Trekking poles?

[abbykat234]

I've never hiked with trekking poles and am planning a thru hike in 2013. I have seen many people on the trail carrying poles. Are they a highly recommended piece of gear or would I make it without them?

[Lyle]

You will definitely make it without them, particularly at your age. They do however offer several advantages including taking stress off your knees (even at your age, but you probably won't notice it as much as us old farts), can be an aid to rhythm, aid to balance, eases leg fatigue and foot pounding on down-hills, nice to lean on when taking a breather, good to flick small branches off the trail so you or those following don't get a foot tangled, great for testing out potential mud holes, great for clearing spider webs from the trail if you are the first one out in the AM, allows you to shake wet branches before you pass under and they dump their water/snow down your neck, use as a V-plow to push tall wet grass aside as you pass (same with briers and poison ivy), scare snakes from the trail in front of you, tent support, good for pushing your food bag up high enough when bear bagging, makes you appear bigger when you scare a bear off, good protection from aggressive dogs, stick your camera on the end to extend your reach for self-portraits, good monopod to steady the camera, and finally - if you do start to loose your balance, can save you from a fall.

Other than that they are pretty useless.

I prefer PacerPoles, check them out - very unique and the most comfortable I've used.

[Lando11]

highly recommended for long dstance hiking. only time i wouldnt use mine is on flatter sections.
anothrr use is to fling snakes off the trail that are in your path and wont move. effective and entertaining

[Lone Wolf]

I've never hiked with trekking poles and am planning a thru hike in 2013. I have seen many people on the trail carrying poles. Are they a highly recommended piece of gear or would I make it without them?

start without them. you can always get them later in the hike. i've done 5 thru-hikes without them

[toonnee]

I never thru hiked but I like having them. I can give my self a push up on a high rock use them to hop down off a high rock move spider webs out of the way if I see them in time and so forth. Also if I am walking for long periods of time and my hands aren't doing anything my fingers tend to swell up (has something to do with capalaries closing up to direct more blood to the muscles being used and therefor fluid builds up or something). Having the poles gives my hands something to do and I don't have the swelling problem.

[moldy]

They are like bear bells and snake bite kits. There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry. It's an extra pound you carry. Embrace your humanity, You are a bi-ped.

[Sarcasm the elf]

They are like bear bells and snake bite kits. There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry. It's an extra pound you carry. Embrace your humanity, You are a bi-ped.

I have personally been saved from numerous falls by my hiking poles and on one trip last year they were the only reason that I didn't blow out my knee when a rock gave out from under me midstep while I was hiking down a switchback.

The next time it happens I'll try to get it on video so that I can submit it as "evidence"

[Mountaintop]

I've never hiked with trekking poles and am planning a thru hike in 2013. I have seen many people on the trail carrying poles. Are they a highly recommended piece of gear or would I make it without them?

It depends on the hiker. I've started using them the past couple of years because I was recovering from a dislocated knee. Now I swear by them. They do relieve stress on your body. And more points of contact lessen your chances of falling.

[Don H]

There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry.

I'd heard that poles save about 20% wear on your knees. A search came up with this:

Knee joint forces during downhill walking with hiking poles.

Schwameder H, Roithner R, Müller E, Niessen W, Raschner C.
Source

Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Salzburg, Austria. [email protected]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine external and internal loads on the knee joint during downhill walking with and without hiking poles. Kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic data were collected from eight males during downhill walking on a ramp declined at 25 degrees. Planar knee joint moments and forces were calculated using a quasi-static knee model. The results were analysed for an entire pole-cycle as well as differentiated between single and double support phases and between each step of a pole-cycle. Significant differences between downhill walking with and without hiking poles were observed for peak and average magnitudes of ground reaction force, knee joint moment, and tibiofemoral compressive and shear forces (12-25%). Similar reductions were found in patellofemoral compressive force, the quadriceps tendon force and the activity of the vastus lateralis; however, because of a high variability, these differences were not significant. The reductions seen during downhill walking with hiking poles compared with unsupported downhill walking were caused primarily by the forces applied to the hiking poles and by a change in posture to a more forward leaning position of the upper body, with the effect of reducing the knee moment arm.

[Don H]

And then there's this:

http://www.whitefishsportcenter.com/...etail.php?id=5

Reducing Joint Stress While Hiking

Hiking up and down hills can increase the stress loads placed on your joints. For example, hiking downhill can increase joint load up to 8 times your own body weight¹. In the long run, this can cause damage to all structures within the joint. This becomes especially important following a knee or hip replacement, as this additional stress may endanger the polyethylene material used in many current joint replacements².

Tips for reducing stress on your joints while hiking

• Avoid steep descents, walk slowly downhill¹
• If you are carrying a pack, only take what you need for the day; extra weight = extra stress
• Use trekking poles! Trekking poles reduce the stress on your leg joints (up to 20%¹) due to the force applied through the pole, and they enable you to have a more forward posture of your upper body while hiking downhill³. They also provide great

[Papa D]

Trekking poles are a little over-rated for all time use - many folks that hike for long distances decide that they are really un-necessary - - I compromise and carry Black Diamond Z-Poles which are very light and fold up easily. I use them in snaky grassy areas, for early morning web- walking, and for tricky stream crossings. If the trail is clear and I'm moving-out, the poles go on the pack. I also think poles are a hinderance when hiking in really rocky steep terrain (like a lot of the White Mountains). Poles are also really nice to have in snow and ice.

[moocow]

You will definitely make it without them, particularly at your age. They do however offer several advantages including taking stress off your knees (even at your age, but you probably won't notice it as much as us old farts), can be an aid to rhythm, aid to balance, eases leg fatigue and foot pounding on down-hills, nice to lean on when taking a breather, good to flick small branches off the trail so you or those following don't get a foot tangled, great for testing out potential mud holes, great for clearing spider webs from the trail if you are the first one out in the AM, allows you to shake wet branches before you pass under and they dump their water/snow down your neck, use as a V-plow to push tall wet grass aside as you pass (same with briers and poison ivy), scare snakes from the trail in front of you, tent support, good for pushing your food bag up high enough when bear bagging, makes you appear bigger when you scare a bear off, good protection from aggressive dogs, stick your camera on the end to extend your reach for self-portraits, good monopod to steady the camera, and finally - if you do start to loose your balance, can save you from a fall.

Other than that they are pretty useless.

I prefer PacerPoles, check them out - very unique and the most comfortable I've used.

I bought poles because I was paranoid about river and creek crossings. Since then, I have never felt I needed them for crossings. But I've used them for pretty much everything Lyle has listed. They have become as utilitarian as a leatherman. Except I use them everyday.

[Datto]

Hiking poles, for me, are one of the most valuable pieces of equipment when long-distance hiking. Here are the reasons:

1) You will be on your way to face-planting many times during a long-distance hike and the poles will prevent most of them, particularly in Pennsylvania where I stumbled maybe 50 times per day on the rocks, The poles helped me avoid skinning my face in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

2) If you're planning on using a lightweight tent or tarp, the poles may come in handy as the support structure.

3) I could zoom at a pace way faster on my thru-hike of the AT with poles than I could have without them.

4) I think the poles saved my knees on my thru-hike of the AT -- the knees are the 2nd weakest point on the human body for a long-distance hiker.

As a side note, on the PCT I was gazing at the mountain goats in Washington while hiking at a sustained pace -- when I tripped (well of course I tripped) my face was heading to the rocks but my poles slowed me down enough so that a cookpot rambled out of the top of my unclosed pack and hit the ground right before my face hit the bottom of the cookpot. Saved my good looks that afternoon while Pearson looked on with amazement. Big honking black mark on my cheek from the bottom-pan Esbit tar which, if you can imagine, was funny as all get out. The goats loved it.


Datto

[canoe]

Yeah give it a go without em. Then when you do that first face plant ... then you can get a pair. Right After you get your nose fixed, fitted for some new dentures and get your wrist set. Young or old there will always be one of those roots and rocks that jump up and grab your toe and sent you flying.

I would not leave home without em....but then again i am an old fart

[canoe]

They are like bear bells and snake bite kits. There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry. It's an extra pound you carry. Embrace your humanity, You are a bi-ped.

purely questionable

[Lyle]

They are like bear bells and snake bite kits. There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry. It's an extra pound you carry. Embrace your humanity, You are a bi-ped.

100% false on each point.

[MuddyWaters]

No, you dont have to have them.

My 13yo son wouldnt hike without his though.

You will hike much FASTER. You will fall less. You will go downhill faster because your upper body helps slow your descent. You will traverse uneven rocky sections much faster. Uphill is like 4wd, your upper body helps, you go faster there too. The steeper it is, the more helpful they are. They takes jarring load off of knees and ankles on downhill by letting upper body absorb part of the shock.

I honestly dont know how anyone could not recommend them.

[Don H]

I saw lots of people in Georgia not using them but by the time I got to Maine everyone was using them.
Besides I need one to hold my tent up.

[Maddog]

I've never hiked with trekking poles and am planning a thru hike in 2013. I have seen many people on the trail carrying poles. Are they a highly recommended piece of gear or would I make it without them?

I started hiking without them and eventually ended up with a nice pair of Leki's! I don't hike without them! I can also use them to set up my tarp in a pinch! Maddog

[fredmugs]

They are like bear bells and snake bite kits. There is no evidence that they will take any stress from any body part you have or that they will keep you from falling or that you will make it up, or down the hill any better. It's all hype pushed my the sporting goods industry. It's an extra pound you carry. Embrace your humanity, You are a bi-ped.

I agree. If hiking poles helped out any Elvis would have been using them when we did the Mahoosic Notch back in June. I could understand why Bigfoot didn't need any but Elvis is getting up there in age.