When I'm day hiking with a lighter pack I never use them. But long distance backpacking I always do. Just having them on downhills alone is worth it. Plus I use them at night with my tarp for "porch mode".
When I'm day hiking with a lighter pack I never use them. But long distance backpacking I always do. Just having them on downhills alone is worth it. Plus I use them at night with my tarp for "porch mode".
Just finished Springer to Bly Gap. My trekking poles were a life saver. I cannot imaging hiking the trail without them. Especially on the descents. I know they prevented several falls. Mine are light weight, collapsable Cascades. Not very expensive and really do the job. Love them.
I can't imagine doing the Long Trail without poles. The only time I stashed them was climbing up the Forehead of Mansfield. They saved my knees, kept me from falling many times, and generally made it easier to hike. I don't recall seeing another thru-hiker on my trip that didn't have them.
I never used poles until during my recently completed SOBO Long Trail thru-hike. The Northern section has terrain that was more difficult than I had ever encountered and the poles helped especially on some of the downhill steeps, which were more difficult for me than the comparable uphill climbs. I can probably count on one or two fingers the number of people that I saw on the Northern part of the LT without poles. On the AT there were more pole-less hikers but still only a small minority. If it's raining you will fall, but how (and how hard) will depend.
Okay, so it sounds like I should bring them.
I'm young so I have not used them in the past, but the only reason I was considering not bringing some was because I was afraid they would end up on my back most of the time. I have hiked on the LT, but mostly the northern half, which is quite scrambly.
Did any one point out they keep your hands from swelling. Maybe that's and old person's problem.
I wouldn't go on the trail without poles. Way too many uses for them out there. They can save your limbs every day and your life from time to time.
There's a lot of very steep (very very steep) trail on the northern end that's not quite scrambling, and the poles really helped me especially in the rain. There are also many places with short, steep scrambles in which poles are useless, but I never collapsed mine and put them on my pack, I just tossed them down or carried them up.