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  1. #1
    Registered User
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    01-16-2014
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    Camp Hill, PA
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    Default Hiking pole poll....

    Do you prefer

    1 pole

    2 poles

    or no poles?

  2. #2

    Default

    Two-- my tent makes use of them.
    "We can no longer live as rats. We know too much." -- Nicodemus

  3. #3
    Registered User The Old Boot's Avatar
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    03-08-2011
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    Near North, Ontario
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    Default

    Two, using only one means that I end up switching hands often to keep a hand from swelling in the heat.

    Two because it allows a rhythmic walking speed and also allows me to brace well on steep downhills.

    When I hiked with a dog on a leash I used only one because I needed the other hand for the leash. Otherwise, two works better than one.

  4. #4
    Registered User
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    10-10-2009
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    valley forge PA
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    Default Hiking pole poll....

    Two. Twice as much fun. Really though you can use both hands to propel you forward or stop you from falling left and right. Imagine your disappointment when you are falling left with only one pole in your right hand.

  5. #5
    Registered User
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    08-08-2012
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    Default

    Used to use 1 now 2. I did like the free hand and would alternate them as I hiked. I now almost always go with 2 however as it is more stable and also does seem to help once you get used to it. On my thru it a sort of became too used to it and found it awkward to use no poles even in towns)


    Quote Originally Posted by tf bear View Post
    ...Imagine your disappointment when you are falling left with only one pole in your right hand.
    I have saved myself in this situation with one pole, so perhaps not as good it can still be done.

  6. #6

    Default

    One pole. I like having one hand free. I mostly use the pole for clearing trail and for balance when crossing creeks or blowdowns.

  7. #7

    Default

    Two poles.
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
    Richard Ewell, CSA General


  8. #8
    Registered User
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    05-21-2010
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    Seminole, Fl
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    Default

    Before age 40, no poles. After age 40, one pole. After age 55, two poles. "A man has got to know his limitations", Dirty Harry, circa 1973.
    Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other.
    —M. C. Richards

  9. #9
    T-Rx T-Rx's Avatar
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    02-18-2012
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    Cocoa Beach, Fla.
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    Default

    Two. Never leave home without them.

  10. #10
    Registered User
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    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
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    71
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    4,907

    Default

    One. I also like a free hand.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  11. #11
    Registered User LIhikers's Avatar
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    08-01-2004
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    Long Island, New York
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    Default

    2, they hold up me and my tent.

  12. #12
    Section Hiker
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    01-26-2013
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    California
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    I started with only 1 but recognized I needed to get used to 2. This felt weird, so I went to a fairly level local park to practice the rhythm of using them. I honestly think with one, you could do yourself more harm than good because you are not getting the full benefit out of preserving your knees/hips/ankles. Plus, they are just useful for a lot of other things, like hanging up a wet shirt or socks...


    "Your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.
    "


  13. #13
    Registered User Old Hiker's Avatar
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    07-10-2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by slbirdnerd View Post
    I started with only 1 but recognized I needed to get used to 2. This felt weird, so I went to a fairly level local park to practice the rhythm of using them. I honestly think with one, you could do yourself more harm than good because you are not getting the full benefit out of preserving your knees/hips/ankles. Plus, they are just useful for a lot of other things, like hanging up a wet shirt or socks...
    This.

    I don't use trekking poles, but a rake handle with a metal tipped end and a natural stick I found at the base of a steep uphill, RIGHT when I was trying to decide if I needed to use 2 poles. I can drop them in a heartbeat if needed, where the straps on trekking poles seem to get in the way. Of course, I don't want to count the times I've leaned them against something, only to have them slither downhill for a few dozen yards.

    I just don't trust 210 pounds of elderly flab to thin tubes of aluminum.
    Old Hiker
    AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
    AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
    Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
    Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?

  14. #14
    Garlic
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    Depends on the trail. All of the above. Be flexible.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  15. #15
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    10-22-2002
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    Winston-Salem, NC
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    Two. I'm old and decrepit. Plus they hold up my tent.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  16. #16
    Registered User seminoles's Avatar
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    06-03-2009
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    Panama City, Florida
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    One, I also need a hand free.

  17. #17
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    08-30-2006
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    Bozeman, MT
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    Default

    None.

    I use a walking cane, no poles for me.

  18. #18
    Registered User
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    05-03-2005
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    Rockingham VT and Boston, MA
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    Two. Definitely save the knees going down hill and hold up my lightheart. I think they do slow the hiking down so if i was under 40 I wouldn't (and didn't have them) Did they exist then? Maybe if I had them then I would still have cartilage in my knees.
    Everything is in Walking Distance

  19. #19
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    09-03-2002
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    Minneapolis
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    Quote Originally Posted by bamboo bob View Post
    Two. Definitely save the knees going down hill and hold up my lightheart. I think they do slow the hiking down so if i was under 40 I wouldn't (and didn't have them) Did they exist then? Maybe if I had them then I would still have cartilage in my knees.
    I could've written this, except that I have a Lunar Solo and a zPacks Hexamid that need a pole.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  20. #20
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Birmingham, AL
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    Default

    One

    I too like to keep one hand free... for one thing it allows me to keep one hand in my pocket to warm it up on chilly days without having to take along a pair of gloves... just alternate hands to keep them both warm.

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