor.
buckowens
05-19-2007, 10:38
I am not naturally coordinated and have found that the poles really help me stay balanced. There is a learning curve in using them, but I really like them. My daughter has a set of Leki Jr's that are just right (9 years old).
=================================
Is that with or without the rubber tips ???
'Slogger
LOLOL That is toooo funny.....
Alrighty... another newb question. What exactly are the benefits of the $150 poles compared to the $10 swiss army ones you can find at walmart? I know you get what you pay for, but what exactly would I be getting?
I don't know about other companies, but you'd be getting customer service that rivals any other on the planet from Leki. A friend of mine took his to the Leki vendor at trail days a couple of years ago. The bottom section was bent at nearly a 90 degree angle. They replaced $75 dollars worth of parts and all the labor, free. They also cleaned and refurbished mine, free. They do this all the time. One breaks while on the trail, call them, and they mail you a new one, free.
Course, a pair at Walmart for 10 bucks and you can afford pair after pair when they break. I do like the convenience of shortening them and stowing them on my pack when not in use. I don't know if you can get that with the Walmart ones.
I think I paid about $80 for my Leki poles.
max patch
05-19-2007, 12:03
Not necessary.
Use a wide tipped bamboo pole or a staff from the woods to get the tripod effect.
Bad for the trail.
Bad for the pocketbook.
Alrighty... another newb question. What exactly are the benefits of the $150 poles compared to the $10 swiss army ones you can find at walmart? I know you get what you pay for, but what exactly would I be getting?
I'd never (again) pay that much for aluminum poles, so you'd be getting carbon fiber poles weighing between 2.9 and 3.2 ounces each. It's a bit difficult to imagine if you haven't held one, but consider over a stretch of many miles the difference in effort involved in both using the poles and also the vast improvement and ease they give to hiking.
I'd never (again) pay that much for aluminum poles, so you'd be getting carbon fiber poles weighing between 2.9 and 3.2 ounces each. It's a bit difficult to imagine if you haven't held one, but consider over a stretch of many miles the difference in effort involved in both using the poles and also the vast improvement and ease they give to hiking.
Can CF poles be collapsed and strapped to a pack when not in use?
Can CF poles be collapsed and strapped to a pack when not in use?
Yes. One of the best ultra lightweight examples is Titanium Goat. They just changed from a ferruled two piece to a new adjustable due out this week. There are other, somewhat heavier models in other brands.
http://www.titaniumgoat.com/poles.html
Yes. One of the best ultra lightweight examples is Titanium Goat. They just changed from a ferruled two piece to a new adjustable due out this week. There are other, somewhat heavier models in other brands.
http://www.titaniumgoat.com/poles.html
Cool, thanks for the link.
I havent used them yet in my 30 years of hiking but will probably start using them when i get older and need them
gordon larson
05-23-2007, 23:17
Been happy using two poles for balance. Get in the way at times--but Backpacker magazine said they are worth maybe 30% of relief of stress on your legs, so they're not just for balance. A cheap source with or without straps and usually with the nice grips are ski poles. Again, recommended in Backpacker magazine and I've got lots of pairs to loan out when I take kids on trips. Those who think they don't want them are usually asking if they can "borrow" them from someone who is using them--and it's hard to get them to return them!
But it does depend on the kind of hike. AND, if you're flying to and from your trail, ski poles don't telescope--so you have to sweet talk the flight attendants to put them in the storage areas onboard. Or wrap 'em and check 'em in as luggage.
FahzhahPopsicle
"You can be my brother without being my twin."
minnesotasmith
05-23-2007, 23:45
Used one (the same one) the whole way on my 2006 thruhike. My reasons for my preference for a staff over poles:
1) Cheap; just takes time and thought to get one.
2) Staves have mass, making them far more useful both for knocking down light brush (swing like a baseball bat) and convincing menacing loose dogs you're not dinner after all (latter situation came up repeatedly during my thruhike).
3) Staves can be made longer than poles come. I was able on more than one occasion to walk with steady step across a log crossing a rapid stream, BC my staff could reach either shore or objects in the stream (rocks, logs) when people equipped only with trekking poles could not. A specific example, at Antietam Creek the day after the flood of June 23rd, 2006, multiple hikers found themselves forced to ford a raging creek when they could not unaided cross the log with good footing I walked across.
4) Less noise, since they don't "click" on rocks or pavement the same loud way poles do. I liked the more natural experience sound-wise.
5) They're more traditional in appearance, making the owner look more like a hiker to tourons and townies. No one along the way ever asked me if I was a lost skier.
I could keep going, but suffice it to say, that after much deliberation and hiking, I use a hiking staff as part of hiking, and intend to continue doing so.
minnesotasmith
05-23-2007, 23:50
But a critical one:
6) As the terrain changes slope, I can instantly move my hand up and down the length of the staff to adjust. A pole is a PITA to constantly change length, which would be necessary to keep one's arm at the most ergonomic angle. So, my arm stays where it needs to at every step, while pole-users are apparently stuck with inappropriate arm angles in varying terrain.
Poor pole-people. They ought to see the light and upgrade to hiking staves. :D
fiddlehead
05-23-2007, 23:58
Poor pole-people. They ought to see the light and upgrade to hiking staves. :D
Or just throw them away and learn real freedom! (and warm hands)
Like most things, I have a love/hate relationship with my poles. My knees love them going downhill. My hands hate them in a cold wind until they remember to put on the gloves. My tempo loves them over even ground. My hands hate them when they would rather be grabbing handholds going up or down interesting terrain. My psyche loves having a ready weapon for spearing shelter varmints or warding off the bear scare tent nightmares. And on it goes, but on balance I will keep my poles.
mweinstone
05-24-2007, 07:13
ms is a staff. ha! ha! check the new crutch by black diamond everyone. its what i would use if i were stupid.
:( Irritatingly noisy and cumbersome when:
- taking a quick picture of wildlife
- grabbing a snack on the run
- grabbing a drink on the run
- peeing/relieving oneself
- sneaking up on that cute guy ahead
:( Simply unneccessary or damaging to the trail when:
- walking on rocky surfaces
- walking on flat surfaces
- walking on rolling hills
- walking on fragile terrain
I know that 95% or more of thrus use trekking poles, but I found that I resented mine much more often than I appreciated them. The guy at Neels Gap told me I was the first person he was aware of to ever send home trekking poles. Oh well. It's an individual call and I just couldn't stand how annoying they were.
Good luck with your decision, Laura/1Pint
Useful when:
-fording streams
-setting up tents
-scaring away bears
-going up hills (adds an extra gear)
-going down hills (saves your knees)
-impressing the ladies
-pole vaulting
-marking an ultimate frisbee field
-cuddling
-fighting the persians (or spartans)
-cooking
-splinting a broken limb
-making a stretcher
minnesotasmith
05-24-2007, 22:46
Or just throw them away and learn real freedom! (and warm hands)
Endangering the knees when going on steep downhills
Having to go into streams someone who brought a staff could waltz over on a fallen log
Getting chewed on by dogs a savvy staff-wielder could ward off
Nah. A decent staves + the AT = a good combination.
fiddlehead
05-25-2007, 00:53
I had an old basketball injury that used to make me think i couldn't hike.
Now, after a few thru-hikes, my knees are strong enough that i can now ski the mogul fields on Devils Fiddle at Killington! Hiking has made them that way. I tried a staff on my first thru-hike and thought it was a great thing, until i lost it and started hiking without it. I believe it's best to try both ways (thoroughly) and then make your decision.
Keep an open mind!
Here's a quote I saw in a bar here last week:
"Believe Nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." Buddha
I think that's some pretty dam good advice!