Sticks
Why do you use sticks/poles/canes/whatever when hikeing? Aren't they a pain in the ass to carry and stuff, or do you only use them if you have a bum leg and still want to hike?
Poles will shift some of the exertion from your legs and hips to your upper body during climbs, and relieve knee stress on downhills.
If I forget mine, I'm bound to twist an ankle.
Sticks
I didn't use sticks when I was young but I wouldn't hike without them now. It's like having four wheel drive vs two wheel drive.
Not a pain to use at all, and for me they help to prevent some pain. I usually just carry them on flat trail, and going up hill they help a little to get up, but where they really help me is going down hill, where they really do help to take stress of my knees.
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
I hiked for 20+ years without them. Now I use them. They're not 100% necessary, but they do help. My legs and knees are fine -- it's not a matter of working around an injury. It's a matter of helping your balance and footing on rough ground, with a load on your back that you wouldn't be dealing with in the "real world."
I carry a hiking staff these days rather than a hiking pole. Stout wood with a carbide tip Simple reason really, tough and capable of delivering a hard strike in a pinch as well as lessening the strain on my joints.
Andrew "Iceman" Priestley
AT'95, GA>ME
Non nobis Domine, non nobis sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam
Not for us O Lord, not for us but in Your Name is the Glory
poles save my knees. they also help get me in a good rhythm. Kinda like cross country skiing.
"It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone
They have saved me from a few bad falls. Two legs are better than 4 for balance. If you feel that way don't use them but also don't run down people that do. We are all different, have different styles and tastes.
Don't eat the yellow snow. O
If your poles become a pain in the ass. You are most likly carrying them wrong. try using your hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Originally Posted by The General
F'ing HILLARIOUS!!!!! Thanks for that!
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Nice!!!
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
OUCH!!!
Proper uses of hiking poles:
1. Pulling up steep grades.
2. Braking down steep grades.
3. Balance when crossing narrow ledges, fast moving water, or irregular terrain.
4. Depth probe when crossing deep streams so you don't go down in a hole.
5. Supporting one's lightweight tarptent.
I must be carrying them OK...they haven't caused any pain.
Never hiked with them before my thru. Won't go without them now. Like others have mentioned, they are great for:
1. Stabalization (especially on the down hills). When my feet were at their worse, those baby's made great semi-crutches.
2. For me, setting up tarptent.
3. Hanging up wet clothes.
4. To keep the rythm.
5. Most importantly, warding off enemies and survival. I used those babies to take down 5 black bears, 2 whitetail deer and countless number of squirrels with my advanced hiking pole throwing accuracy. After the kill I used them to cook the game over campfire.
a.k.a CHOP-CHOP
They're particularly useful for stream crossings, eg. when you the footpath is a log or plank just a few inches wide and there's muck (or worse) on either side. Also useful for PA rocks. I'll sometimes fold them up and stash 'em on those (rare) occasions when the trail is straight, level, and smooth, or when the trail is so steep that I'll be wanting hand-holds into the mountain.
I can really power up hills using them! They have saved my ankles a few times too.
I'm Late, I'm Late, I'm Late!!
Anti shock poles act like a rocking chair if you sit on one when carried in the ass. When walkin they do drag behind. The hands are better.....LOL
Don't eat the yellow snow. O
I did start using them when I had an injury (broken foot) but I continued using them because I found them to be helpful for all of the above mentioned reasons. Big help when fording as well.
Plus, you can't really enter the Leki Throwing Contest at the Billville Hiker feed without one.
Haven't heard of this before. Is cheese involved? If it doesn't exist, how about a swiss cheese making with Leki throwing combined event?
i use none of the above. i'm a real hiker. a hiking god
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