WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
Results 41 to 49 of 49
  1. #41

    Default

    Had it not be stolen out of the back of my truck a few years back I'd have a stick that was 27 years old...alas, someone does.

  2. #42
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-18-2016
    Location
    Wabash, IN
    Posts
    744
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    1

    Default

    How much have you hiked in your life? Borrow a second pole or order some cheapo's on Amazon and get out there in the woods to test them. You're lucky to be in Ohio with hundreds and hundreds of miles of great hiking trails. You'll soon know whether the second one is of any value to you. I suspect it will be, because the balance, stability, and weight re-distribution from the lower to the upper half of your body will be readily apparent. Especially on downhills.

    Quote Originally Posted by 208AT View Post
    I have one hiking pole,but do I really need to get a pair?Does the extra make that much of a difference that I should get another?




  3. #43

    Default

    This data is fascinating! Thank you. Carrying two poles has always left me the option of stowing one and using one if the situation dictates. Collapsed poles are about as long as my pack and affix with the ice ax loops now standard and optional on many packs. For example: when road walking in icy conditions, or my favorite: when hitch hiking alone. A single pole in hand I hitch. When picked up I place my pack, collapse the single pole and get in with it. Hi! Thanks, I'm holding this very conspicuous giant spike back here by the way and I have a perfectly legit reason for it. As a result, I never get the sensation that I need a gun in space.

    Quote Originally Posted by Elder View Post
    Yes, Two is the correct answer.
    People who walk with one, or none, take an average of 6% more footsteps.
    This is accounted for by a slightly longer, more relaxed stride and no hesitation staeps on the ups/downs.
    plus balance
    plus braking on the downhills
    and propulsion on the up hills.
    Learn to use the straps too, they allow you to relax or grip as needed...not just grip.

    You might note the majority of finishers use pairs..
    Start young, save your knees!

    oh, yeah.. I'm the Leki guy!
    check out www.leki.com for information and how to/and why videos

  4. #44

    Default

    For me it depends on where I'm going. Where I hike I don't have a lot of water crossings or super rocky areas so a wooden staff works just fine, but if I was hiking in that section of trail where boots go to die I prefer two trek poles...really a mater of preference each has to work out for themselves.

  5. #45

    Default

    I would like to use two, but use only one because of arthritis in my hands. Need to be able to swap hands and rest them alternately.

  6. #46

    Default

    http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=3375

    Hmmm. Here's some more fun facts about them poles! Reduce load by 7 kilos! They're an ancient tool! A weapon in hand! 6% fewer steps holy

  7. #47
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-18-2016
    Location
    Wabash, IN
    Posts
    744
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RockDoc View Post
    The pole bit is quite a new thing.
    We've hiked without poles for about a million years, so it's hard to understand why they are so indispensible to some...

    Back in the 70's many of us carried a stick, sometimes more elegantly called a "hiking staff". We never thought of carrying two of them, or using them to take weight off our legs. Their main purpose was to lean on while stopped, to prop up the huge Kelty frame backpack, and to wack attacking dogs with reliable consequences. Some of us became quite attached to our hiking sticks, I had a whole collection my favorite being beaver-chewed sticks from Montana beaver dams.

    In the 1980's I went trekking in Nepal and saw all these old French people hiking up the Thoroung La with two crutch-like ski poles. They all had them and I found the constant click click click sound quite annoying.

    Well, there here now...

    OK I understand you might need to use these sticks as crutches if you have weak knees, etc. But as a geologist I think that the damage these carbide tips do to the trail and the landscape is unacceptable vandalism.
    I think "vandalism" is taking it a bit far… My two cents


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




  8. #48
    Registered User egilbe's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-18-2014
    Location
    Lewiston and Biddeford, Maine
    Age
    61
    Posts
    2,643

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Greenlight View Post
    I think "vandalism" is taking it a bit far… My two cents


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I guess wearing crampons because they may scratch rock is a no-no, too?

  9. #49
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-10-2005
    Location
    Bedford, MA
    Posts
    12,678

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by egilbe View Post
    I guess wearing crampons because they may scratch rock is a no-no, too?
    I've heard arguments against lug-sole boots (aka waffle stompers) because they tear up the trail.

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •