Trekking pole straps.

[HDLV]

Do you keep them or lose them?

I own a pair of BD Alpine Cork poles, I know the proper way to use the straps but they are a pain to take on and off if you are switching between the two different grips. I quite honestly don't know if I'm sold on the lower grip (for uphills) anyway.

Dose anyone find the straps to be an advantage over long perods or did you ditch them?
At the moment I'm only using them on weekend trips (up to 40 miles).

[MuddyWaters]

I use them.

[Traveler]

The straps should be integral with the poles, your wrist should take some of the weight off your hand/grip, so ditching the straps would lessen the effectiveness of the poles when used over long periods of time. Also, having straps allows you to do things with your hands without having to drop the poles while walking like getting a camera, taking a drink, eating, climbing on steep rock, etc. Some technique is required for this so you don't trip yourself with the poles or allow them to get in the way, but like most things its easily mastered.

I use a different type of BD pole, but found I can set them at a certain length that is usable for climbing, descending, or flat ground without changing pole length or the overall grip area. The lower grip area may not be needed if you try to work the poles without using it, which would likely ease the wrist strap issue.

[Franco]

For me the strap is the only way to use poles efficiently (note :for me)
my poles don't have the extended lower grip so I just adjust them up or down as I walk by tilting the right pole up towards the left hand , adjust the flick lock with that left hand and then repeat for the other pole.

[VTATHiker]

I think I wouldn't bring poles without straps. They would just become tiresome to my forearms. Definitely can't imaging getting rid of straps - especially for long distances.

[HDLV]

Awesome. Thanks for the opinions, I was going to try a trip without them but will save myself the trouble of taking them off/on.

Straps for the win.

[peakbagger]

Lose them in once you get north of Glencliff. In rocky terrain don't use straps, if you take a slip on rocks, the pole will catch somewhere and if you have the strap on, your wrist and shoulder can get screwed up as the pole inevitably heads off in a different direction than your body.

[Slo-go'en]

I never use my straps - I really should remove them. As Peakbagger says, they can be dangerous here in NH and Maine. Plus I'm forever getting the ends stuck between something (roots, rocks) and wrenching my wrist if I use the straps.

[bemental]

I've seen the videos with proper strap use and support, but never found them to be anything but a pain. They rub on my arms, and don't provide me with the supportive, 'extension of the arm' that you would expect.

I only hike with one pole due to hiking with a dog, but even so I cut the strap off my pole.

I will note that I find on particularly rough terrain, after not using my pole for some time, my wrist gets a bit sore after a long day. Next day it's fine. I suspect this is along the same lines of sore muscles after not hiking for some time.

[Ron]

I would try them without the straps. I abandoned my straps years ago and I've never regretted it even on multi-hundred mile backpacks. I've gone down the path of how to correctly use straps and two poles as a system in hiking and for my style of hiking found it to be more hype than reality. Try it with and without poles and with both one and two poles, a lot of it depends on individual hiking style and conditions.

[10-K]

I mostly use my straps. In January I was hiking the Sheltowee Trace Trail and was climbing over a rock and dropped my pole in a crack, losing my pole to the fast flowing creek under the rock. I guess it's somewhere in the Cumberland River now.

[jbwood5]

Just as a side comment on hiking pole straps.: If you use Permethrin for tick protection, be sure to treat your straps. In Vermont, the only place I got a tick imbedded was under a hiking pole strap. Every other piece of clothing was treated, but I forgot about treating the straps.

[Odd Man Out]

I have basically the same poles (BD Alpine Ergo Corks). I too was undecided about the straps when I got them. I left them on with the intention of using them some times and non using them sometime during last summer's hike to see which I liked better.

I found that after a few days of going back and forth I was using them more and more as time went on and by the end of the six day hike, I was using them all the time. It is possible that having the straps there but not using them may have biased me against them, but I don't think so. I could arrange the straps so they were pretty much out of the way when not in use.

Also, I think the grips on my pole are a little small for me. I know that tennis rackets come in different grip diameters because they need to match your grip just right to get a good grip on it. It seems this should also be true for trekking poles but I've never seen them come in different grip sizes. I've wondered if there is some wrap I could put on my grips to adjust the size (any tennis players out there?). If my grips were a little bigger, I might like using them without the strap more, but at the size they are, using with straps seem better for me because you never really grip the pole when using the straps correctly (at least not very firmly).

As for straps being dangerous in rugged terrain, you always have the option of not using the straps, even if they are there when the circumstances dictate. In fact I was coming down the Dragon's Tooth scramble last summer and realized that my poles were really getting in the way. I should have put them away much sooner. Next time I will know. It's all part of the learning process.

Other advantages about straps is I find them useful for hanging my poles from branches when not in use and for picking up the poles when I drop them (which I seem to do every time I stop for a short break). I will say that the BD straps are very nice (compared to the el cheapo poles my wife has). Also they are chiral (that is left and right handed). There is a little tab to indicate which is left and which is right, but it's kind of hard to read after a few days of use. Someday I will make a more visible and permanent mark on the poles to indicate which is which. Until then, I just guess randomly but it seems I pick up the left pole with my right hand most of the time, which doesn't make sense. You'd think you would get it right half the time.

[Walkintom]

Having my straps on my poles has saved my bacon a couple of times when I stumbled going downhill. I'd never remove them.

[12trysomething]

I'm a user of the straps. I find they help me to "load" up the pole as opposed to just using my grip and wrists. There are certain occasions I opt not to use them, but they are in use greater than 90% of the time.

[Franco]

In spite of some of the comments above, it does depend a lot on how you use them.
For example there is no way they can rub against your arms if used correctly :
hiking-poles-technique-3.jpg
(photo from a BPL article)
used that way if they jam or you are about to fall the hand should slip out of the strap ( yes avoid the grip of death...)

[Another Kevin]

In spite of some of the comments above, it does depend a lot on how you use them.
For example there is no way they can rub against your arms if used correctly :
hiking-poles-technique-3.jpg
(photo from a BPL article)
used that way if they jam or you are about to fall the hand should slip out of the strap ( yes avoid the grip of death...)

I've taken a couple of pretty spectacular tumbles with my hands in the straps - gripping as shown in the picture, and my hands did indeed pull out. Although with one of the falls, I grabbed the left pole with my right hand as I was doing the "tuck and roll" number, so as to be ready to dig it in for a self-arrest if needed. If I had needed to do that, the result would doubtless have been a broken pole, which is better than a broken Kevin. Note that the loops are about twice the length they would be if you put your hands in the straps from above.

[lbbrown]

Try pacerpole.com

[Starchild]

I don't use them, and do not like them. I know how to use them, just they really limit how I use the poles as my use of the poles is very dynamic. I will sometimes grip the poles below the handle for steep climbing, will sometimes also palm the top at times, place both in one hand.

Also since I use carbon poles (as opposed to AL), I have found it needed to be able to let one go if it gets caught, carbon while very strong in compression is not nearly as strong in bending, and could easily break if it was attached to me.

[Migrating Bird]

I never use them for the reasons Slo-go'en and peakbagger have stated. I also never used straps downhill skiing as well as a ski patroller. Rocks, roots, mud, sticks can all trap the pole and throw you off balance. Without straps, I just let go and retrieve. I also do not use baskets (except in snow) either as they get stuck in between rocks and roots when pivoting forward. Not using straps, allows one to switch poles to one hand, throw the poles up/down a scramble, grab a water bottle or snack without thinking twice. Note: the vast majority of my hiking is in the Northeast where "groomed" trails rarely exist, your experience may vary.