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Thread: Walking Sticks

  1. #41
    Registered User moytoy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by EarlyStarter View Post
    Is it really necessary to spend over $50 on trekking poles when you can just shave the bark off of two sticks and make your own trekking poles?
    Do both, or at least one then the other later. Whittle yourself a couple of sticks and go try them. Learn the use and technique of Nordic trecking. If you like the feel and if it helps you to go faster, further and with less effort and you feel like spending the extra money get the good China made stuff.

    My homade trecking poles weigh 17 oz each. Black diamond poles weigh 10 oz each. I walk 3-5 miles a day and once each year I walk about 100 miles in 7-10 days. If I ever do a thru on the AT I might go for the lighter poles.
    KK4VKZ -SOTA-SUMMITS ON THE AIR-
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  2. #42

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    I went back to a wooden stick/pole. It's got a bit more heft to it, which I like. Putting a lanyard, wristloop on isn.t tough at all and it can be completely adjustable for height as well. What I did was to get a piece of 8mm accessory cord from a shop that sells climbing equipment. You'll need several feet. Fold it in half?loop it in half and wrap it around the hiking stick as a prusik knot. The virtue of the prusik is that it tightens down hard when weighted, but releases when given slack. So you can easily adjust the height of the lanyard or remove it entirely with no fuss or muss. The rops can be repurposed as needed. The size of the wrist loop formed can be adjusted be securing the ends to one another with fisherman's knots. These will allow you to form an adjustable loop for different grips.

    It's a neat little system that I was turned on to by Brad at Kingfisher Woodworking.
    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

  3. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by 10-K View Post
    Everytime I pass someone that isn't using poles I wonder how they do it. Seriously.
    hahaha! well i will tell you. it is just a matter of the lesser of two evils. sometimes my knees hurt, but the one time i tried poles, i fell down anyway and stabbed myself in the side with one of the poles. plus, my hands were in the loops and my brain couldn't talk to them so i couldn't put my hands down to catch myself. believe me, it is much safer for me and everyone around me if i don't carry poles.

  4. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by kanga View Post
    hahaha! well i will tell you. it is just a matter of the lesser of two evils. sometimes my knees hurt, but the one time i tried poles, i fell down anyway and stabbed myself in the side with one of the poles. plus, my hands were in the loops and my brain couldn't talk to them so i couldn't put my hands down to catch myself. believe me, it is much safer for me and everyone around me if i don't carry poles.
    i can relate to that... i still fall down with my poles, just not as often... or as hard...

    the trick with the loops is to not put them on past your hands... on your wrists is asking for trouble

    beer thirty... later

  5. #45
    Registered User GGS2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Man View Post
    the trick with the loops is to not put them on past your hands... on your wrists is asking for trouble
    Don't agree. I grew up using ski poles to trek across the fields to the ski hills. Always used the wrist strap technique, and it never did any damage to me. The trick is to avoid the death grip. The pole and strap will help to support and propel you, but they will not immobilize your hands when used properly.

    I even used to keep my poles in their straps on my wrists while riding rope tows. No-one but me now living may remember these death traps, but the idea was to wrap a thick rope around a drive wheel on an old truck chassis. The rope went up the hill around a wheel at the top, and back down to the truck. You were supposed to grab the rope in two hands (one in front and the other around behind your back), upon which you would be jerked off your feet and dragged up the hill. Actually, you're not supposed to grab tight. Just let the rope run through your hands and gradually close the clutch, so to speak.

    This procedure was fraught with peril, such as the heavy rope dragging you down into the ruts in mid flight, or the rope rotating as you rise up, entraining your mittens, and your jacket sleeve, etc. BUT, poking yourself with your poles was the least of it. Do it right, and your poles will help you, not endanger your kidneys. I swear!

  6. #46

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    thank you, but i am much better on my own. i'm retarded and will hurt myself.

  7. #47

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    If you don't buy treking poles then everyone will laugh at you...but they do make it hard to carry your beach ball!

    geek

  8. #48
    Registered User Plodderman's Avatar
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    I have my own sassafras hiking stick that I have used for years.

  9. #49
    Registered User GGS2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plodderman View Post
    I have my own sassafras hiking stick that I have used for years.
    And if the worst comes to the worst, you can make tea!

  10. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by kanga View Post
    thank you, but i am much better on my own. i'm retarded and will hurt myself.
    okay, i think i am retarded too. i hiked this weekend without sticks and didn't fall once. with my sticks, they tend to get stuck and i fall. go figure.

  11. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by 10-K View Post
    Everytime I pass someone that isn't using poles I wonder how they do it. Seriously.
    A few of us have evolved past using your arms to walk.

  12. #52
    Registered User Elder's Avatar
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    Yes, We prefer tool use!

  13. #53
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Man View Post
    okay, i think i am retarded too. i hiked this weekend without sticks and didn't fall once. with my sticks, they tend to get stuck and i fall. go figure.
    i hiked this weekend with sticks and didn't use them. i'm challenged
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  14. #54
    Registered User K2's Avatar
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    Slightly related; I don't like to start new threads unless absolutely necessary:

    Ok, just got my first set of treking poles (shock absorbing). No instructions, but mentions lots of features. So now I have several questions:
    1) Are the plastic tips for protection when traveling, or are you suppose to actually hike with them?
    2) Do you walk with the metal tips bare? Are they replaceable? Can you/should you get other kinds of tips?
    3) These poles mention they have a shock absorber locking feature, but I can't figure out how to lock them. Any ideas?
    K2 Able to leap small twigs with a single bound.
    I did it. I said I’ll do it, and I’ve done it. [after she summited Katahdin] –EMMA ‘GRANDMA’ GATEWOOD

  15. #55
    Registered User Hikes in Rain's Avatar
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    If you mean the clear(ish) plastic tips, yes, take them off before hiking. They're to protect things from the carbide tips. I mention the clear plastic, because poles can come with black rubbery slide-on tips for use on pavement. Usually in the woods, you hike with bare metal tips.

    Most polls have replaceable tips. Not sure what brand you got, but usually they pull out with pliers, and the new ones tapped into place. You shouldn't have to worry about replacing tips for a good long while.

    Several different locking mechanisms out there, too. Pretty common are the twist-lock. Just twist then until tight, and test by leaning on them before you actually use them, to make sure they're locked. (Mine have the twist lock type, so that's the only one I know).

  16. #56
    Registered User Over The Hill's Avatar
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    Short answer: Nope.
    Long Answer: spend some money and get some poles. Shop around...
    I got mine for 18.95 each. Nice grip, padded, handstarp, two tips for differnet surfaces, and most importantly: Adjustable, which is nice to be able to do depending on if your climbing or descending or walking the flats.
    as an side, They are also nice to wrap duck tape neatly around since they are perfectly round. That way I have a mini roll of duck tape on each pole for emergencies and it doesn't take pack space.

  17. #57
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    Default Bear Grylls

    I've never seen Bear Grylls use sticks or poles.

  18. #58

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    Quote Originally Posted by jtbradyl View Post
    I've never seen Bear Grylls use sticks or poles.
    That's because Bear's crew is carrying the gear.
    Drab as a Fool, as aloof as a Bard!

    http://www.wizardsofthepct.com

  19. #59

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    Quote Originally Posted by EarlyStarter View Post
    Is it really necessary to spend over $50 on trekking poles when you can just shave the bark off of two sticks and make your own trekking poles?
    The answer would seem obvious: no. Trekking poles are lighter and can be collapsed. That is obvious too. I have wood poles, but do not carry them on steep terrain or on many overnight walks. They are just too lacking in flexibility and packability.

  20. #60
    Registered User gbolt's Avatar
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    I have both, but use them differently. A walking stick is singular and longer. Mine is a little over 5ft. It has a carved bear on top and is over 30 years old. I got it when a hike was slowed as I picked up and discarded stick after stick and never did find one that I liked, or wouldn't snap under weight. I put a crutch tip bottom on it and have worn through that tip about 3 times now. Still use it when day hiking and not "back-packing".

    I purchased trekking poles because they help my speed, decrease the strain of downhills on my knees (more than the stick), help propel me up hill and finally help with Tarp Porch Mode; serving as extra tent poles. The versatility and the ease to break them down and store them on today's packs, make them worth the cost in my mind. Then again age is a big factor in whether they are needed or not.
    "gbolt" on the Trail

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