View Full Version : Poles vs. walking stick(s) (%)?
Morpheus
03-24-2008, 22:05
I've happily hiked hundreds of miles with my single, homemade, padded, strapped, spiked, Sassafras walking stick. Feeling somewhat remedial, I recently bought Leki Super Makalu's.
Then my reliable (wooden) old friend kept laying a guilt trip on me. Yes it's a magical talking/ walking stick. I got tired of the nagging, so today I took the Leki's back for a refund and will hike Springer to Tray Gap with "Old faithful" in April. By the way, the Leki's never said a word.
I'm curious how many hikers (%) are still satisfied with sticks? Maybe somebody in Georgia observing the large, constant migration on the AT has a clue.
I'm 100% satisfied with my entry level Lekis. Would probably be satisfied with anything else. I used a single wooden staff all through the '80s and '90s. Not needed? What really is? I find them useful to take the impact off of my old arthritic knees, help me set up a tarp or prop up the eaves on my HH hammock tarp for better views. HYOH, and I mean that. :)
i retired my faithful old (cut in 1976) elm staff about a year ago. it was getting short from wear. i replaced it with an oak sapling, once again about 6' long. i use it mostly for easing the bumps down hills, propping up a corner of a tarp, or as a prop for walking across footlogs. but what i really like is its character, or potential for it. my old staff was covered with carving, nicks and scratches, and the handle was polished with sweat and blisters. the new one will get that way... there's just something warm and still alive about a wooden staff that i don't find in a 'set of poles'.
Morpheus
03-24-2008, 22:46
I thoroughly agree. I've always enjoyed seeing how other hiker's have customized their staffs with carvings or artwork that gives some individual character. I do need a staff or poles for the down-hills to save my knees. I also agree on HYOH. I'm just surprised how many pole hikers there are now compared to 10 years ago.
Philippe
03-24-2008, 22:54
I'm not sure that a comparison can be made here. I always thought that it was best to hike with my hands empty. When I retired I was given a pair of Leki Super Makalus along with some other nice gifts. I didn't do anything with them for several months. Then a friend told me that they made a big difference with his knees. I have a tricky knee and have had a hip replacement, so I was interested. He was right. They make a big difference. They have no character other than their function. They would never replace something with the memories of you hand made sassafras staff or Seeker's elm. If your joints don't need the assistance, I'd say go with what you have. My poles don't say anything either, but my knees clearly say thank you. Happy hiking.
CocamoJoe
03-24-2008, 23:20
What does Lone Wolf think of Leki's?:)
If you get a couple of strong Poles to carry your gear, you won't need hiking sticks. :p
Just replaced my ol' hiking staff with another one recently. Sure do hope the new hicory staff 'speaks' to me as well as my old one did. Hiking poles just look to cold and clinical to me!
Hikes in Rain
03-25-2008, 20:34
Recently replaced my beloved, faithful old Laural hiking staff. It developed a crack after saving my sorry butt from a bad fall, and I couldn't trust it any more. You could hear the weakness when you tapped it on the ground, and I retired it before it could break. Beloved child bride got me a pair of Leki Ultralite Longs, which far surpass the old stick in performance.
I leaned the old stick against the At map hanging in the library. When asked why, I replied that I didn't want it to feel abandoned, that if it was beside the map it might feel it was just waiting for the next hike.
"Oh, old sticks have feelings?"
"Well, they do have memories", I replied.
She surprised me by mounting the stick on a beautiful hardwood display plaque, hanging on the library wall. I love my child bride.
Lone Wolf
03-25-2008, 20:40
I've happily hiked hundreds of miles with my single, homemade, padded, strapped, spiked, Sassafras walking stick. Feeling somewhat remedial, I recently bought Leki Super Makalu's.
Then my reliable (wooden) old friend kept laying a guilt trip on me. Yes it's a magical talking/ walking stick. I got tired of the nagging, so today I took the Leki's back for a refund and will hike Springer to Tray Gap with "Old faithful" in April. By the way, the Leki's never said a word.
I'm curious how many hikers (%) are still satisfied with sticks? Maybe somebody in Georgia observing the large, constant migration on the AT has a clue.
you made a good decision. don't succumb to marketing BS. leki schmeki. i've never used a stick, pole, staff, etc. take your old faithful
aww, that hurts LW ... i kinda the new age BS the aluminum poles give ... saved me from breaking an ankle a few times ... tho my $20 swiss army with rubber boots have lastest me 2 years with no bends or faults ... i'm not really bought into these high class "shock absorbent" poles ... and thats 240+ weighin in on them badboys ... properly adjusted height and you won't risk bending um ...
I've tried Staffs ... i felt like moses at times .... eh, i think its all down to personal preference ...
blah, no editing ... above reads " i kinda like the new age BS " .. =]
I've hiked with both. The staff, for me carved from an oak sapling "harvested" in Tesnatee Gap, GA has more soul, but I've used poles now for the last 8 long distance hikes or so.
Pole advantages: weight and use with both arms, so its probably better for the knees. Of course using two sticks would satisfy the second advantage.
Some tents are designed for use of hiking poles in their set-up; this would be trickier or impossible with a staff for many of those tents. Of course, this depends on the tent or tarp or hammock.
I don't find the shock absorbing feature of the poles to be of much use, while a bit more useful; I tend to not vary the length of the poles much either.
______________________________
Staff advantages: One big advantage a 5 or 6 foot staff has is in balance support while doing stream crossings. Particularly when you are walking across a fallen log that is about 3 or 4 feet above the stream, you need a long stick to put into stream to provide balance support; the hiking poles usually aren't long enough in such situations. This also can apply sometime for boulder hopping across a stream as well.
I opted for the non-shock absorbing Komperdell C3s and like joel137 tend not to want to bother shortening the length for uphills and lengthening them for downhills. I found a suitable length that works fine in both situations. At 14 oz. for the pair, 7 oz. in each hand feels like you're carrying air. Much lighter and less wear and tear on the arms than one or two wooden staffs. ;)
hopefulhiker
03-26-2008, 21:46
Has anyone used actual ski poles to hike wth? Are they strong enough?
Thrasher
03-26-2008, 22:50
I just ordered some leki non shock absorbing poles last night for my wife and I. I like the idea of using both hands, and my nice hiking stick/staff was always giving me a blister on my hand from rubbing on it. I'm hoping it will help with my knee that has been hurting lately on my hikes. I've gotten up in the morning and have stumbled around just trying to walk because my knee has been so sore the next morning. I might even get a tarp/tent to pitch with my poles. I'm keeping my stick though, I'll continue to use it sometimes on shorter hikes and at a camp that I volunteer at every year.
My old "stick" is standing in the corner of my home office as a memorial/reminder of my early years of backpacking. I'm going with my son to Shining Rock Wilderness the first weekend in April and will take it along and offer it to him. It will be good for it to get it out of the house and stretch its legs! :D
SunnyWalker
04-03-2008, 00:31
I have used both although my wood staff is actually lighter than the swiss gear hiking staffs I used for a week last summer on AT. there are hundreds of sites on the net about this but here are two fun ones:
- www.earth01.com/equipment/hikingstaff.htm
- inquiry.net/outdoor/skills/b-p/staff.htm
-and my favorite is the Trail-stik. It seems that it would be real good at gently nudging dogs away from ones legs. It can be viewed at: trailgeartradingpost.com/ Empty it is 13.9 oz. Empty cuz its made from anodized alumimun and one can put survival stuff in it1 Neat huh?!? I liked the Swiss gear and thus hiking sticks but they are SO lightweight that they were not good for the dog bounding up the trail. Now I don't bean these dogs at all, would not want to hurt them-but I gently nudge them away from my legs.
shelterbuilder
04-03-2008, 20:41
Definitely a wooden staff. Lots of memories with the one I have. I only hike with one - that leaves the other hand free to hold the dog's leash! :D
go with what makes you happy!
Does anyone know how the "anti-shock" thing works?
Panzer
Tennessee Viking
04-04-2008, 01:21
I used to be a pole hater. But after carrying a heavy pack, I finally understand.
Poles work great in keeping balance and increase push off.
I use a Leki Wanderfreund which is a cross between a pole and a cane. I'm surprised that I'm the only person who I've ever seen with one. The handle is superior.
I've happily hiked hundreds of miles with my single, homemade, padded, strapped, spiked, Sassafras walking stick. Feeling somewhat remedial, I recently bought Leki Super Makalu's.
Then my reliable (wooden) old friend kept laying a guilt trip on me. Yes it's a magical talking/ walking stick. I got tired of the nagging, so today I took the Leki's back for a refund and will hike Springer to Tray Gap with "Old faithful" in April. By the way, the Leki's never said a word.
I'm curious how many hikers (%) are still satisfied with sticks? Maybe somebody in Georgia observing the large, constant migration on the AT has a clue.I know a place where there are 8608 Leki Poles, and the vast majority talk, though most of us might not understand them. If any of you are into geo-caching here is where you can find them.
Lat 49° 37' 0N
Lon 21° 40' 0E
insider2185
04-04-2008, 16:32
Lat 49° 37' 0N
Lon 21° 40' 0E
Was curious so typed them into google...Is that in Poland or did I type that in wrong? Whats the story behind it?
le loupe
04-04-2008, 16:53
geo-caching is cool
but after reading Tinker talk about taking some of the strain of his body- I bought myself a trekking pole. My knees aren't old or arthritic but why make them that way
leeki pole
04-04-2008, 17:11
True to my trail name, I hike with one pole. Since I'm a dumb redneck, I couldn't pronounce it correctly, but it leaves the other hand free for a leash and an umbrella. The leash, I think is for my dog.
Morpheus
04-04-2008, 20:50
Panzer, the Leki "anti-shock" poles work by having a piece of elastomer plastic integrated as part of the connection between the two of the shaft pieces. In this particular model you adjust pole length by twist locking it in position which compresses the elastomer together and outwards against the inner wall of the upper shaft; thus snugging it. Even though it's compressed out, theres still more compress-ability/ shock absorption left.
It was used allot in some of the earlier versions of mountain bike front shocks. "RockShox" offered variable densities of their elastomer inserts to soften of stiffen the ride.
sheepdog
04-05-2008, 06:51
Has anyone used actual ski poles to hike wth? Are they strong enough?
I have used bamboo cross country ski poles for years. They are strong, light and cheap, $3 at goodwill. They have the charachter of wood and the knee/ankle saving of two poles. No voices though....I said I don't hear the voices....stop it, both of you......aaaagh!!
Was curious so typed them into google...Is that in Poland or did I type that in wrong? Whats the story behind it?
Click here (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/PL/40/Leki.html)
I use a Leki Wanderfreund which is a cross between a pole and a cane. I'm surprised that I'm the only person who I've ever seen with one. The handle is superior.
I've got one. I bought it when I was visiting my parents in NM a few years ago. The hiking around their house was steep enough that I wished I had a stick--and suitable pieces of wood are not just laying around all over the place the way they are in the East--so I went out and bought one. One of the things I liked about it was that it collapsed shorter than the other poles, so I can fit on the diagonal in a small suitcase. I like the cane-type handle, too.
These days, though, I go with two poles--Leki Makalus. They used to seem cold and soul-less, but after being dragged over enough rocks, and saving me from some pretty ugly falls, they've acquired so many nicks, dings, and bends in them that they're old friends now.
pure_mahem
04-07-2008, 02:04
I prefer the Hiking stick. One train of thought is besides it's normal trail role it always doubles as an efficient weapon for the would be attacking wild dog, odd rabid racoon, or god forbid evil person.
I know a place where there are 8608 Leki Poles, and the vast majority talk, though most of us might not understand them. If any of you are into geo-caching here is where you can find them.
Lat 49° 37' 0N
Lon 21° 40' 0E
Ok JAK you got a laugh out of me on that one. The best jokes are always a little subtle.
Mike
earlyriser26
04-07-2008, 06:32
For the first 30 years of hiking a carried my trusted walking stick (AKA broom handel). The last 10 years I've used hiking poles. Being old and very fat I need the support.
Use a single makalu from ~15 yrs ago (gear test). Like it on rocky downhills where I plant it and let my weigh fall in to the shock absorber. Definitely prefer the 'warmth' of a stick, but after this long I am beginning to hear the tinny soul of my leki...
Has anyone used actual ski poles to hike wth? Are they strong enough?
"Can-Do-Will-Do" grabbed a pair in a Pennsylvania shelter back in '99. He cut off most of the baskets and used them all the way to Katahdin. BTW, he started his section at Harper's Ferry so he did most all of it with those banged up poles.
whitefoot_hp
04-07-2008, 20:39
I've happily hiked hundreds of miles with my single, homemade, padded, strapped, spiked, Sassafras walking stick. Feeling somewhat remedial, I recently bought Leki Super Makalu's.
Then my reliable (wooden) old friend kept laying a guilt trip on me. Yes it's a magical talking/ walking stick. I got tired of the nagging, so today I took the Leki's back for a refund and will hike Springer to Tray Gap with "Old faithful" in April. By the way, the Leki's never said a word.
I'm curious how many hikers (%) are still satisfied with sticks? Maybe somebody in Georgia observing the large, constant migration on the AT has a clue.
basically the poles are lighter.
During my Shinning Rock Wilderness hike this past weekend and today, one of my brand new Komperdell C3s broke in half while we were practically bushwacking one of the area's more obscure trails. As soon as I got back and cleaned up, I hoofed it over to REI just a couple of hours ago, returned the C3s and got a pair of REI brand "Summit" (the name did it! :D ) aluminum polls, along with a $43 refund balance from the much more expensive C3 carbon fiber ones. The data sheet at REI states that the lightness of carbon fiber polls has made them very popular, but that they are much easier to break (as I just experienced). So I'll try out these aluminum ones (about 3 oz. heavier apiece) and see if they hold up better.
warren doyle
04-08-2008, 00:00
One $1 used ski pole bought at a thrift store is all I need.