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  1. #1
    Registered User tolkien's Avatar
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    Default Trekking Poles VS Walking Sticks

    I like the Hammer HP1 hiking poles because they come with a compas/thermometer, but they also cost money. Walking sticks are heavier, being made out of some trail-adjacent pine or hardwood, but are simply a piece of wood.

    Did anybody with trekking poles regret them? Did anybody who decided not to use them pick up a walking stick?
    Made it down the coast in seventeen hours/ Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

  2. #2
    Registered User The Old Boot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Did anybody with trekking poles regret them? Did anybody who decided not to use them pick up a walking stick?

    No, but I'll tell you that the last time I was out hiking I forgot my hiking poles - I left them in the meet-up parking lot in my van..., I got no more than 50' onto the trail before I was looking for a walking stick to use.

    I left it conveniently placed at the trailhead for the next guy and will double check my stuff before catching a ride again...without that piece of wood, I'd still be out there stuck somewhere on the downside of the mountain!

    I've used hiking poles for several years now and cannot begin to tell you how many times they've kept me upright in addition to all the wear and tear they save my knees and back. I even use one in town in the winter time on the icy sidewalks.

  3. #3
    Registered User weary's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    I like the Hammer HP1 hiking poles because they come with a compas/thermometer, but they also cost money. Walking sticks are heavier, being made out of some trail-adjacent pine or hardwood, but are simply a piece of wood.

    Did anybody with trekking poles regret them? Did anybody who decided not to use them pick up a walking stick?
    Can I suggest a third option? Don't just "pick up a walking stick," but deliberately choose and at least partially manufacture a walking stick. My walking stick on the AT in 1993 was picked up while hiking with a 9-year-old in Maine in 1991. My grandson was not great on his feet. He kept stumbling, so I cut him a stick to help his balance. He demanded I also carry a walking stick, so I did. Somethings are better not argued with spoiled grandkids.

    Anyway, I produced sticks for our entire party, from the leavings of a trail construction crew at the foot of Dunn Notch Falls in Maine. Three of those sticks are still in use, mine and two sisters. All three have been modified. One varnished. Others equipped with crutch tips for better traction.

    Mine later went on a somewhat thru hike of the AT. The others have even more thousands of trail miles under them, but nothing that resembles a thru hike.

    My found stick has been the subject of considerable discussion on White Blaze. Someone once proclaimed I was an accident waiting to happen -- that no wood could possibly be stronger than modern synthetics fashioned from petroleum drilled from the Middle-east. Maybe. But I continue to read about the great service Leki donates to the repair of its hiking poles.

    Somehow, I walked the trail with a nine-ounce piece of alder I found at trailside, and I have used that same stick for thousands of additional miles. In a decade of intensive use, it has yet to require repairs Should my stick do so, I would simply cut a replacement.

  4. #4
    Registered User tolkien's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by weary View Post
    Somehow, I walked the trail with a nine-ounce piece of alder I found at trailside, and I have used that same stick for thousands of additional miles. In a decade of intensive use, it has yet to require repairs Should my stick do so, I would simply cut a replacement.
    Sounds good, but the problem is that here where I live the most common trees are Pine, Black Locust, and Tree of Heaven. None make for good, long, strong, walking sticks. I might be able to do something with sasafras or birch. I like the idea of carrying a walking stick more than a hiking pole: more rugged, I guess.
    Made it down the coast in seventeen hours/ Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

  5. #5
    Hash House Harrier
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    I like Weary's option the best. My walking stick actually began life as a hockey stick, one of those cheap street-hockey ones that's just a straight wooden staff with a plastic blade fixed to the end by a screw. The blade wore down over time and eventually snapped off, leaving me with a strong yet light wood walking stick with a thick plastic cap on one end to absorb all the wear.
    Though much is taken, much abides, and though
    We are not now that strength which in old days
    Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
    One equal temper of heroic hearts.

  6. #6

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    I fall into the "ultra-cheap" style of hiker, so I use two hiking sticks (from fallen sycamore branches). I do know that everyone who uses them praises trekking poles, so I do wonder what the real differences would be compared to using two sticks. The obvious one I discovered a couple of weeks ago is that hiking sticks can be difficult to use on true rock scrambles, since you cannot shorten them and throw them in your pack (almost lost one and should not have retrieved it). Of course, on the other side there is the difference in cost, which would be the reason to ask the question at all.
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    EJS
    (Ed. S)

  7. #7
    Registered User tolkien's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AegisIII View Post
    I fall into the "ultra-cheap" style of hiker, so I use two hiking sticks (from fallen sycamore branches). I do know that everyone who uses them praises trekking poles, so I do wonder what the real differences would be compared to using two sticks. The obvious one I discovered a couple of weeks ago is that hiking sticks can be difficult to use on true rock scrambles, since you cannot shorten them and throw them in your pack (almost lost one and should not have retrieved it). Of course, on the other side there is the difference in cost, which would be the reason to ask the question at all.
    You can shorten hiking poles? Sweet. Learning a lot today.
    Made it down the coast in seventeen hours/ Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

  8. #8
    Registered User The Old Boot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    You can shorten hiking poles? Sweet. Learning a lot today.

    Even the cheapest ones from WallyWorld can be adjusted for length. Some are easier to adjust than others, some have built in shock absorbers.

  9. #9
    Barefoot at sea level
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Sounds good, but the problem is that here where I live the most common trees are Pine, Black Locust, and Tree of Heaven. None make for good, long, strong, walking sticks. I might be able to do something with sasafras or birch. I like the idea of carrying a walking stick more than a hiking pole: more rugged, I guess.
    Dunno what the oak situation is in your area, but I will swear by my oak staff, which was a sucker that grew up from a stump in my yard. It's a little on the heavy side compared to the high-tech poles, but I like the longer "reach" it gives me, especially on steep downhills. By a totally unique set of circumstances, this particular staff has a series of natural knobs and twists that give an infinite number of possible grips with either hand -- and both if need be. I armored the tip with a 1/4-inch copper pipe cap from the hardware store. Would have hated to do without it on a recent series of steep, rocky climbs and descents in the Uwharries.

  10. #10

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    I started with nothing, graduated to one stick picked up and broken to the right size right beside the trail, and then to two hiking or trekking poles. I don't regret either of the above choices. One pole is better than none and two are better than one. There is a learning curve during which you will trip over one or the other of your poles from time to time, but once you get used to it it's like being a four-legged animal - you have much more stability when you need it. The only times I find poles a pain is while climbing or descending dangerously steep grades where you absolutely need to use hand holds, and while navigating extremely overgrown sections of the trail where you have trouble swinging your poles around your body without snagging brush. Both of these occasions are pretty rare on the AT.

    If you opt for a wooden stick and have a choice I'd suggest Ash. It's lighter than most hardwoods and plenty flexible so it won't crack as readily as some other woods.
    I used both ash and moose (or striped) maple.
    Last edited by Tinker; 05-24-2011 at 21:43.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  11. #11
    Registered User weary's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beachcomber View Post
    Dunno what the oak situation is in your area, but I will swear by my oak staff, which was a sucker that grew up from a stump in my yard. It's a little on the heavy side compared to the high-tech poles, but I like the longer "reach" it gives me, especially on steep downhills. By a totally unique set of circumstances, this particular staff has a series of natural knobs and twists that give an infinite number of possible grips with either hand -- and both if need be. I armored the tip with a 1/4-inch copper pipe cap from the hardware store. Would have hated to do without it on a recent series of steep, rocky climbs and descents in the Uwharries.
    Well, in the interests of full disclosure, I should probably report that I still use branches and saplings for support as trails get more civilied.

    I do hope to wander the southern Appalachians as the days grow longer.

  12. #12
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Trekking Pole:


    Karol Józef Wojtyła aka Pope JP II
    Skier, kayaker, camper, hiker...an all round trekking Pole if you will


    vs.

    Walking Stick

    Small insect that hides by camouflage


    As a Catholic child of the 80s, my money goes to the trekking Pole...

    (I use old ski poles for my walking sticks..)
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
    http://pmags.com
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    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Sounds good, but the problem is that here where I live the most common trees are Pine, Black Locust, and Tree of Heaven. None make for good, long, strong, walking sticks. I might be able to do something with sasafras or birch. I like the idea of carrying a walking stick more than a hiking pole: more rugged, I guess.
    Tell ya what.....
    Where I live the choice of wood is almost infinite.
    I will be passing through your part of the world in a few weeks as part of my VA 635 to Daleville hike. I can bring you hickory, cedar, ash, maple, or any number of other types. I can bring several different choices. The wood will be cut green, so over a period of time there will be some checking (cracks) but that sort of adds to the individual character of the staff. If checking bothers you, I have some kiln dried cedar that could be ripped to a suitable square crossection and shaped with a drawknife.
    The woods nearest my house was logged a few years ago and there should be an excellent assortment of new growth saplings.
    If you are interested let me know and we will can make some arrangement to meet up as I pass through. It will be on June 11.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Did anybody with trekking poles regret them? Did anybody who decided not to use them pick up a walking stick?
    I've used Hiking Sticks, Staffs, Poles, Ice Axe's... my favorite, hands-down is a cane.

    I use a Non-Shock Absorbing Model from Komperdell...

    http://www.rei.com/product/823959/ko...-2010-closeout





  15. #15
    Registered User 1234's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Sounds good, but the problem is that here where I live the most common trees are Pine, Black Locust, and Tree of Heaven. None make for good, long, strong, walking sticks. I might be able to do something with sasafras or birch. I like the idea of carrying a walking stick more than a hiking pole: more rugged, I guess.
    WOW! Black Locust, will make a great stick, snip off all the thorns and you can get a very thin strong stick. I like to pick out a stick that has a natural 10 degree or so bend right at the hand grip. If a knot is at that point all the better. I do put a copper pipe fitting on the end of some of my sticks it keep the end from getting to mushroomed. (soft woods). Nothing wrong with red cedar either and they are everywhere, lots of limbs to snip off but it makes a good straight stick. poles or stick all are fine, the poles are louder. better to scare off the bears!!

  16. #16
    Registered User weary's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    Sounds good, but the problem is that here where I live the most common trees are Pine, Black Locust, and Tree of Heaven. None make for good, long, strong, walking sticks. I might be able to do something with sasafras or birch. I like the idea of carrying a walking stick more than a hiking pole: more rugged, I guess.
    It's not the trees that are "most common" that are important. But whether a suitable tree can be found. Alder swamps are my source for hiking sticks, though I have no idea if alder is the ideal hiking stick material. It's just the wood I happened to find when I needed a stick.

    It turned out to be strong enough, and light weight. Recently I've experimented with red oak and sugar maple (both remarkably strong, but way to heavy.)

    Just keep an eye out as you wander through the woods. The stick that got me from Springer to Katahdin in 1993 was cut by trail clearing volunteers at the foot of a water fall. That stick remains as good as ever, and I occasionally still use it. But it has fond memories associated with it, so I worry about it breaking and mostly leave it stacked with my other stick experiments in a back hallway.

    Look for a sapling with a five or six foot section with pretty even thickness, (maximum 1 inch, minimum 3/4 inch thickness.) Most homemade sticks I've seen are way too big and heavy. I place a rubber crutch tip on the bottom, and epoxy a round wood furniture pull knob on the top. The latter is more for aesthetics than necessity, though the epoxied 1/4-20 screw that holds the pull knob on, enables the stick to double as a monopod for my camera.

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by BradMT View Post
    I've used Hiking Sticks, Staffs, Poles, Ice Axe's... my favorite, hands-down is a cane.

    I use a Non-Shock Absorbing Model from Komperdell...

    http://www.rei.com/product/823959/ko...-2010-closeout

    I have a Leki with that handle. I took a spill in the state park I live adjacent to and the long tip of the handle drove into my chest, dislodging my left top rib from my sternum. When I called the orthopedist, he wouldn't even let me come in, because there was nothing he could do - just wire it back together later, if it didn't knit on its own. It did - slowly, over several painful months. I switched to Komperdells with the standard straight cork handle. I'll never again again use something that can turn on me...




  18. #18
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    It doesn't have the "outdoorsy" vibe (until you put a couple hundred miles on it), but I started off with a walking stick made from a broom handle. Cane tip on the bottom, rope lashed on top for a grip and more paracord woven into the wrist loop.

    I forget where I got the idea, but I also wrapped/knotted several feet of cord near the bottom of the stick. Two purposes: 1. a great place for someone to hold on to if you're helping them up a steep slope and 2. a length of cord you can unwrap in an emergency.

  19. #19
    Wild at Heart J5man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tolkien View Post
    I like the Hammer HP1 hiking poles because they come with a compas/thermometer, but they also cost money. Walking sticks are heavier, being made out of some trail-adjacent pine or hardwood, but are simply a piece of wood.

    Did anybody with trekking poles regret them? Did anybody who decided not to use them pick up a walking stick?

    I use both. That's one of the fun things about backpacking, each trip can be different from the last in terms of gear.

  20. #20

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    Bamboo is good too. I knew someone who used a curtain rod.

    I like my hiking poles because my tent needs a specific sized pole, different for the front and back, so adjustable poles make that way easier than trying to find a stick that'll work each time.
    Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
    I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.

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