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  1. #21

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    They feel stupid on flat ground, good for uphill , downhill, wet rocks, water crossings, irregular rocky footing where you have to stretch out to step across gaps, etc.
    Mine have saved my many times.
    Highly individual.
    Some cant stand them. Some ridicule them.

    My experience is, they help you hike faster often, because you are less concerned with falling due to lack of balance.

  2. #22
    Registered User Just Bill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryce McCormick View Post
    I'm planning an ultralight thru hike for 2016. My base pack weight right now is about 15lbs. I've managed to acquire everything I need but I'm on a pretty tight budget and would rather save the money. I'm in good shape (170lbs, 33 years old) and I'd like to hike the trail a bit faster than usual (don't know if that matters). I have a fair amount of hiking experience but only over long weekends. I've never used them before and am not opposed to getting them, but I'd like some perspective from both camps if possible. Thanks.
    I think you already answered your own question.

    You can always pick up a stick for a bad section or a ford.

    But- http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-House...2?N=5yc1vZcb2s
    Go cut the handle off a broom and try them out for a long weekend. I believe the Depot even has an isle full of various tapes to wrap said broomstick with fer some grip. You can even go to the plumbin isle and get some foam pipe wrap if you want em nice and cushy.

    Personally, I think they take away from my hike and increase my fatigue.
    Others report the polar opposite.

    Only one sure way to find out.

  3. #23

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    They may have literally saved my life during my AT hike. I slid on ice one day toward a very serious precipice. I jammed the poles into the ground right at the very lip and they just barely stopped me. I don't think I would have survived if not for my poles. I also personally think they help on uphills, downhills and uneven terrain. I wouldn't hike without them.

  4. #24
    Registered User Grampie's Avatar
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    I serve as a caretaker, each summer at the cabin on Upper Goose Pond. The cabin is 1500+ miles from Springer. 90% of the thru-hikers who stop at UGP are useing hiking poles. Experience is the best teacher.
    Grampie-N->2001

  5. #25
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    I didn't think they were necessary until I tried them on a week hike on the PCT. Now they're part of my essentials gear. Very glad, many times for many reasons, I had the on my AT thru hike.

  6. #26
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    A less exciting benefit of poles, but the reason I tend to bring poles even if it's flat terrain, is less swelling in the hands. Having the poles to hold and having your hands elevated to hip level tends to eliminate uncomfortable hand swelling when you walk all day.

  7. #27

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    I have thru-hiked the AT three times and all three times i did it without the use of treking poles, i stopped using poles when i was 14 to me treking poles is like training wheels sooner or later you have to take them off.

    so NO treking poles is not important on a thru-hike.

  8. #28

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    I'm no thru-hiker, merely a weekend warrior, 2 or 3 night trips. I don't have poles yet as I am still debating it with myself. However, I always spend the first few miles looking for a good walking stick! It usually stays with me throughout the weekend. Anyone else do this or merely carry a single pole or staff? It definitely helps me going downhill on a technical trail.

  9. #29
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    Like others have said ....it depends. That's pretty much the answer to all backpacking gear questions.

    I find they get in the way on narrow overgrown trails, flats, and roadwalks. On wider trails, rocky trails, and steep trails (especially descents) they are a lifesaver. And a KNEEsaver.

    I end up carrying them half the time and using them the other half of the time. Plus I need them for my tent.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by VTATHiker View Post
    A less exciting benefit of poles, but the reason I tend to bring poles even if it's flat terrain, is less swelling in the hands. Having the poles to hold and having your hands elevated to hip level tends to eliminate uncomfortable hand swelling when you walk all day.
    I was going to post the same benefit, but decided to read all posts first to see if anyone else already said this. My hands swell if I hike without poles for much more than 10 miles. Not sure if this is an indicator of anything. However, they never swell if I use poles.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wülfgang View Post
    Like others have said ....it depends. That's pretty much the answer to all backpacking gear questions.

    I find they get in the way on narrow overgrown trails, flats, and roadwalks. On wider trails, rocky trails, and steep trails (especially descents) they are a lifesaver. And a KNEEsaver.

    I end up carrying them half the time and using them the other half of the time. Plus I need them for my tent.
    If I expect a lengthy (more than a couple of miles) roadwalk, I carry the rubber tips for my poles, because I find that in trail runners, I welcome them on roadwalks as well. Otherwise, my feet swell from the beating they take on the pavement in lightweight trail runners. Poles take a lot of the impact.

    I stow them for rock scrambles, really dense brush, or places where I need my ice axe. Otherwise, I'm pretty much using them whenever I hike.

    And take what I say with a grain of salt, since I'm clueless about long distance hiking. I'm a weekender and section hiker with knees that aren't as young as they used to be.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  12. #32
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    Two poles were my going up and down helping hands on Mt. Washington...

  13. #33
    Registered User foodbag's Avatar
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    They're a real knee saver and might help prevent young knees from becoming old knees before their time.
    Long-distance aspirations with short-distance feet.... :jump

  14. #34
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    As many posts have shown the uses are many and varied. One not mentioned and likely not an issue for you (yet) is balance. As one ages the ability to maintain excellent balance declines. The poles save us older folks, even ones like myself who never used poles when I was young and have well over 10,000 miles of hiking in, from countless falls and slips. I also have another age issue now that the poles help with. My eyes have gotten to the point where they do not change focus well (this is the bifocal, trifocal thing) and I just do not see the little tiny rolly rocks like I used to. I step on them a lot now and they make your feel slip and the poles help tremendously in recovering balance, protecting ankles which are starting to roll from the rock, and falling. In my 5 hour hike this morning this kind of slip happened to me several times.

    While I am pretty confident that every older hiker should be using them there are certainly a lot of younger folks who can get away with not (like I did). But there is a price to pay for not using them and almost all of those who do not will pay a price for it. But then again I told my kids that they should take note of how well their parents could hear and think about that when they are cranking up the music. That advise didn't work for me or for my parents.

  15. #35

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    On the trail now 273miles, first few days I didn't have poles. Then my brain kicked in and said 4 points of contact is better than 2. If your young and dumb don't use them, if you want to keep walking later on in life use them. Mostly it's people who don't know how to properly use them that say they slow u down or are a pain. A few days of proper usage and any one can be trucking up and down with less effort and more balance.

  16. #36

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    I got a pair at Walxxxx for $17. Not the lightest but they have lasted 2 years so far. I don't hike without them

  17. #37
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    Poles will save your ass if you trip or take a bad step..... not to mention they help you knees a bit on the downhills.

  18. #38

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    You don't really need two, they can be a bit of a handful until you learn the arachnid walk.

    One will often save you from a fall. It doesn't need to be chrome-moly-titanium-graphite-neodynium-$$$ composite. There's nothing wrong with wood.

  19. #39

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    Thanks for the feedback.

    I carried my poles on a lot of the flat stretches down south but got good at switching over to them whenever ascending and descending. I don't know how folks do PA without poles.

  20. #40
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    I have several bulging discs in my back which cause me quite a bit of pain. Using walking sticks has saved my ability to get out on the trail. When used correctly they greatly relieve the strain on my lower back.

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