Trekking Poles Rough on Hands-- Fixes/Techniques?

[zjindra3]

A friend and I went on a weekend backpacking trip as preparation for my 10 day trip on the CT in a couple weeks. We knocked out 25 miles on Saturday and came back the same distance on Sunday-- 8 hours on day one and 9 on day two.

I bought poles last week, and this weekend was the first time I used them. I don't know how I would have survived without them as they helped sharp descents and climbs so incredibly much. On the first day my hands felt just fine, however on Sunday they almost had a "raw" feeling to them and it became a little more painful between my thumb and index finger and on the upper outside part of my palm on the thumb side (I held the pole on top with my palm on the sharp downhills).

Any recommendations on how to fix or cope with this? I was keeping a loose grip as I should. I have Easton CTR 70s.

Thanks!

[bearcreek]

Bicycling gloves.

[Hill Ape]

i like cork grips just for that reason. rather than wearing gloves, if it became a real problem i'd look at bicycle bar tape. it may be that you simply have to get your hands toughened up to a new use.

[Driver8]

Bicycling gloves.

+1. I wear then on any hike of any length where I use the poles to any significant extent.

[Rasty]

Keep it up without gloves. Hand toughen up quickly.

[Alligator]

Are you using the straps correctly? Reaching up through loop then grab the handle? Some straps are more comfortable than others, the ones on my new Black Diamonds are way better than the ones on my old Lekis, but the Lekis were pretty old when I replaced them. Leki may have better straps. If you get the opportunity test other brands straps if you are in a gear store.

Also, you can rinse the dirt and sweat off your hands with water periodically. This will reduce the grit that rubs your skin.

[tarditi]

you could put moleskin on the grip, but it sounds like the straps are what's causing the soreness?

[Feral Bill]

Bicycling gloves.

Or sailing gloves.

[CB1821]

My son had the same problem using a relatively inexpensive pair of Komperdell poles, eventually developing blisters in the areas you mention along with several other places on his hands. He recently acquired Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Trekking Poles and has had no more blisters. His assessment was that his hands would sweat and slide around on the hard rubber surface of the Komperdell whereas the cork of the Black Diamond poles was both more comfortable and afforded a dryer/more secure grip.

[Coffee]

I use the BD carbon cork with fingerless bicycling gloves. An additional advantage of using gloves beside protecting the hands from blisters is less sunburn on the top of the hand.

[zjindra3]

The straps are not causing any irritation, it's just the grip in the area of the thumb-side of my palms.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm going to stick with the poles I have for now instead of droping down money for a different pair ( I really like the poles as a whole, I even liked the grip the first day). I'm probably going to continue gloveless for a while on upcoming training hikes to see if my hands adjust (like fingertip soreness while playing guitar at first?), if not, I'll look into some cycling gloves.

Thanks!

[daddytwosticks]

I have the same issues at times. It usually happens when I grip the handles too tightly.

[Snowleopard]

To emphasize what Aligator says:
If you use the straps properly, most of the force will be on the straps not on the grip. Look up youtube videos on using trekking poles; I think Leki has some on their website.
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advi...ng-staffs.html
Scroll down to the second video and it shows how to use the straps.
If that doesn't help, I'd use biking gloves in summer and warm gloves/mittens in winter.

[kidchill]

Yah, I second snowleopard...I didn't check the video, but the straps should be positioned so that you're creating a down-force with the blade of your hand. Just keep using your hands and the poles you have. I consistently used poles through ME and NH and then pretty much quit using them...until Superstorm Sandy came through and I was post-holing through 3ft snow drifts coming out of Pearisburg! Those few days made my hands hurt like hell. You just have to get your hands used to the abuse.

[Monkeywrench]

If you use the straps correctly, you don't need to grip the pole handle very hard at all. You just need a very light grip to control the pole. You should be transferring weight to the pole by leaning into the strap and letting the strap take the weight, not your grip on the handle.

[daddytwosticks]

If you use the straps correctly, you don't need to grip the pole handle very hard at all. You just need a very light grip to control the pole. You should be transferring weight to the pole by leaning into the strap and letting the strap take the weight, not your grip on the handle.

Absolutely true. My problems happen when I'm not paying attention and grip too tightly. A light touch is best.

[snifur]

I take it you dont work with your hands. Use them productively and you will find out that they will be come conditioned. both of my hands are calloused. hammers, cinder blocks, bales of hay, chopping wood, oh, and hitting on the old punch bag so i dont beat the snot out of my teenage kids works well to toughen up the hands. i would venture to say that if you are doing 50 miles in two days or 25 miles in 8 hours while averaging faster than 3.2 mph consistently non stop then you are ready to hike nearly any trail on the planet. if your soft hands are an issue just wear the gloves to keep them soft.

[zjindra3]

i would venture to say that if you are doing 50 miles in two days or 25 miles in 8 hours while averaging faster than 3.2 mph consistently non stop then you are ready to hike nearly any trail on the planet.

I wouldn't quite say that. It was 25 miles on the dot each way for an out (to camp) and back weekend trip. 8:06 the first day and 8:54 the second, with the only difference being that we took an extra 20 minutes of a break at both of our rest stops on day two. I never said I could walk without aches and pains the next day though... haha

[zjindra3]

Thanks for the advice guys. The straps weren't really my problem. I should clarify that the trail that I was on had may incredibly sharp descents, during which I put the outside portion of my palm on the very top of the grip of the pole. Those downhills are what was causing most of the rubbing and sensitivity. I guess I just have to roughen up my hands-- this office job this summer just isn't doing it for me

[rocketsocks]

Thanks for the advice guys. The straps weren't really my problem. I should clarify that the trail that I was on had may incredibly sharp descents, during which I put the outside portion of my palm on the very top of the grip of the pole. Those downhills are what was causing most of the rubbing and sensitivity. I guess I just have to roughen up my hands-- this office job this summer just isn't doing it for me

Or put a small swatch of duct tape on the hot spot...worked for me.